Jack London State Historic Park will host a community celebration and ribbon cutting at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 14, to mark the opening of the East Slope Sonoma Mountain Ridge Trail.
This trail, on land never before accessible to the public, is the culmination of nearly two decades of focused effort and collaboration. Hikers, cyclists, and equestrians will experience sweeping panoramas from the top of Sonoma Mountain, finding different views than ever seen before.
The March 14 ribbon cutting ceremony and first official hike are free and open to the public.
The new East Slope Sonoma Mountain Ridge Trail extends the Bay Area Ridge Trail – an evolving and growing network of contiguous trail for hikers, cyclists, and equestrians along the ridgelines overlooking San Francisco Bay. Today, more than 350 miles of the 550-mile Ridge Trail loop are open.
Jack London State Historic Park serves as the “gateway” to the new 1.2-mile East Slope, which also adds to 20-plus miles of trails accessible within the ark’s 1,400 scenic acres.
The natural surface, multi-use trail crosses two private properties and a Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District-owned property, meandering along the ridge through oak woodland and open grassland habitats, and affords stunning views.
A portion of the trail will be named “The Eliot Family Trail,” in honor of Pat and Ted Eliot who were instrumental in making the trail a reality. The project received a $55,000 planning grant from the Coastal Conservancy and Bay Area Ridge Trail, a $10,000 construction grant from REI, and a $5,000 grant from Sonoma Mountain Preservation, as well as many, many hours of volunteer time from community members led by the Sonoma County Trails Council and Jack London Park Partners.
“This project truly represents the best of collaboration amongst private and public landowners, funders, non-governmental organizations, and the public,” says Susan Gorin, 1st District Supervisor. “Working together, we built on each others’ strengths and were able to stretch limited taxpayer dollars to provide amazing outdoor recreational opportunities for everyone to enjoy.”
Janet McBride, executive director of Bay Ridge Trail Council, said, “The new East Slope Trail combined with existing Ridge Trail through Jack London State Historic Park and the North Slope Trail stitches together a nine-mile showpiece Ridge Trail stretch ready to be explored.”
The ribbon-cutting will be held at 10:30 a.m. in the Winery Ruins of Beauty Ranch in Jack London State Historic Park, 2400 London Ranch Road, Glen Ellen.
At noon, the 13-mile round-trip hike to East Slope Trail starts from the Ranch parking lot. The hike will be led by Craig Anderson of LandPaths, Dave Chalk former board member of the Valley of the Moon Natural History Association and founder of the popular Bill and Dave Hikes, and John Lynch, Park naturalist of Jack London State Historic Park.
Two other free docent guided hikes to East Slope Trail will be offered, one on March 28 and one on May 2. Both of these will start at 10 a.m. to conclude a bit earlier in the afternoon than the March 14 hike.
The hikes are free except for $10 a car parking fee.
The hike begins in Beauty Ranch and makes its way to the Jack London Lake, circling to Mountain Trail through a bountiful evergreen forest, flush with spring wildflowers to the Ridge Trail trailhead and then onto the new East Slope Ridge Trail.
The beautiful Ridge trail is a slow elevation gain by a series of switchbacks through lush green with viewing opportunities of the Sonoma Valley and possibly the San Pablo Bay.
For those who are unsure of completing the full 13-mile round trip hike, there will be numerous turn-around points along the way with Park docents to lead people back to Beauty Ranch. Hikers should bring water, hiking poles, lunch, and binoculars, dress in layers and wear sturdy shoes.
For additional information on the free March 14 event as well as the two hike, visit jacklondonpark.com.
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