Sugarloaf Ridge holds Haunted Jubilee Saturday

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Sugarloaf Ridge State Park’s inception, which will be celebrated with fall festivities at the park. Sugarloaf Haunted Jubilee: Celebrating 50 Years of Family Fun, on Saturday, Oct. 25, runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Sonoma Ecology Center and Team Sugarloaf invite the public to celebrate this major milestone by enjoying food and refreshments, live music courtesy of the Adam Traum Trio, a haunted hike, activities for kids, straw bale fort, Halloween-costume contest for kids, pumpkin painting and a raffle for some great prizes. Free and open to the public, this is a fall celebration suitable for all ages.

“This is a special place, that so many people enjoy throughout the year, and over the years,” said John Roney, park manager. “We want to honor it in a fun way.” It was from this sense of fun that the idea grew to throw a birthday bash for the park with a seasonal theme.

With camping, hiking, stargazing at the Robert Ferguson Observatory, bike and horse trails and picnicking there are lots of ways to enjoy this park. Many have enjoyed live music at Sugarloaf all summer, attending the Funky Fridays concert series. It seemed fitting to have a musical celebration and another great band is lined up for the Sugarloaf Haunted Jubilee. “The Haunted Hike is going to be our version of a haunted house, hopefully with some fun surprises along the way,” said Roney.

Sugarloaf has a long history, as home to Wappo Indians before the Spanish settlers came to the area. American settlers were next, drawn to California by the fertile land of the valleys. But farming, as they found it at the base of Sugarloaf, was limited and marginal. The state bought the property in 1920 in order to dam the creek and provide water for Sonoma State Hospital. But property owners along the creek objected, and until World War II, use of the area was limited to camping, picnicking, and a Boy Scout camp. In 1964, it became part of the State Park system, encompassing some 3,900 acres. Although the area has been used for hundreds of years by native peoples and settlers alike, it was 50 years ago, in 1964, that it became a state park and its future was secured as parkland.

That future was threatened somewhat when Sugarloaf Ridge State Park closed in December 2011 due to California state budgetary challenges. At that time, Sonoma Ecology Center spearheaded action to keep Sugarloaf open and thriving, by helping to create Team Sugarloaf. This is a collaborative of five nonprofits that now run and operate the park on behalf of the state, which owns the property. The five Team Sugarloaf organizations are, the Sonoma Ecology Center, the Robert Ferguson Observatory, United Camps Conferences and Retreats, Sonoma County Trails Council, and Valley of the Moon Natural History Association.

With food, refreshments and Fall activities for all ages, the Sugarloaf Haunted Jubilee will be a fun and fitting celebration for the 50th birthday of this much beloved park, that so many have dedicated themselves to preserving over the years, and so many continue to enjoy.

The event is free. Parking at Sugarloaf is $8.