Veterans, active duty get free holiday parking
In honor of Veterans Day, Regional Parks is offering free parking for military members, veterans and their families from Thursday, Nov. 11 to Sunday, Nov. 14. That's at all your county parks, including Doran Regional Park (pictured). We hope you’ll take advantage of this free parking on the holiday and through the weekend as a token our sincere appreciation to all those who serve.
Passes must be picked up in advance by bringing proper identification to one of three county locations (all offices are closed Nov. 11 but open Nov. 12).
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Hike of the Month: Shorttail Gulch to Pinnacle Gulch
Some say this is the best time to visit the Sonoma Coast. That’s a tough call — this stretch of coastline is amazing all year long — but the sometimes-misty, sometimes-sunny, always-gorgeous fall weather does make November an ideal month for a beach hike.
For our November Hike of the Month, we have the perfect suggestion: the secluded beaches of the Shorttail Gulch-Pinnacle Gulch trails on Bodega Bay. You can create a looped hike by taking the Shorttail Gulch Coastal Access Trail to its small, often-empty beach (pictured), walking north along the rocky shore to a larger beach at Pinnacle Gulch, and hiking back on the Pinnacle Gulch Coastal Access Trail.
This moderate hike totals 2.4 miles and should be planned for low tide. Linger at the beaches and enjoy the sights, which include the two trails’ connected coves, an array of tide pools and rock formations, various shorebirds, occasional whale sightings, and sunny-day views of Bodega Head and Point Reyes. For a longer low-tide hike, continue north on the beach from Pinnacle Gulch for an out-and-back walk to Doran Beach.
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Welcome rains bring flooding to several parks
The rainstorms hitting Sonoma County in late October were fantastic — and very much needed! As intended, their floodwaters filled parts of Spring Lake Regional Park (pictured), which doubles as an overflow reservoir for Spring and Santa Rosa creeks. And in other parks, too, the waters rose — like at Gualala Point Regional Park, where we evacuated campsites ahead of flooding. Three days later, the sites were good as new.
In all, 15 county open spaces were temporarily closed due to the storms. But the rains did their job, recharging reservoirs and invigorating our November landscape.
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Critter cam footage: animal babies
Hope you like really cute things! Because this video of assorted baby animals playing and growing up in Sonoma County’s parks is really, really cute. Besides the baby deer pictured, there are baby foxes, baby bobcats, baby opossums hitching a ride on their mom's back (awwww!) and more.
Your Regional Parks are great places for people to enjoy, but they are also home to a multitude of wildlife. Modern wildlife cameras can give us an especially sweet peek into the early lives of these critters.
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We have much to be thankful for
Regional Parks is thankful to be operating such beautiful open spaces. We’re equally thankful for you, our parkgoers and supporters, whose ongoing participation allows us to expand and improve your park system while providing crucial services, making this county an ever-better place to live and play.
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Your support leads to better youth programs
Like the parks themselves, youths need ongoing support. Purchasing memberships and donating to the Parks Foundation are two key ways you can provide that support. As the holiday season approaches, we hope you will consider giving a parks gift membership, or contributing to the Parks Foundation’s fall fundraising, to help keep parks — and kids — vital and thriving.
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A preview of new parkland on Wright Hill
We are preparing to host the first in a series of park preview days at the future Wright Hill parkland recently transferred to us by Sonoma Ag + Open Space. If we can get the site ready in time, our goal is to offer a preview day in mid-November, followed by dates in December, January and in the spring. We'll announce any November preview day on Facebook and Instagram once we confirm the date, so follow us there for more details. We will also post future Wright Hill dates soon, and will announce those in our December newsletter and on social media.
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Choose your adventure
As the holiday season fast approaches, parents seek day camps for their kids that are fun, outdoorsy, educational and affordable. We have a suggestion: Thanksgiving Day Camp, at the newly renovated Environmental Discovery Center at Spring Lake Regional Park. This two-day camp for ages 7 to 11, held on the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving, is perfect for kids who enjoy crafts, nature, and fun.
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Sonoma County Regional Parks
(707) 565-2041
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