Don't miss the happy, wet doggies of Water Bark
The annual Water Bark dog swim event is here, starting this weekend at the Spring Lake Swimming Lagoon. For the first three weekends of this month — Oct. 2-3, 9-10 and 16-17 — dogs will be taking over the water-quality-controlled Swimming Lagoon, having off-leash fun like only canines can.
Last year's Water Bark was canceled due to the pandemic, making this year's even more highly anticipated. Water Bark is a fundraiser for Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation, which supports trail construction and maintenance, fire preparedness and other critical Regional Parks projects. Tickets are $10 per dog at the door; pre-sale tickets, available online through the Foundation, are $7 per dog for Regional Parks members or $9 per dog for non-members. (Photo by Julie Vader Photography.)
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New trail offers peak Taylor Mountain experience
As part of ongoing improvements to the park, we contracted with the all-volunteer Redwood Trails Alliance to create this new route up Taylor Mountain’s eastern slope. Sky Lupine Trail replaces the much-used Eastern Trail’s straight-up climb with a pleasant meander, which reduces erosion, provides greater ease of travel, and offers a more scenic trip to the 1,400-foot summit.
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Clearing fuels now helps us manage fire later
Crucial vegetation management in our parks, including at Hood Mountain and North Sonoma Mountain regional parks, just got another boost due to a $1 million Cal Fire grant to the Sonoma Valley Wildlands Collaborative, a group of six land management organizations including us. With the help of such grants, we’ve been sending crews to Hood Mountain, Shiloh Ranch Regional Park (pictured above) and other parks, resulting in a more fire-safe Sonoma County.
As Hattie Brown, our natural resources manager, told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat in a recent story on the grant-funded work, “Increasing our resilience to wildfire takes working on a landscape scale.” Thanks to these grants, that’s exactly what we’re doing.
Coming up, North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park’s main entry road is scheduled to be closed from Monday, Oct. 11 to Friday, Oct. 15, and again the following week on Oct. 18 and 19, so that crews may conduct vegetation management there.
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Boat launch coming to Guerneville River Park
We've begun building a new boat launch at Guerneville River Park, and by next spring, locals will have a great new option for launching their canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddleboards on the Russian River. The new launch is sure to be a welcome addition in a region where public river access has been lacking.
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Critter cam footage: bears and bobcats
Wild animals abound in Sonoma County’s open spaces, and luckily, our wildlife cameras give us glimpses of them. Black bears like this one reside in Hood Mountain and Stillwater Cove regional parks, and have been seen passing through many of our other parks, too. Wondering what to do if you see a bear? Click the link for expert advice on how to make sure the encounter is a safe and pleasant one for all parties.
Bobcats are found in nearly every regional park, and the clips making up this video were taken at Taylor Mountain and Hood Mountain regional parks as well as Carrington Coast Ranch, which is not yet open to the public. Bobcats are often confused with mountain lions, and the linked post offers tips to help you tell them apart.
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Video: How to properly put out a campfire
In our latest “Ask Parks” video, Corbin demonstrates the right way to put out a campfire by making some good old-fashioned “campfire soup.” Please watch and share this short video to help promote fire safety in our parks.
And remember: If it’s too hot to touch it, it’s too hot to leave it!
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Hike of the Month: Shiloh's Big Leaf Trail
As summer turns to fall, you may begin seeing autumn colors amid the evergreen foliage. There are a few native trees in Sonoma County whose leaves turn red or gold in autumn — and on some trails, they grow especially big and beautiful.
That’s why our October Hike of the Month is Big Leaf Trail at Shiloh Ranch Regional Park. The name refers to the big leaf maple, a West Coast native whose unmistakable leaves are the largest of any maple, with some growing more than a foot wide. Already, the maple leaves of Big Leaf Trail are turning gold and falling, one by one, as are the smaller red leaves of the California buckeye. Look for both among the oaks and madrones on this gorgeous shaded trail near Shiloh’s main trailhead.
Big Leaf Trail is easy, mostly flat, and less than a mile one-way. For a more substantial hike, turn left at its terminus to climb Ridge Trail, which offers expansive views of the Santa Rosa Plain from its 740-foot vista point. Trail Notes: Hikers, bikers and horseback riders all share the trails at Shiloh, but it is one of the few Regional Parks that does not allow dogs beyond the parking lot and picnic area. Parking is $7 or free to park members.
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Choose your adventure
The wide world of Sonoma County Regional Parks is available to all — children, teens, adults, seniors and families — via our extensive activities, which focus on science, art, exploration, physical fitness, and learning new ways to enjoy this diverse and beautiful county. A perfect example is the Teen Wilderness Survivalist series, which comes to Tolay Lake Regional Park on Oct. 27, where teens age 13-17 will learn useful skills like outdoor cooking, shelter building and more.
Note: Outdoor activities will be canceled if the air quality index (AQI) exceeds 150 at a given location. On smoky days, check the host park’s AQI by looking at the map on PurpleAir.com. Also, due to ongoing concerns related to Covid, we will not be holding the Tolay Fall Festival this year.
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Sonoma County Regional Parks
(707) 565-2041
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