Every Trail Tells a Story
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park
Sugarloaf Ridge is part of a length of Coastal Range called the Mayacamas Mountains, which border Sonoma and Napa Valleys.The distinct ridge, volcanic in origin, is impressive-and just a little bit spooky when wrapped in mist or when turkey vultures circle it.
More than 75 percent of 3,900-acre Sugarloaf Ridge State Park was burned by the 2017 Nun’s Fire and 2020 Glass Fire. On a more positive note, the park has made a surprisingly vibrant recovery.
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park is operated solely by Sonoma Ecology Center. The community nonprofit offers many interpretive programs of interest to hikers including Forest Bathing Walks, Botany Walks, Full Moon Hikes and Family Hikes. Learn more at sugarloafpark.org.
The state park is laced with 25 miles of trail, leading through three distinct ecosystems. Chaparral blankets the high ridges, except for the park’s aptly named high point, Bald Mountain. Your reward for climbing this mountain is a terrific view stretching from the Napa Valley vineyards to the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada.
In the canyons watered by Sonoma Creek and its tributaries grow Douglas fir, oak, big-leaf maple, and even a grove of redwood. Swollen by winter rains, Sonoma Creek generates a handsome, 25-foot waterfall that cascades below the park campground.
From Highway 101 in Santa Rosa, exit on Highway 12 and travel east 11 miles to Adobe Canyon Road. Turn left and follow it four miles to the hikers’ parking lot a bit before road’s end.
From the east end of the parking lot, hit the trail which leads into a meadow and soon splits. Join Lower Bald Mountain Trail, which crosses a meadow.
The trail ascends through a fire-scarred slope dotted with toyon and coyote bush. After a mile’s brisk climb, the path intersects paved Bald Mountain Trail. A strategically placed bench allows you to catch your breath and to gaze out over the park.
Proceed right on the road, ascending steeply 0.25 mile and passing a junction with signed Vista Trail.
Bald Mountain Trail ascends into the chaparral-chamise, ceanothus and coyote bush. In the spring California poppies, along with blue and white lupine blossom alongside the trail. My favorite is the showy purple bush lupine.
At the 1.75-mile mark, ignore the trail leading to Red Mountain, a 2,548-foot peak that hosts an array of communications equipment. Continue another 0.25 mile, accompanied by oaks, big-leaf maple and bay, to a junction. The paved road curves toward Red Mountain. Turn right on Bald Mountain Trail, which continues as a dirt fire road.
As you ascend, you’ll note that chaparral blankets the highest ridges, except in the vicinity of aptly named Bald Mountain; the park’s high point is instead surfaced with grass and a bluish rock (serpentine). At the 2.5-mile mark, you’ll reach a junction with Gray Pine Trail and be within steps of the summit.
From the top of 2,729-foot Bald Mountain, enjoy the view of the Napa Valley below, Mt. Saint Helena above. Look to the southwest for Mt. Tamalpais and the Golden Gate Bridge, 50 miles to the southeast for mighty Mt. Diablo. On especially clear days, the panorama includes the High Sierra, Point Reyes and San Francisco Bay.
A bench on the summit is as splendid a place for lunch as the hiker will find. After savoring the view, descend eastward on Gray Pine Trail, a fire road that’s as good as route as any to contemplate how the park’s gray pine-along with Douglas fir and oak and all the manzanita and chaparral flora-is recovering from wildfire.
After a mile or so, the tall, single-needled gray pine show up alongside the trail. The trail then leaves the pines behind and drops to a branch of the Sonoma Creek, following its banks on a more mellow descent. You’ll cross the creek (easy to wade except in times of times of high winter/early spring runoff). You’ll pass a trail intersection with Vista Trail and soon thereafter need to cross Sonoma Creek again.
Five miles into your hike, Gray Pine Trail ends at an intersection with Meadow Trail. Join Meadow Trail for a traverse of the meadow. You’ll cross a parking lot, pass Ferguson Observatory (a small facility with a classroom and a reputation for fine astronomy instruction), then continue on Meadow Trail to a junction with Lower Bald Mountain Trail. Retrace your steps a quarter mile to the trailhead.