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By admin, March 16, 2010 6:34 am

Register on the iWalk Sonoma website for the iWALK Challenge. It begins March 15th and lasts for nine weeks until May 15th. Simply track how much you exercise.You can walk, run, bike, dance – whatever motivates you!

The goal is 150 minutes per week (that’s just 30 minutes a day, five days a week!).

Sign up so we know what community you are from and can enter you in weekly drawing for cool iWALK stuff! By participating, you’ll have fun and increase your fitness level!

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By admin, March 16, 2010 6:28 am

Did you know that two perennial creeks flow through Sebastopol? Get to know the topography and history of Sebastopol’s watersheds on this new 5.5 mile walk that explores the sometimes hidden paths of Calder and Zimpher creeks as they travel to the Laguna de Santa Rosa.

The walk begins at the Sebastopol Plaza (Petaluma Ave. and McKinley St.) at 9am. Wear comfortable shoes, a hat, and bring water, sunscreen and a snack. Heavy rain cancels. After the walk some of the group may wish to have lunch at a Sebastopol restaurant.  Leader for this walk is Geoffrey Skinner (blog author).

This walk is part of a series of walks around the City of Sebastopol — and one of many walks throughout Sonoma County now listed on the iWalk Sonoma website. iWalk Sonoma is a project of Healthy Sonoma 2020.

For more information, please contact Geoffrey Skinner

[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=105731890193058886264.00047eb7b0dc162eb4b6b&ll=38.404135,-122.827578&spn=0.013202,0.023539&t=h&output=embed&w=425&h=350]

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By admin, March 16, 2010 6:27 am

Sebastopol resident Lynn Deedler has big plans to get walkers and bikers off the highways. Though Sebastopol has a reputation for supporting green programs and businesses and is halfway along the Joe Rodota & West County trails, the two state highways that pass through town make it less friendly for folks who want to get around on their own power. Deedler, a member of the Sebastopol Design Review Board, has been putting in countless hours promoting alternatives that parallel Hwy 116 (a north-south route) and Hwy 12/Bodega Ave. (an east-west route). Regional Parks and the Sebastopol City Council have both endorsed the idea — an critical element toward being eligible for grants and other funding for feasibility studies and beyond.

The County is particularly interested because it would jump-start a long-dormant plan to convert the abandoned Petaluma & Santa Rosa Railroad route from Bloomfield Road in Sebastopol to Petaluma into an 11-mile long recreational trail. When the rail corridor was abandoned in the 1980s, the rights of way reverted to the original (or subsequent) owners of properties along the way. Many sections would have to be purchased or alternatives found, but one of the main barriers has been the lack of connection at the Sebastopol end. Deedler’s route runs from Bloomfield Road north to the Rodota Trail along the edge of the city; he has spoken with all the property owners along the way and found them nearly all to be receptive to considering rights-of-way for a trail. This trail would make a direct connection with the proposed Sebastopol-Petaluma trail and, with the Rodota and SMART Train corridor trail, would create a grand loop for commuting and recreational outings.

Deedler and his group, Sebastopol Trail Makers, would like to see an additional route — largely off-street — paralleling Bodega Ave. to connect the Rodota Trail to the schools on Watertrough Road, to the west of the City. The two trails could be connected by route curving around to the south of town to create a local loop approximately 7 miles long. If the Deedler’s plans come to fruition, they will significantly bolster Sebastopol’s reputation for bike-friendliness.

The next step is a feasibility study. Regional Parks wants to cover the entire length from Petaluma to Sebastopol, though most of the focus would likely be on the stretch between Bloomfield and the Rodota Trail due to the large number of private parcels involved; south of Bloomfield on the old Petaluma & Santa Rosa RR right-of-way should be less problematic. Regional Parks had an option to apply for funding for the feasibility study this year, but since a major project in Sonoma Valley was already underway, they decided to wait until the next funding cycle. Although the Sebastopol Trail Maker are eager to get underway, the delay will likely make for a stronger case next year.

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By admin, February 25, 2010 1:57 pm

Hundreds of runners hit the trails at Annadel on Feb. 7 to raise money for the park.  The 13.1 mile race was organized by the staff of Santa Rosa’s Fleet Feet Sports to support Annadel State Park in the attempt to “thwart partial and/or full park closure.” The looping course through the western portion of the park brought in about $20,000 that will go to the park through the Valley of the Moon Natural Natural History Association, a nonprofit set up to raise funds for Sonoma County parks.

Hikers on a fundraising 5-mile hike from the start at Spring Lake to Lake Ilsanjo followed the runners, traveling by way of the recent Trails Council project on Spring Creek trail.

The organizers have posted many photos and other information on the race website.

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By admin, February 23, 2010 6:49 pm

District acquisitions totaling $12 million to connect to Jack London State Historic Park

Today, Feb. 23, 2010, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, acting as the District’s Board of Directors, approved five contracts totaling $391,360 to prepare for the construction of the North Slope Ridge trail on Sonoma Mountain, and to assist the District with other trail development projects at the Montini and Healdsburg Ridge Open Space Preserves.

Continue reading 'North Slope Sonoma Mountain Ridge Trail Project Kicks-Off'»

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By admin, January 7, 2010 1:30 pm

Sonoma County Regional Parks is pleased to announce the kickoff of expanded public access at Tolay Lake Regional Park with the new Interim Plan (IP) Day-Use Permit Program.

The new IP Day-Use Permit Program allows the public to visit the park during posted hours once they’ve completed an hour-long orientation and obtained a permit. Regional Parks is offering these mandatory one-hour orientations, free of charge, which cover permit procedures, and rules & regulations. After the orientation, participants receive Tolay IP Day-Use Permits, along with maps, park rules & regulations, and gate access cards. Permit holders may use the park for a variety of activities, including hiking, bicycling, picnicking, or horseback riding. Regular day-use parking fees apply.

Orientation sessions:

ORIENTATIONS START PROMPTLY – LATE ARRIVALS WILL NOT BE ADMITTED

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By admin, January 7, 2010 1:24 pm

LandPaths, the Sonoma County Ag Preservation & Open Space District, and Sonoma County Regional Parks are offering an interim Permit Program at Taylor Mountain in Santa Rosa, similar to the one in place at Willow Creek and Tolay Lake. After a one-hour orientation on the property, you will receive a free permit allowing biking, hiking and horseback riding on the 1000+ acre preserve. Contact LandPaths to make a reservation (RSVP required). Orientations will be be held on the following dates:

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By admin, December 4, 2009 6:34 am

Completed causeway

Thanks to the great efforts of Tim Mayer and the State Parks staff, we successfully repaired a portion of the Spring Creek Trail located about one half mile up from the Spring Creek/Canyon trail intersection. For this project, completed the weekend of Oct. 31/Nov. 1, we built two sections of causeway to elevate the trail through particularly muddy spots. Over the course of the two days, a dozen volunteers prepared the trail bed with McLeods and mattocks, laid down geotextile to prevent materials from sinking into the muck, and moved rock and tread mix in wheelbarrows to create the raised surface before a final compaction.

A few large boulders hid under the tread with only a small portion cropping out — a few volunteers valiantly excavated and moved them out of the way. The other challenge was the amount of traffic on the trail while we worked, which had the benefit of forcing the crew to take frequent breaks.

Check out the rest of Tim’s photos from the project, then take a ride, hike or run to see the finished project. The causeways are located about 1/2 mi. south of the intersection of Spring Creek and Canyon trails; they are roughly 100 yards north of the Ilsanjo spillway drainage.

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By admin, October 20, 2009 4:15 pm

Now that we have had some rain and the soil is workable we want to begin the long-awaited Spring Creek Trail project.  The site, which is about half a mile up the trail from the intersection of the Spring Creek and Canyon trails, is a wet muddy mess in the winter, and we hope to build a long-lasting repair with short sections of causeways.

This summer we hauled rock and tread mix up to the project site, so some of the heavy work has already been done.  Now we would like to get together a crew of 6 or 8 to actually build the project.   The work will consist of preparing the trail bed with McLeods and mattocks, moving rock and tread mix in wheelbarrows for a short distance (50 to 100 feet, generally downhill), placing materials (fabric, border rocks, drain rock, and tread mix), and finally compacting the surface.  We plan to begin work on Saturday, October 31.  This trail is gets a lot of use, and we don’t want to leave the project unfinished, so those who can will work on Sunday, Nov 1 as well.

If the weather doesn’t cooperate for the 31st or 1st, we’ll try again the following weekend, Nov. 7th and/or 8th.

Leader for this project is Tim Mayer. Please contact Tim directly to sign up for either (or both) days.

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By admin, September 25, 2009 5:29 pm

Sonoma County Regional Park recently announced a new day-use permit program to increase access to Tolay Lake Regional Park. The program, similar to that implemented at the Willow Creek addition to Sonoma Coast State Park, allows the public to visit the park during posted hours once they’ve completed an hour-long orientation and obtained a permit. Tolay Lake Re­gional Park will be open to permit holders for hiking, bicycling, horseback riding and picnicking starting September 18th. See below for a list of upcoming orientations For information on these and future orientations visit the Regional Parks Tolay Interim Plan page.  Hats-off to the park staff, volunteers and community mem­bers who supported the access planning for this south-county jewel.

Orientation sessions:

ORIENTATIONS START PROMPTLY – LATE ARRIVALS WILL NOT BE ADMITTED