Where to walk and ride in the valley — where the trails go, how hard they are, and which ones welcome dogs and bikes.
Trione-Annadel State Park
Five thousand oak-and-fir acres on Santa Rosa’s doorstep, and northern California’s great mountain-biking commons. The prize at the middle is Lake Ilsanjo; the cobbles underfoot were quarried here a century ago for San Francisco’s streets.
To: Lake Ilsanjo
Start: Channel Drive trailhead
The route: (from the lot) 0.08 → Violetti Fire Road 0.13 → RIP RJD 0.27 → Cobblestone Trail 0.25 → connector path 0.14 → Orchard Loop 0.22 → Orchard Trail 0.4 → Rough-Go Trail 0.41 → connector path 0.36 — return the way you came
A short, shady out-and-back through Douglas-fir, bay and redwood near the main entrance — a low-effort option before the trails climb into the open meadows.
Start: Channel Drive trailhead
The route: Channel Trail → Live Oak Trail — return the way you came
To: Lake Ilsanjo
The classic direct route — about 2.5 miles each way from forest into open oak meadows to man-made Lake Ilsanjo, with restrooms and picnic tables at the water.
Start: Channel Drive trailhead
The route: Warren Richardson Trail — return the way you came
To: Lake Ilsanjo
A popular loop that reaches Lake Ilsanjo, circles part of it on the Lake Trail, and returns on the steep Steve's 'S' Trail.
Start: Channel Drive trailhead
The route: Warren Richardson Trail → Lake Trail → Steve's "S" Trail → North Burma Trail
A steady climb past Frog Pond Meadow with wide views of False Lake Meadow, Hood Mountain and Sonoma Valley. Traffic noise fades quickly on this quiet upland loop.
Start: Channel Drive trailhead
The route: Cobblestone Trail → Orchard Trail → Rough-Go Trail
Climbs to the historic Wymore quarry, where basalt paving blocks were cut in the early 1900s — up to 100,000 a month before it closed in 1913. Quarry rubble still lines the route.
Start: Channel Drive trailhead
The route: Cobblestone Trail → Live Oak Trail → North Burma Trail
To: Ledson Marsh
The guide's featured east-side loop: uphill through scrub to oak, madrone and redwood, topping out on the open ridge below Bennett Mountain, then on to seasonal Ledson Marsh before returning via Pig Flat and Schultz. Starts 1.1 miles in on Lawndale Road.
Start: Lawndale Road trailhead (Kenwood)
The route: Lawndale Trail → Pig Flat Trail → Schultz Trail → Ridge Trail → Marsh Trail
To: Bennett Mountain
Climbs past Ledson Marsh to the high country near Bennett Mountain — the park's highest ground at about 1,880 feet — for broad views over Sonoma Valley. Steep and exposed near the top.
Start: Lawndale Road trailhead (Kenwood)
The route: Lawndale Trail → Marsh Trail → Ridge Trail → Bennett Peak Trail — return the way you came
Loops through the park's interior with more evidence of early-1900s cobblestone quarrying along Two Quarry and Marsh trails; rolling oak-woodland and meadow views.
Start: Channel Drive trailhead
The route: Warren Richardson Trail → Marsh Trail → Two Quarry Trail → Ridge Trail
To: Lake Ilsanjo
Enters from the quiet northeast corner and works over the ridge to Lake Ilsanjo — a much less-crowded approach than Channel Drive.
Start: Schultz Road trailhead
The route: Schultz Trail → Ridge Trail → Lake Trail — return the way you came
To: Lake Ilsanjo
A shaded creek-canyon climb to the open ridge and around Lake Ilsanjo — consistently the single most-reviewed hike in the park, and a classic spring-wildflower and lake outing.
Start: Channel Drive trailhead
The route: Spring Creek Trail → Canyon Trail → Rough-Go Trail → Cobblestone Trail
To: Ledson Marsh
The big upland loop past Hunter Spring to Ledson Marsh, a cattail wetland famed for Indian-warrior wildflowers (Mar-May) and red-legged frogs — a signature Annadel destination featured throughout the park brochure. Long day; cool weather and water advised.
Start: Channel Drive trailhead
The route: Canyon Trail → Marsh Trail → Ridge Trail → Two Quarry Trail → Warren Richardson Trail
A fully shaded streamside trail beneath alders, redwoods and arching bays — the brochure's pick for a hot day — and the main Spring Lake-side entry into the park.
Start: Spring Lake (Violetti) access
The route: Spring Creek Trail → Canyon Trail — return the way you came
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park
The valley’s high country: the headwaters of Sonoma Creek, a 25-foot seasonal waterfall, the Robert Ferguson Observatory, and Bald Mountain’s summit view from Sonoma to the Sierra on a clear winter day.
A shaded, largely ADA-accessible interpretive loop along Sonoma Creek, keyed to a numbered nature brochure from the visitor center.
Start: Adobe Canyon Road, main park lot
The route: Creekside Nature Trail — return the way you came
An easy family loop from the observatory across the sunny meadow (past the Planet Walk) and back through forested hillsides with valley views.
Start: Robert Ferguson Observatory lot
The route: Meadow Trail → Hillside Trail
To: Sonoma Creek Falls
The park's marquee winter/spring hike — redwoods, ferns and mossy boulders along Sonoma Creek to a 25-foot seasonal waterfall.
Start: Canyon/Pony Gate (waterfall) trailhead
The route: Canyon Trail → Pony Gate Trail
A half-day loop through grassland, oak woodland and chaparral with strong spring wildflowers and open valley vistas, without going all the way to the summit.
Start: Adobe Canyon Road, main park lot
The route: Stern Trail → Lower Bald Mountain Trail → Bald Mountain Trail → Vista Trail → Gray Pine Trail → Meadow Trail
To: Bald Mountain summit (2,729 ft)
The classic climb to the park's 2,729-foot high point on a mostly exposed fire road, with a clear-day panorama from the Sierra and Mount Diablo to Mount Tamalpais and Mount St. Helena.
Start: Adobe Canyon Road, main park lot
The route: Stern Trail → Lower Bald Mountain Trail → Bald Mountain Trail — return the way you came
To: Bald Mountain summit (2,729 ft)
The guide's featured loop: up the Stern and Bald Mountain trails to the summit, then down the ridgeline on Gray Pine with a seasonal creek crossing, returning via the Meadow Trail. Big views the whole way up.
Start: Adobe Canyon Road, main park lot
The route: Stern Trail → Bald Mountain Trail → Gray Pine Trail → Meadow Trail
A quieter high-country loop that turns off below the summit onto the flank of Red Mountain (2,548 ft) and drops through the headwaters of Sonoma Creek.
Start: Adobe Canyon Road, main park lot
The route: Bald Mountain Trail → Red Mountain Trail → Headwaters Trail → Vista Trail → Gray Pine Trail
Climbs the steep eastern ridge (Brushy Peaks, ~2,243 ft) along the outer planets of the Planet Walk, then loops back via Gray Pine and Meadow. Very steep pitches; trekking poles help.
Start: Robert Ferguson Observatory lot
The route: Meadow Trail → Brushy Peaks Trail → Gray Pine Trail
To: Gunsight Rock
A long, demanding climb where the Goodspeed becomes the Nattkemper Trail in Hood Mountain Regional Park, topping out at Gunsight Rock's dramatic view over Sonoma Valley.
Start: Goodspeed trailhead (lower Adobe Canyon)
The route: Goodspeed Trail — return the way you came
Hood Mountain Regional Park
The wild, steep side of the Mayacamas. Gunsight Rock, just below Hood’s 2,730-foot summit, is the valley’s best hard-won overlook; nearly everything here climbs, and extreme fire weather (and lingering Glass Fire damage) can close parts of the upper mountain — check before you drive up.
Start: Pythian Road trailhead
The route: Lower Johnson Ridge Trail 0.18 → Pythian Road 0.17 → Lawson Trail 1.7 → Pythian Road 0.74 → Lower Johnson Ridge Trail 0.18
A short climb from the Pythian lot to a rim overlook of the Sonoma Valley — the easiest taste of Hood's views.
Start: Pythian Road trailhead
The route: Lower Johnson Ridge Trail → Lawson Trail → Rim View — return the way you came
To: Merganser Pond
Climbs about two miles to Merganser Pond and the park's two hike-in environmental campsites, through oak woodland with small ponds along the way.
Start: Pythian Road trailhead
The route: Lower Johnson Ridge Trail → Valley View Trail → Merganser Trail — return the way you came
A shorter loop reaching viewpoints over the Sonoma Valley; on clear days the Golden Gate Bridge is visible far to the south.
Start: Pythian Road trailhead
The route: Lower Johnson Ridge Trail → Valley View Trail → Pond Trail
A rolling loop through meadows and forest recovering from the 2017 Nuns Fire, threading the mid-mountain benches of the Pythian side.
Start: Pythian Road trailhead
The route: Lower Johnson Ridge Trail → Panorama Ranch Trail → Orchard Meadow Trail → Pond Trail
To: Hood Mountain summit (2,730 ft)
The most direct route to the 2,730-foot summit, the highest peak in the Mayacamas, with distant North Bay views.
Start: Pythian Road trailhead
The route: Lower Johnson Ridge Trail → Pond Trail → Panorama Ranch Trail → Upper Johnson Trail → Summit Trail — return the way you came
To: Gunsight Rock
Climbs to Gunsight Rock, a rocky outcrop just below the summit framing sweeping Sonoma Valley views; clear days reveal Mount Tam, the Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay.
Start: Pythian Road trailhead
The route: Lower Johnson Ridge Trail → Pond Trail → Upper Johnson Trail → Hood Mountain Trail → Gunsight Rock Trail — return the way you came
To: Gunsight Rock
From the top of Los Alamos Road the route drops to the Santa Rosa Creek crossing before a long climb to the summit and Gunsight Rock, returning on the Summit Trail. Much of the corridor burned in 2017.
Start: Los Alamos Road trailhead
The route: Hood Mountain Trail → Summit Trail → Gunsight Rock Trail — return the way you came
To: Homestead Meadow
The park's one genuinely easy, family- and dog-friendly outing: a short downhill walk from the Los Alamos lot to Homestead Meadow and the shady, seasonal headwaters of Santa Rosa Creek. The only effort is the climb back.
Start: Los Alamos Road trailhead
The route: Santa Rosa Creek Trail → Alder Glen Trail — return the way you came
Sonoma Valley Regional Park
The valley’s everyday park: gentle oak-woodland paths between Glen Ellen and Eldridge, a paved multi-use spine, spring wildflowers, and the off-leash Elizabeth Anne Perrone dog park. The whole family, dogs and gravel bikes included.
Start: Highway 12 main lot, Glen Ellen
The route: East Sutton Lake Trail 0.51 → Valley of the Moon Trail 0.4 → Milkmaid Trail 0.29 → West Sutton Lake Trail 0.37
To: the oak-ridge viewpoint
The park's classic signature circuit and its single most-hiked route: up the unpaved Woodland Star Trail to the oak ridge for Sonoma Valley and Mayacamas views, along the top on the Sonoma Valley Trail, then down and back on the paved, creekside Valley of the Moon Trail.
Start: Highway 12 main lot, Glen Ellen
The route: Woodland Star Trail → Sonoma Valley Trail → Valley of the Moon Trail
The park's paved, ADA-accessible spine winds 1.3 miles through oak woodland along a seasonal creek — flat, stroller- and wheelchair-friendly, and welcoming to leashed dogs.
Start: Highway 12 main lot, Glen Ellen
The route: Valley of the Moon Trail — return the way you came
To: Suttonfield Lake
Short spur trails drop to willow-fringed Suttonfield Lake, a small seasonal pond that draws dragonflies and waterfowl in spring.
Start: Highway 12 main lot, Glen Ellen
The route: Valley of the Moon Trail → Woodland Star Trail → West Sutton Lake Trail → East Sutton Lake Trail
The classic loop climbs the oak-and-grassland hillside above the paved path and returns along the creek. Spring brings showy wildflowers and open valley views.
Start: Highway 12 main lot, Glen Ellen
The route: Valley of the Moon Trail → Woodland Star Trail
The 2015 northern addition offers the park's most sweeping views over Sonoma Valley to the Mayacamas, plus a short loop around little Damselfly Pond.
Start: Highway 12 main lot, Glen Ellen
The route: Valley of the Moon Trail → Cougar Trail → Damselfly Loop — return the way you came
A hiking-only spur descends to shady Black Canyon Creek in the park's northwest before climbing back to the ridge. Lush and green after winter rains.
Start: Highway 12 main lot, Glen Ellen
The route: Valley of the Moon Trail → Woodland Star Trail → Black Canyon Creek Trail
Links most of the park's named trails — the paved spine, the ridge loop, the north-end viewpoints and the creek — for a comprehensive tour of oak woodland, wildflowers and valley vistas.
Start: Highway 12 main lot, Glen Ellen
The route: Valley of the Moon Trail → Woodland Star Trail → Cougar Trail → Damselfly Loop → Sonoma Valley Trail → Black Canyon Creek Trail
North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park
The quiet shoulder of Sonoma Mountain, redwood canyons and high meadows on the Sonoma Mountain Ridge Trail, with Bennett Valley below and a back-door connection toward Jack London State Historic Park.
To: Bennett Valley overlook
A short, wheelchair-accessible loop through a tunnel of bay laurel and over a Matanzas Creek footbridge to a bench with views across Bennett Valley.
Start: Sonoma Mountain Road lot (5297 Sonoma Mountain Rd)
The route: Vista Trail → North Sonoma Mountain Trail — return the way you came
A steady climb on a gravel ranch road to a broad-canopied bay laurel at about 1,500 feet, opening to sweeping views over Sonoma County toward Napa and Mendocino peaks. One of the park's most-hiked routes.
Start: Sonoma Mountain Road lot (5297 Sonoma Mountain Rd)
The route: Umbrella Tree Trail — return the way you came
To: a Bennett Valley ridge view
The main ridge trail climbs through oak and bay woodland, crossing Matanzas Creek, to a turnaround with 180-degree views over Bennett Valley about two miles up. Bikes allowed on this lower stretch of the Bay Area Ridge Trail.
Start: Sonoma Mountain Road lot (5297 Sonoma Mountain Rd)
The route: North Sonoma Mountain Trail — return the way you came
To: Sonoma Mountain summit ridge
A long switchbacking ascent on the Bay Area Ridge Trail to nearly 2,000 feet, continuing across the boundary onto Jack London's Mountain Trail toward the 2,370-foot summit.
Start: Sonoma Mountain Road lot (5297 Sonoma Mountain Rd)
The route: North Sonoma Mountain Trail — return the way you came
Jack London State Historic Park
The author’s own mountain. Jack London’s Beauty Ranch and the stone ruins of Wolf House sit at the foot of nearly 29 miles of trail that climb through redwood and Douglas-fir to a 2,370-foot shoulder of Sonoma Mountain, past a lake London dammed himself and the 1,800-year-old Grandmother Tree.
To: Wolf House ruins
Passes the museum and the Londons' grave to the massive stone ruins of Wolf House, the mansion that burned days before completion in 1913. Leashed dogs allowed in this historic zone.
Start: House of Happy Walls / main lot
The route: Wolf House Service Road — return the way you came
A self-guided loop through London's working ranch: the winery ruins, his cottage, the distillery, the barns, two 40-foot silos and the circular Pig Palace. Flat and family-friendly.
Start: Beauty Ranch / upper lot
The route: Beauty Ranch Trail
To: London Lake
A gentle climb to the four-acre lake London dammed on Kohler Creek in 1914, with its stone dam and 1915 bathhouse — now a wetland that once hosted swimming parties.
Start: Beauty Ranch / upper lot
The route: Lake Service Road → Lake Trail → Lake Spur Trail — return the way you came
A rolling loop linking the Vineyard and Quarry trails past the old rock quarry London used for ranch stone, with mixed forest and vineyard-edge views.
Start: Beauty Ranch / upper lot
The route: Vineyard Trail → Quarry Trail → Lake Trail
Loops above London Lake on the Upper Lake Trail and returns through shaded redwood and fir along Graham Creek via the Fallen Bridge trails.
Start: Beauty Ranch / upper lot
The route: Lake Trail → Upper Lake Trail → Old Fallen Bridge Trail → Fallen Bridge Trail
To: the Grandmother Tree
Reaches the Grandmother Tree, an ancient coast redwood roughly 14 feet across and an estimated 1,800-2,000 years old, standing in a creek drainage on the mountain's lower slopes.
Start: Beauty Ranch / upper lot
The route: Lake Trail → Vineyard Trail → Ancient Redwood Trail — return the way you came
To: Fern Lake
Winds through the southeastern woodlands to little Fern Lake near the Camp Via boundary — a shaded, seldom-crowded pond good for birdlife.
Start: Beauty Ranch / upper lot
The route: Lake Trail → Vineyard Trail → Fern Lake Trail → Inner Fern Lake Trail — return the way you came
To: May's Clearing
Ascends the Mountain Trail through redwood groves to May's Clearing, an open bench with sweeping views over Sonoma Valley to San Pablo Bay and Mount Diablo.
Start: Beauty Ranch / upper lot
The route: Lake Trail → Mountain Trail — return the way you came
A lollipop climbing through redwoods to London's experimental orchard, threaded by short named tree trails (apple, apricot, pear, plum) from his early-1900s agricultural trials.
Start: Beauty Ranch / upper lot
The route: Mountain Trail → Lake Trail → Upper Fallen Bridge Trail → Historic Orchard Trail → Orchard Road → Vineyard Trail
To: the 2,370-ft park summit
The park's signature climb, past London Lake and Deer Camp's redwoods to the 2,370-foot park summit and Hayfields overlook, with near 360-degree views to Mount St. Helena, San Pablo Bay and Mount Diablo.
Start: Beauty Ranch / upper lot
The route: Lake Trail → Mountain Trail → Hayfields Trail — return the way you came
A long climb up the Mountain Trail to the Sonoma Ridge Trail and its upper loop along the eastern flank of Sonoma Mountain — part of the Bay Area Ridge Trail — through fir forest and grassland with wide ridge-top vistas.
Start: Beauty Ranch / upper lot
The route: Mountain Trail → Sonoma Ridge Trail → Sonoma Ridge Loop — return the way you came
A quieter shaded backcountry loop above London Lake linking Woodcutter's Meadow, Cowan Meadow and the fern-lined Asbury Creek drainage — a local 'Trail of the Week' that fills the gap between the lake walks and the summit climbs.
Start: Beauty Ranch / upper lot
The route: Lake Trail → Mountain Trail → Cowan Meadow Trail → Asbury Creek Trail → Upper Fallen Bridge Trail
Crane Creek Regional Park
Over the hill on Sonoma Mountain’s western slope, above Rohnert Park: 128 acres of grazed oak grassland where the whole family — dogs on leash included — can walk a mile of gentle loops. Spring brings fiddleneck, lupine and poppies (the trails are named for them); there is an 18-hole disc golf course, and the compacted-gravel Creek Trail is wheelchair accessible.
The park's longest posted loop and the fullest tour of it: creekside shade, the open Buckeye rise, and the Fiddleneck ridge back. Bikes and horses welcome.
Start: Pressley Road main lot (5000 Pressley Rd, Rohnert Park)
The route: Creek Trail → Buckeye Trail → Fiddleneck Trail
The park's signature circuit: up the grassland on Fiddleneck, back along the creek in the oaks. Wildflowers from March through May.
Start: Pressley Road main lot (5000 Pressley Rd, Rohnert Park)
The route: Fiddleneck Trail → Creek Trail
A short family circuit named for the spring lupine, with the valley opening up west toward Cotati as you climb.
Start: Pressley Road main lot (5000 Pressley Rd, Rohnert Park)
The route: Creek Trail → Lupine Trail → Fiddleneck Trail
The shortest way to see the poppies: a brisk half-hour circuit from the lot, steeper than its length suggests.
Start: Pressley Road main lot (5000 Pressley Rd, Rohnert Park)
The route: Creek Trail → Poppy Trail → Fiddleneck Trail
A quick leg-stretch to the ridge for the raptor view over the grassland - the shortest posted loop in the park.
Start: Pressley Road main lot (5000 Pressley Rd, Rohnert Park)
The route: Fiddleneck Trail → Hawk Ridge Trail