(Part 3) Finally, for the icing on the cake, or the final swig of the glass, head to Bartholomew Park, northeast of Sonoma’s plaza. The 400-acre park is home to a winery, museum, vineyards and picnic areas, but it also has three miles of hiking trails, which include a bit of workout in a mile-long hike to about 600 feet up. A combination of stairs and tight turns make it a bit of a strenuous, if short, stretch. At the… Read More »
Part 2: Sonoma Valley Regional Park, on Highway 12 just east of Glen Ellen. Like Maxwell Farms, more people probably know this park by its roadside enclosed area, in this case a fenced dog park instead of a skateboarding site. Start in the parking lot of this 200-plus-acre park and climb the slight uphill to an overlook. One of the nice features of this place are the many, many benches situated throughout the park, whether on sunny slopes, or shaded… Read More »
Sometimes a rigorous day hike is in front of you, but who says the hike can’t be a collection of smaller hikes? With the town of Sonoma as the center point, there are many mini-hikes to check out, from the Sonoma Overlook Park to walks around town to some of the regional and state parks in the vicinity. In the bargain-shopping mentality of doing more for less, here are three fairly easy hikes in and around Sonoma that may or… Read More »
Two positive developments for area hikers were reported in the news recently. Neither will mean new trails anytime soon, but within a couple of years, both could open the way for more access to two previously-unexplored parts of the North Coast region. First, Montini Ranch which is the scenic backdrop to the city of Sonoma. Work on new trails will start there next year although there’s still a thorny issue of public access to the property through an adjacent subdivision.… Read More »
