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13-606: Saratoga Gap (elevation 2,608 feet (795 m)) contains elements of the Bay Area Ridge Trail , a large and partially complete regional trail. The preserve is forested with oak and evergreen trees. 37°16′00″N 122°07′46″W  /  37.2667835°N 122.1293151°W  / 37.2667835; -122.1293151 This Santa Clara County, California -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Bay Area Ridge Trail The Bay Area Ridge Trail (shortened as Ridge Trail )

26-1330: A retired engineer, and Bob Cowell, a retired fire chief, completed the first hike of the Ridge Trail in 1999. The pair followed designated and non-designated trails, including a crossing of the Carquinez Strait by kayak. The first two segments of the trail, dedicated on May 13, 1989, were located in San Mateo County and managed by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and the San Mateo County Department of Parks. Marin County and San Francisco City and County opened their first segments in September 1989; Napa , Solano , and Santa Clara counties in October 1989; Contra Costa and Alameda counties in June 1990; and Sonoma County in October 1990. Existing trails in public spaces were incorporated into

39-636: Is a planned 550-mile (890 km) multi-use trail along the hill and mountain ridgelines surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area , in Northern California . As of May 2022 , 400 miles (640 km) have been established. When complete, the trail will connect over seventy-five parks and open spaces. The trail is being designed to provide access for hikers, runners, mountain bicyclists, and equestrians . It will be accessible through trailheads near major population centers, but

52-687: The East Bay, and the views from the office inspired his vision of a hill-and-ridge trail encircling the Bay and linking its communities. The plan would later attract bipartisan support, with George Miller joining Mott. In May 1987, the Greenbelt Alliance held a meeting to strategize how to approach the San Francisco Water Department and convince them to open their watershed lands to the public; Mark Evanoff convened

65-579: The Ridge Trail, extending the trail to 100 miles (160 km) by 1990 and 200 miles (320 km) by 1995. By 1999, 217 miles (349 km) of the Ridge Trail had been completed, mostly on public lands. 10 miles (16 km) of the Ridge Trail were added in 2005, including a new bridge over San Geronimo Creek ; at that point, the Ridge Trail ran for 285 miles (459 km). The section of Ridge Trail through Crockett Hills Regional Park in Contra Costa County, which opened in June 2006, pushed

78-676: The meeting and Brian O'Neill , Superintendent of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area , proposed a potential strategy to pursue the goals outlined in the report by the President's Commission on Americans Outdoors. Later that year, a planning committee was formed with memberships from nearly forty public agencies, recreation groups, and individuals. Eventually, this committee became the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council. Dinesh Desai,

91-592: The remaining mileage is on private property in Santa Clara, Sonoma, and Napa. Starting at the Golden Gate Bridge and proceeding clockwise, the route goes through every Bay Area county: Marin , Sonoma , Napa , Solano , Contra Costa , Alameda , Santa Clara , Santa Cruz , San Mateo , and San Francisco . The planned alignment of the Ridge Trail extends as far north as Calistoga and Angwin , and as far south as Gilroy . From south to north,

104-553: The state and federal level. Efforts are also being made to protect and restore streams and habitat in the San Geronimo Valley , where upwards of 20% of the Lagunitas salmon spawn each year and where as much as 1/5 of the juvenile salmon (or fry) spend their entire freshwater lives. Spawning salmon and trout may be viewed at Roy's Pools, located about 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Fairfax . There are jump pools and

117-585: The trail passes through the following landmarks: Lake Merced , Stern Grove , Twin Peaks , Buena Vista Park , the panhandle of Golden Gate Park , and the Presidio . (1.6 kilometers) (1.6 kilometers) The Bay Area Ridge Trail Council (BARTC), founded in 1987, is the organization building, maintaining, and promoting the Ridge Trail. BARTC initially was supported by the Greenbelt Alliance, but it

130-565: The trail past the 300-mile (480 km) mark. As of 2020 , the Ridge Trail stood at 383 miles (616 km) completed. The section of the trail that runs through San Francisco has been completed, and parts of the San Francisco trail have been rerouted to pass through more green space and over the Twin Peaks . Large sections of the trail running through San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa, and Alameda counties have been completed. Much of

143-611: The trail will extend into more remote areas. The first trail section was dedicated on May 13, 1989. William Penn Mott Jr. , the twelfth director of the National Park Service , gave a speech in March 1987 at a state parks and recreation conference and discussed plans for the Ridge Trail. While working for the East Bay Regional Park District in the 1960s, Mott's office was on a ridgeline in

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156-552: The villages of San Geronimo , Forest Knolls, and Lagunitas . It then turns southwestward and joins Lagunitas Creek at the eastern edge of the Samuel P. Taylor State Park . The 6000 acre San Geronimo Creek watershed is within the 60,000 acre Lagunitas Creek Watershed, which is home to the largest-remaining wild run of coho salmon in central California. These coho are part of the "Central California Coast Evolutionarily Significant Unit," or CCC ESU, and are listed as "endangered" at both

169-603: Was incorporated in 1991 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit under co-chairs Brian O'Neill and Marcia McNally. The Council office is located in Berkeley . San Geronimo Creek San Geronimo Creek is a stream in Marin County, California , United States , which feeds into Lagunitas Creek below Kent Lake . The creek rises in the hills west of the town of Fairfax . It descends northward to Woodacre , where it turns westward and parallels Sir Francis Drake Boulevard through

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