Sonoma Ridge (Sonoma County, California)

 

Lodging for the night just down the road from Jack London State Historic Park, I wanted take the opportunity to fully explore the park and surrounding area. I have visited before, but my time was short. Today, I'm going to get some miles in. After visiting the Wolf House, I decided to hike up to the Sonoma Ridge, which overlooks much of the gorgeous vineyards in this famous valley.

The trail starts from a paved parking lot and wanders through what remains of London's Ranch. Rows of vines, owned by a private vineyard, paint the hillside leading into the forest. The trail in this section is double-track and easy hiking. It leads up to London Lake, which resulted from the construction of a stone dam across a small creek. London's family used the pond as a swimming hole and even built a small bath house nearby. Today, the lake is full of debris and covered in vegetation, though a couple of ducks swimming around in the muck don't seem to mind.

Beyond the lake, the trail enters deeper into a lush forest. Small streams cross the trail periodically. This area has had tremendous amounts of rain this year and the landscape is rich with life. As I make my way further down the trail, I'm startled by a trail runner coming up behind me. I guess I was just lost in the moment, thinking about Jack London following this same path a century ago. 

As I reach higher up the hillside, the terrain begins to open up in sections to richly grassed meadows. While there are a few gray clouds overhead, only a soft breeze blows through right now. It's actually quite pleasant.

Finally reaching a fork in the trail just below the ridge, I start a steep uphill climb towards a grassy noel at the top. A few oak trees are scattered among the light green grasses and the hills roll for some distance in all directions. The climb is a bit challenging and gets me breathing harder, but the view from the top is definitely worth it. From this vantage point, I can see many miles in all directions. Vineyards blanket the landscape in the distance and I'm reminded of how much I love this area.

The return hike is uneventful and as I get closer to the trailhead, I encounter a number of other adventurers out on day hikes. We greet each other and then continue on to whatever our intended destination. Reaching the jeep, I see I've covered about 7.7 miles - not bad. I told the lady at the fee station that I would probably hike ten or so miles in the park today. Between this trail and my walk to Wolf House, I'm pretty close to that.