Spring Lake to Lake Ralphine

Annadel State Park is located in the historic Valley of the Moon, just 60 miles north of San Francisco, in Sonoma. This popular 5,200 acre park features a wonderful variety of options to explore, boasting views of the Sonoma Valley, rolling meadows of wildflowers, and direct access to 26 acre Lake Ilsanjo. One of the highlights is a 8.5 mile section of the Bay Area Ridge Trail that is perfect f...

From the northern entrance to the park, you can access an 18-hole disc golf course as well as a number of trails. The Eastern Trail takes you up a steep 1,000 feet to the top of Taylor Mountain, where you can see most of Sonoma County laid out before you. Mt. St. Helena is visible in the distance as well. This makes a great brisk 1-2 hour hike, or even a steep trail run if you're in good shape....

Hood Mountain Summit via the Lower Johnson and Upper Johnson Ridge Trails is a 6 mile out-and-back trek located in Santa Rosa, CA. The trailhead starts at the Pythian Road parking lot, accessed from Highway 12. The hike takes 3.5 to 4 hours to complete and is considered strenuous. All trails are well marked but best to have a regional parks map handy as some trails are closed due to wildfire d...

Hike to Gunsight Rock through Hood Mountain Regional Park to get a view overlooking Sonoma and Napa Valley. In order to get to the trailhead take Highway 12 to Los Alamos Rd, the road will then turn into Timberline Dr, this will take you to the trailhead. There is a parking fee of $8. From the parking area, go over the foot bridge and follow the creek upward. When you reach the fire road, cros...

The Pony Gate-Canyon Loop within Sugarloaf Ridge State Park is a new favorite of mine on my list of family and kid-friendly hikes. Our little girls did great with this hike and loved it. If you can get moving early in the day and begin your hike around breakfast time, you might find there are few or no others on the trail with you, even on a weekend day.  To get to the trail head, take Hwy 12 ...

Joe Rodota Trail is an out-and-back trail where you may see wildflowers located near Sebastopol, California.