Category Archives: Hiking

Tickets Now Available! Sonoma Raceway Spring Hike • Sunday, April 19th, 2026

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Filed under Fundraising, Spring, Scenic Views, Hiking, Events
Sonoma Raceway Hike
TICKET PURCHASE

Sunday, April 19th, 2026 ~ 10 am-3 pm
Gates open @ 9:30 am
Rain Date: Saturday, May 2nd, 2026

Buy your tickets now for our unforgettable spring hike through the hills of Sonoma Raceway’s 1,600-acre property on Sunday, April 19 at 10 am. Gates open at 9:30, event will end by 3 pm.  Revel in fabulous bay and vineyard views with wildflowers and quite possibly “woolly weeders” hard at work. Enjoy a three- or five-mile route; a light lunch will follow.  Registration is limited and is $50 per person, non-refundable.  This event is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and we always sell out, so early registration is advised!

All proceeds will benefit the all-volunteer Sonoma Overlook Trail Stewards to help keep the trail in tip-top shape.  We stewards will be on hand to hike along with you.  This is a great opportunity to support your local trail and take in the panorama of open space along San Pablo Bay.

We receive upwards of 60,000 visits a year, making us in a sense the largest nonprofit in the valley.  Your support keeps the Overlook open to all levels of hikers.  For more information, contact aprilmv@aol.com.

Our fiscal sponsor is 501 (c) (3) Sonoma Ecology Center, Federal EIN# 94-3136500.

Our Sonoma Raceway Spring Hike is returning April 19th, 2026!

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Filed under Events, Fundraising, Hiking, Scenic Views, Spring

YES!!! The Sonoma Overlook Trail Stewards are excited to offer once again our ever-popular, super sellout event this spring,
the Sonoma Raceway Hike!
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Sunday, April 19th, 2026 ~ 10 am
Rain Date: Saturday, May 2nd, 2026

A glorious, guided hike overlooking the bay….

Mark your calendar for an unforgettable spring hike through the hills of Sonoma Raceway’s 1,600-acre property on Sun, April 19, 10 am. Enjoy fabulous bay and vineyard views with wildflowers and quite possibly “woolly weeders” hard at work. Choose the three- or five-mile route; a light lunch will follow.

All proceeds will benefit the all-volunteer Sonoma Overlook Trail Stewards to help keep the trail in tip-top shape.  We stewards will be on hand to hike along with you.  This is a great opportunity to support your local trail and take in the panorama of open space along San Pablo Bay.


Sonoma Wildflower Hike

•SOLD OUT• FREE Guided Hike at the Overlook!

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Filed under Hiking

THIS EVENT HAS SOLD OUT!
Stay tuned for information on our Spring hike….

In honor of Autumn, please join us for a very special, moderately paced hike at Sonoma Overlook Trail, guided by former SOT leader Joanna Kemper, on Saturday, November 1, 2025, at 11 am.  We’ll linger at the top to enjoy sweeping views over the valley, bay and down to San Francisco.
Meet us at the main trailhead kiosk. Rain cancels the guide, but makes the trail even more special….

Don’t hesitate: SPACE IS LIMITED!
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SIGN UP!

All the Rocks You Never See

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Filed under Safety, Trail Maintenance

I work on the trail, or hike it, most days. Even as I’m hiking I’m inspecting it. I know the rockiest places, I know where there are roots. I’m even familiar with individual stones. Call me obsessed, but in the best possible way. But yes, still obsessed.

By now I’m sure you know (if you’ve ever read this blog in recent years) that as the Trail Maintenance Chair I’ve been focused on “trail smoothing” or “tread renewal.” Many of our recent monthly volunteer workdays have been mostly focused on this (see this time-lapse video of rebuilding a section for a taste). There’s a reason for that. For many years we volunteer stewards (including me) did not believe in tackling what I now call “rock work.” That is, taking out or chipping down rocks in the trail. And it started to show — often dramatically so. Entire stretches of trail became difficult to navigate, even for the nimble.

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The Benefits of a Full Montini

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Filed under Hiking

The Sonoma Overlook Trail is of course beloved by hikers and runners alike, with great trails and scenic vistas. But when the adjacent Montini Preserve opened across Norrbom Road, more miles of trails were added that were contiguous with the SOT, thereby providing even better hiking and running opportunities.

Prime among these opportunities, as hikers and runners will attest, is a set of linked trails that traverse both properties that I’ve started calling “The Full Montini.” To do the Full Montini you start at the 4th St. West and Haraszthy trailhead (see map). From there you start up the Holstein Hill trail to Spotted Fawn, then on to Rattlesnake Cutoff where you cross Norrbom Road to the Overlook property, continuing on the Overlook up to the Upper Meadow Loop, and then return the same way. This is a 4.4 mile hike with approximately 500 feet of cumulative elevation gain.

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