Category Archives: Seasons

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

Posted
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!

Posted
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!
┏(-_-)┛┗(-_- )┓┗(-_-)┛┏(-_-)┛
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

Winter Birds on Sonoma Overlook Trail

Posted
Filed under Birds, Nature, Winter
ruby-crowned kinglet

Ruby-crowned kinglet

Winter on Sonoma Overlook Trail brings a quiet beauty, and with it a lively cast of birds that thrive in the cooler, wetter season. As deciduous trees lose their leaves, birds become easier to spot, flitting through oak woodlands, chaparral, and open grasslands.

Who’s over there? Such a restless little bird! A Bewick’s wren, barely five inches long, keeps darting about, looking for tasty insects. Scritch, scraaatch…SQUEAK! And what is that? A male Anna’s hummingbird with its raspy call. When it makes a sharp dive, air passing over its tail feathers creates the loud squeak. Its crown and throat are brilliant, iridescent red. Look for this fellow at the ends of bare branches. How is that woodpecker walking vertically up a tree? It has two toes facing forward, and two facing backwards to keep it from falling backwards. This little “ladder-backed” woodpecker, a Nuttall’s, is just seven inches long. It forages for insects as it circles tree trunks and branches.

Dark-eyed junco

Dark-eyed junco

Resident birds remain active year-round, relying on familiar territories to survive the colder months. Dark-eyed juncos and California towhees hop among the leaf litter at the trail’s edge, while Ruby-crowned kinglets and Oak titmice flit among leafless branches, searching for insects.

A Toyon shrub, also known as California Holly, full of red berries is an ideal stop for a flock of Cedar waxwings. When other fruit is scarce, the Toyon feeds these beautiful birds. As one nears the Upper Loop, the open skyline reveals Red-tailed hawks and Turkey vultures soaring over our rolling hills. Turkey vultures are nature’s garbage collectors–they eat carrion so it doesn’t sit around too long.

Cedar waxwing

Cedar waxwing

Winter birds play a vital role in Sonoma’s ecosystems, dispersing seeds and controlling insects. They also bring joy to winter hikers.

by Jaqueline Steuer, Sonoma Overlook Trail Steward
Photos: Unsplash

Grateful

A rafter of wild turkeys relaxing on Montini Open Space Preserve last evening, fate working in their favor another year.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all; we hope to see you on the trail during this very lush, thriving time on Montini and the Overlook!

Sssnakes….

Posted
Filed under Reptiles, Snakes, Spring
California Night Snake

California Night Snake

It’s that time again: spring!  Nature has been staging post-winter awakenings around here for weeks now, and due to what was another healthy rainy season, there is an abundance of plant life, which fuels a myriad of other life.  Wildflowers, fawns, bees, lizards, and…snakes!

This little friend popped up in a pile of gravel on a trail work day last weekend.  He/she is a California night snake (Hypsiglena torquata nuchalata), one of the rarest snakes in Sonoma County and although mildly venomous, known to be harmless to humans.  California night snakes are nocturnal and are generally about 7 inches long at birth; this one was likely at its first molt.  When coiled, it could have fit on a nickel.  Their diet includes insects, lizards and other snakes.

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