The Upper Loop Project, Part 1

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Filed under Stewardship, Trail Maintenance

Before

For about 22 years, water created a ditch on the upper part of the Upper Loop of the Sonoma Overlook Trail and sent a creek down a “climbing turn” above the bench at the top of the trail, eroding it down to expose big rocks that are now well above the trail bed (see photo). Perhaps you know of it. Over the years, it became a complete mess. A shit-show, actually. I would hate to know what hikers and runners thought about it. I hated it. 

For years, I pondered what to do about it; then eventually, it hit me. I would break down the central rocks and simply take the trail straight up the center. But first I needed to deal with the drainage leading up to it, which was a real problem. This is because the water was flowing straight down the trail. Continue reading →

Forest Mystic: Wild Mushrooms on the Overlook Trail

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Filed under Fungi, Mushrooms

The Overlook Trail abounds with wild mushrooms! Take your own visual treasure hunt; they’re everywhere…. But of course, as with everything on our trail systems and wild areas, leave them undisturbed. Mushrooms can be deadly if consumed.

Wild Mushrooms

Continue reading →

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!

•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!

Our Current Overlook Trail Renewal Campaign

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Filed under Stewardship, Trail Maintenance

If you’ve been reading our posts here for any length of time, you know that I’m somewhat obsessed with trail smoothing. That is, removing rocks from the trail so that hikers, and more importantly, runners, don’t trip (I’ve take a few bad falls while running myself, so this is quite personal). But it’s also more than that. 

The badly ditched trail

We also very much need to regain control of water on the trail, which means removing ditching and regaining ,at minimum, a 5-degree outslope on the tread. So I’ve been on a campaign to do just that, and recently I’ve become enabled to take this campaign to the very top of the trail.

Two key things recently happened to make this possible:

  1. The City of Sonoma bought and delivered a pile of aggregate (Mayacama Red Pathway Fines Only, to be specific) to the top of the trail, going through a neighboring vineyard property with their very appreciated cooperation (thank you, Dan and Andrea Son!).
  2. In cooperation with the same vineyard property as well as City of Sonoma Public Works  (thank you Terence Erickson!), who kindly donated a 120-gallon water tank that was subsequently filled by the vineyard property staff, we now have everything we need to get serious about fixing the entire Upper Loop of the Sonoma Overlook Trail.

Continue reading →