Rolling Pastures at Hiddenbrooke on the Ridge Trail

The Bay Area Ridge Trail at Hiddenbrooke Open Space in Vallejo rises and falls – steeply at times – across pastures riddled with wide cracks, gopher holes and the occasional cow.

We are hiking the 405-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail. Sign up to follow our progress here.

TRAIL MAP (date hiked)

• Hiddenbrooke Open Space (Nov. 6, 2022)

Our Journal

The hike was not what we expected.

• We expected to hike in the spring through green waves of grass, but car troubles intruded. We got a hike through the rattling dry grass of fall instead.
• We expected to park across from I-80 on McGary Road, as designated in the 2019 edition of the Ridge Trail guide. We got street parking at the opposite end of the trail, high in the subdivision.
• We expected the trail’s grade to match the steady pace of the subdivision parkway as it rises from I-80. We got a series of hills with several intense, albeit brief, grades.
• We expected a trail overlooking a subdivision. We got a trail that wound behind enough hills to create the illusion, from time to time, of hiking across a remote California prairie.
• We expected a lengthy standoff when we encountered a calf standing in the trail with bored adults to each side. We got clear passage after a short pause thanks to a diligent cow that hustled the youngster out of confrontation’s way.

NOTE: There was no pub at the end of the trail on this Sunday morning hike. We were hustling to check out of our hotel in American Canyon before noon. But three days on the trail, including our morning at Hiddenbrooke, bumped our Ridge Trail tally over the 300-mile mark and left us with less than 100 miles to go. And we also finished up the remaining Ridge Trail segments in Napa and Solano counties.

Progress.

Click HERE
to support
the Ridge Trail