A Toe-Stubber at San Geronimo Ridge on the Ridge Trail

The Bay Area Ridge Trail from White Hill Preserve to Samuel P. Taylor State Park travels southwest from Castro Valley up a moderate grade through grassy meadows and groves of mixed trees. The trail flattens out at the Gary Giacomini Preserve and becomes incredibly rocky as it reaches stands of pygmy cypress that grow in the thin serpentine soil along San Geronimo Ridge. The rocky surface finally yields as the trail drops steeply into a canyon filled with ferns and redwoods before leveling off at the state park, paralleling San Geronimo Creek for the final two miles.

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Bolinas Ridge

Atop Bolinas Ridge on the Bay Area Ridge Trail

The Bay Area Ridge Trail at Bolinas Ridge begins in a shady hilltop forest and ends in a canyon filled with redwoods at Samuel P. Taylor State Park. A plateau of grassy pastureland with views of the Point Reyes Peninsula and Tomales Bay lies in between. The trail undulates gently for the first five miles before gradually descending into the state park.

We are hiking the 400-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail. Sign up to follow our progress here.

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