The Bay Area Ridge Trail (shortened as Ridge Trail) is a multi-use trail along the hill and mountain ridgelines surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area, in Northern California. It is planned to extend ; , have been established. When complete, the trail will connect over seventy-five parks and open spaces. The trail is being developed to provide access for hikers, runners, mountain bicyclists, and equestrians. It is intended to be accessible through trailheads near major population centers, but the trail extends into more remote areas. The first trail section was dedicated on May 13, 1989.

History

William Penn Mott Jr., the twelfth director of the National Park Service, gave a speech in March 1987 at a state parks and recreation conference and discussed plans for the Ridge Trail. While working for the East Bay Regional Park District in the 1960s, Mott's office was on a ridgeline in the East Bay, and the views from the office inspired his vision of a hill-and-ridge trail encircling the Bay and linking its communities. The plan would later attract bipartisan support, with George Miller joining Mott. Later that year, a planning committee was formed with memberships from nearly forty public agencies, recreation groups, and individuals. Eventually, this committee became the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council.

Trail development

The first two segments of the trail, dedicated on May 13, 1989, were located in San Mateo County and managed by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and the San Mateo County Department of Parks. Marin County and San Francisco City and County opened their first segments in September 1989; Napa, Solano, and Santa Clara counties in October 1989; Contra Costa and Alameda counties in June 1990; and Sonoma County in October 1990. Existing trails in public spaces were incorporated into the Ridge Trail, extending the trail to by 1990 and by 1995. of the Ridge Trail were added in 2005, including a new bridge over San Geronimo Creek; at that point, the Ridge Trail ran for . The section of Ridge Trail through Crockett Hills Regional Park in Contra Costa County, which opened in June 2006, pushed the trail past the mark. Marin, Contra Costa, and Alameda counties have been completed. Much of the remaining mileage is on private property in Santa Clara, Sonoma, and Napa.

Route

thumb|left|179x179px|Trail marker for Bay Area Ridge Trail

Starting at the Golden Gate Bridge and proceeding clockwise, the route goes through every Bay Area county: Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, and San Francisco. The planned alignment of the Ridge Trail extends as far north as Calistoga and Angwin, and as far south as Gilroy.

San Francisco City and County

From south to north, the trail passes through the following landmarks: Lake Merced, Stern Grove, Twin Peaks, Buena Vista Park, the panhandle of Golden Gate Park, and the Presidio.

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|+ style="font-size: 150%;" |Ridge Trail segment status (as of 2015) is the organization building, maintaining, and promoting the Ridge Trail. BARTC initially was supported by the Greenbelt Alliance, but it was incorporated in 1991 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit under co-chairs Brian O'Neill and Marcia McNally.

See also

  • San Francisco Bay Trail

References

Bibliography

  • Bay Area Ridge Trail Council
  • Bay Area Ridge Trail on OpenStreetMap