The Bay Area Ridge Trail (Ridge Trail) is a planned 550+-mile multi-use trail (currently over 330 miles are complete) along the hill and mountain ridge

Ridge

A ridge is a geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size. There are several main types of ridges:...

lines ringing the San Francisco Bay Area

San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...

, in Northern California

Northern California

Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...

. When complete, the trail will connect over 75 parks and open spaces. The trail is being designed to provide access for hikers, runners, mountain bicyclists, and equestrians. It will be accessible through trailheads near major population centers, while the trail will extend into more remote areas. The first trail section was dedication on May 13, 1989.

Trail by County

The section of the trail that runs through San Francisco

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

 has been completed, and currently parts of the SF trail are being rerouted to pass through more green space and over Twin Peaks. Large sections of the trail through San Mateo

San Mateo County, California

San Mateo County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It covers most of the San Francisco Peninsula just south of San Francisco, and north of Santa Clara County. San Francisco International Airport is located at the northern end of the county, and...

, Marin

Marin County, California

Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...

, Contra Costa

Contra Costa County, California

Contra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025...

 and Alameda

Alameda County, California

Alameda County is a county in the U.S. state of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,510,271, making it the 7th most populous county in the state...

 counties has been completed. Much of the remaining mileage is on private property

Property

Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation...

 in Santa Clara

Santa Clara County, California

Santa Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...

, Sonoma

Sonoma County, California

Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....

, and Napa

Napa County, California

Napa County is a county located north of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is coterminous with the Napa, California, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 the population is 136,484. The county seat is Napa....

 and may require land acquisition and/or easements to expand the trail across these properties. The section of Ridge Trail through Crockett Hills Regional Park

Crockett Hills Regional Park

Crockett Hills Regional Park is a East Bay Regional Park in unincorporated Western Contra Costa County, California, nearest to the unincorporated town of Crockett.The terrain is covered in annual grasslands, oak woodlands, and coastal scrub vegetation....

in Contra Costa County, which opened in June 2006, pushed the trail past the 300 mile (483 km) mark.

Bay Area Ridge Trail Council

The Bay Area Ridge Trail Council is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working on the Ridge Trail. They partner with governments, nonprofit land trusts, and volunteer organizations in all nine Bay Area counties to help protect and preserve open space and plan, construct, and promote the Ridge Trail. The Council office is located in The Presidio, San Francisco.

The Council puts out a monthly eNewsletter and bi-annual printed newsletter, Ridge Lines.

The Council is a member supported organization accepting donations. For more information on membership, donations, bequests, or gift estates, visit RidgeTrail.org.

Experience the Trail

A variety of trail events are hosted on the trail each year including fully supported trail events (Ridge to Bridge in Marin County in spring, RidgeToBridge.org, East Bay Hills Through-Hike & Equestrian Ride over Labor Day week, and the Ridge Trail Cruz in the Santa Cruz Mountains southwest of Palo Alto in fall), volunteer work parties to build/maintain/restore Ridge Trail (including the REI-Ridge Trail Service Day each November), and a variety of others. Please see the Events section of the website for a complete listing.

External links

• Bay Area Ridge Trail Council