Sugarloaf Ridge State Park
Sugarloaf Ridge offers visitors one of the best places to view the Bay Area–and the universe! Its 2,700 acres feature exceptional natural diversity and a popular astronomy observatory dedicated to public viewing and education, the Robert Ferguson Observatory. The park has over 20 miles of hiking trails that offer outstanding vistas and experiences: beautiful wildflower displays in spring; streams, cascades, waterfalls, and even occasional snow in winter; bright yellow woods in the crisp of autumn; and lazy evenings in summer in the park campground or on a moonlit trail as fog rides in from the coast. Trails wander through wide meadows, into oak, bay, and redwood forests, beside blue-green serpentine outcrops, and over demanding grades through chaparral to vistas overlooking the Napa Valley or up to the 2,729 foot park summit with its panoramic view of the North Bay and beyond. The park is headwaters to Sonoma Creek, and supports one of the few healthy steelhead runs left in the Bay Area. Children and adults can learn about the park’s natural resources in the Visitors Center. The campground has 49 sites, each with a table and fire ring, and drinking water, showers and flush toilets nearby. A separate group campground accommodates up to 50 people for outdoor adventures.
The observatory (www.rfo.org) offers public viewings throughout the year, where expert docents share the wonders of the heavens with stargazers of all ages. With so much to explore day and night, the park is a place you can return to over and over and find the thrill of nature experienced fresh.
