BRT Insights - WW Kayaking & Hiking: Sugarloaf Ridge State Park hiking, Sonoma Creek Falls, Sonoma County, California

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Sugarloaf Ridge State Park hiking, Sonoma Creek Falls, Sonoma County, California

After a big rainstorm JimH and I hiked the trail to Sonoma Creek Falls at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park.

Sugarloaf Ridge State Park Trail Maps.

• PDF map: Sugarloaf Ridge State Park map pdf.
• Map book: California Maps - Atlas and Gazetteer by Delorme, 2008.

• Online map user instructions. Click and drag to reposition this interactive map.
• The tool on the left zooms in and out. Point on the red markers to see the names.
• Map=roads. Satellite=satellite map. Terrain=3D shaded topo map. Topo=topographic map.
• Full-Screen online map - Sugarloaf Ridge State Park.

Double-click on the photos to see the larger view. Use the back button to return.

map of hiking trails at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park

Hiking trail map.

Trip Report

We hiked the Canyon Trail down to Sonoma Creek Falls. This trail goes through a shady green forest filled with mosses, ferns, fungi and lichens. Sonoma Creek Falls were filled with water from the rainstorms of the past few days.

Sonoma Creek Falls

Sonoma Creek

Then we climbed up the Pony Gate Trail. This part of the trail has shady sections and some sunny sections with some good views from higher elevation.

Pony Gate Trail at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park

A shady section of the Pony Gate Trail

Then we hiked down the Stern Trail to loop back to the trailhead. (Stern Trail is also part of the Bay Area Ridge Trail.) This gravel road is entirely in the sun and provides lots of long distance views of the landscape.