More than 700 acres on Sonoma Mountain to become a park

Come November, Sonoma County residents and visitors will have access to another vast swath of county parkland on Sonoma Mountain with more than 4 miles of new hiking, biking and equestrian trails, opening up vistas in the Sonoma Valley to the public for the first time.

The county Board of Supervisors transferred more than 700 acres of property on Tuesday from the Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District to the Regional Parks system, which is required when the county opens newly acquired parkland to the public.

Since 2005, the county has spent more than $20 million to acquire the five parcels near Sonoma Mountain Road - Jacobs Ranch, Skiles Ranch and the properties of Wilroth, Cooper’s Grove and Walsh - and build 4.25 miles of new trails to connect the land with Jack London State Park.

The park also has newly constructed restrooms and ample parking accessible near the intersection of Pressley and Sonoma Mountain roads.

“This includes the top of Sonoma Mountain, so there’s unbelievable views right from the beginning when you drive in,” parks director Caryl Hart said. “As soon as you start hiking, you can start seeing the whole county, and you’re surrounded by beautiful woodlands, redwood groves and incredible wildlife.”

Tuesday’s approval by the board comes just two months after the opening of another Sonoma Valley ridgeline at the former Lawson Ranch. The county officially turned that 247-acre property adjacent to Hood Mountain Regional Park into parkland in June.

And work kicked off earlier this month to construct trails at Taylor Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve, a 1,100-acre property acquired between 1995 and 2005 for $21 million, which was turned over to the county parks agency for general use last year. Next on the list is Carrington Coast Ranch between Occidental and Bodega Bay.

“This property on Sonoma Mountain moving into the regional parks family is not only important for Sonoma County, but for the entire Bay Area,” said Supervisor Susan Gorin, whose district encompasses the new park. “The trails will provide access to a beautiful mountain top.”

Altogether, the open space district has spent roughly $367 million to protect about 110,000 acres of mostly undeveloped county lands since 1990, when voters approved a quarter-?cent sales tax creating the district and authorizing these purchases. Voters reaffirmed such activities in 2006.

The funds are largely used for so-called conservation easements, when a landowner is paid a portion of the value of the property in return for permanently limiting development.

In other cases, the district has purchased the land outright, then sold it or given it to another owner - at either the city, county or state level - who promises never to develop the property.

Hart called the Sonoma Mountain addition a “big deal” in the county’s recent efforts to fast-track public access to new open space.

“It’s been a priority of mine, and of the district’s, and of the supervisors’ to get these properties moved into the parks system,” Hart said. “They’re huge assets for the county, for recreational activities, for driving tourism here and helping people get healthy.”

Supervisor Shirlee Zane said the county needs to do a better job of opening lands faster.

“Public access is a big deal to the people who approved this,” Zane said. “We still have a lot of work to do.”