LandPaths executive director Craig Anderson points out Willow Creek State Park and their destination, Duncans Mills, while hiking up Red Hill with Jenner and the mouth of the Russian river as a backdrop.

Walk your way to a water view

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

It's the season when water dances. From ripple to torrent, it's flowing through creeks, streams and ponds, between boulders and over cliffs as waterfalls, a gift from the rainy season. Mesmerized hikers set off in search of the sound.

But it's not just the rush of water we're after. It's also the way water transforms the landscape - the punch of green, the cut in solid rock, the wildflowers in bloom, the water life emerging, newts and salamanders scurrying about.

What follows are places to hike that are perfect for exploring pools or ribbons of water in their various forms.

Santa Rosa

The Santa Rosa Creek is so familiar as a local water feature that even people who live nearby forget to stop and really look at it.

Taking a closer look is easy when you walk the popular Santa Rosa Creek/Prince Memorial Greenway Trail, which runs west along the creek from downtown Santa Rosa.

You can walk the older stretch of the trail and stop at Fulton Road, take the foot underpass and keep going on the newer paved extension all the way out to Willowside Road.

Locals say they love the creek walk for the egrets and the turtles, and the coffee shop stop downtown or at Railroad Square.

Near downtown, you'll see some outdoor sculpture, and one walker says she likes the "behind-the-scenes-look" from the trail at buildings she usually sees only from the front.

North county

There is a pond in Shiloh Ranch Regional Park that is worth the trek. You just take the Creekside Trail, which begins at the parking lot, and hike a mile. Then you pick up the Pond Trail and voila! You get front-row viewing of a striking pond in a lush setting.

The spring is a peaceful time to explore and take in the green, from the ferns to the tufts of the trees, a mix of Douglas Fir, oak and evergreens. You can find solitude because there are no horses on the trail this time of year. Shiloh Ranch Regional Park, 5750 Faught Road, Windsor, 433-1625.

Another spot that appeals to water enthusiasts is the Healdsburg Ridge Open Space Preserve. The wetlands on 161 acres of Russian River Valley opened in November 2008 and is filled with wetlands, oak groves and hills as well as lovely Fox Pond and a handful of other smaller ones, unnamed.

Hiking is easy to moderate, about 2 to 3 miles, with an elevation of 150 feet, offering sweeping views beyond Fitch Mountain, the Russian River and the Mayacmas Mountains.

Here you hike alongside the wildlife - deer, rabbits, bobcats, mountain lions and more than 40 species of birds. Healdsburg Ridge Open Space Preserve is off Parkland Farms Boulevard at Arabian Way, Healdsburg. 431-3301.

Riverfront Regional Park, located at 7821 Eastside Road in Healdsburg, is a 305-acre county park adjacent to the Russian River. It's criss-crossed by several trails, including a flat, refreshing 2-mile loop around Lake Benoist, one of two pretty ponds created from reclaimed gravel pits. Bring a rod for fishing, a kayak for paddling, binoculars for bird-watching or a picnic to enjoy near the ponds or under the redwoods. The park is open from 8 a.m. to sunset. $6 per car for day use. Dogs are allowed on a short leash. For more information, call 565-2041.

And later this spring, Landpaths is planning to sponsor a backpack hiking trip to a private, 3-foot waterfall that gushes from a rock cleft at Cooley Ranch, just north of Lake Sonoma near the county border. For details, check landpaths.org.

West county

For a jaw-dropping view of the Russian River, hike from Willow Creek through Pomo Canyon - both Sonoma Coast State Parks - to the top of Red Hill, where you'll get a panoramic view of the coast and the river's mouth, swollen from winter rains.

According to Jonathan Glass, field programs director of Landpaths, you'll need to get a permit orientation in order to park at Willow Creek. (landpaths.org).

Entrance to Willow Creek is from Duncans Mills. From the Freezeout Flat parking area, head up the Islands in the Sky Trail, turn west on the Lower Barn Trail, then follow Willow Creek Road up to the Pomo Canyon Trail or Red Hill Trail to Red Hill, elevation 1,062 feet.

From there, you can either go all the way to the ocean at Shell Beach for some tidepooling (you'll want to drop off a car there) or head back to the parking lot on the side loop. It's about a 7-mile round-trip to Red Hill, through two watersheds.

Make sure you stop by Newt Pond along Islands in the Sky Trail and check overhead for osprey. Migrating steelhead come up Willow Creek and Freezeout Creek, looking for a place to lay their eggs.

If you don't have a Willow Creek permit, you can park on the road outside Pomo Canyon and hike up to Red Hill, or start at Shell Beach.

On the drive home, make sure you take Coleman Valley Road and check out the wildflowers.

Other ideas for watery walks in the West County include Armstrong Redwoods State Park, where the redwoods enjoy a misting from Fife Creek. The adjacent Austin Creek State Recreation Area offers a bit more of a challenge, with steep trails criss-crossed by creeks and all kinds of wild rushing water.

Sonoma Valley

The headwaters of Santa Rosa Creek lie far up above the Sonoma Valley, and to walk up to them is to also walk through them. Prepare to get your feet wet. You can reach them through the McCormick Addition of Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. But to get there, hit the trail in neighboring Hood Mountain.

Park in the lot at the end of Los Alamos Road off Highway 12. The road to the main parking lot has been closed so you'll have to park and walk down along the asphalt to the now unused lot and hit the trail that heads off to your right. Take the road that follows the north fork of Sonoma Creek.

After about a quarter mile you'll come to a creek crossing, where you'll slog perhaps ankle deep across the waterway to the Quercus Trail, now following the south fork of the creek. Wildflowers like Indian warriors, paintbrush, hounds tongue, scarlet larkspur and popcorn will be popping up this time of year as you make your way to the Headwaters Trail that leads to the centuries-old Grandmother Oak.

For falling water, explore farther down in Sugarloaf. Take the Canyon Trail at the end of Adobe Canyon Road to the Sonoma Creek Waterfall. Moss-covered boulders glisten green around the falls, which make a 25-foot drop.

To take in the quiet of a peaceful spring pool, take an easy hike up a 3/4-mile road at Sonoma Developmental Center in Glen Ellen to Fern Lake. This lovely pond, surrounded by cattails, is visited by waterfowl and red-winged blackbirds. Go in the morning and you may have it to yourself. From the lake you can continue up into Jack London State Park. The road up the mountain is off Manzanita, which you'll find if you turn left at the historical Administration building at the end of the main entry road.

Petaluma

Bigger than a creek, yet smaller than the ocean, the Petaluma River also offers an easy, scenic walk. And marsh flora and fauna make for a pretty picture.

Shollenberger Park in southeastern Petaluma is a 16-acre wetland bordered by Adobe Creek and the Petaluma River where ducks, egrets and other birds abound.

The park, which offers beautiful views of Sonoma Mountain, features an easy and flat 2-mile circular trail and a 1-mile trail through Alman Marsh to the Petaluma Marina.

Walkers can take time to appreciate a variety of marsh plants, including salt grass, cordgrass, sea lavender and pickleweed.

To reach Shollenberger Park by car, take the Highway 116 turnoff in Petaluma and go east for about 1 mile. Turn right on South McDowell Boulevard, go less than half a mile, and turn a right at the "City Park" sign.

Staff Writers Peg Melnik, Meg McConahey, Diane Peterson and Dan Taylor contributed to this story.

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