Best walks for fall foliage in Sonoma County

Autumn may be Sonoma County’s most beautiful season. Fall leaves color town centers like Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma and Healdsburg; the Sonoma Valley and beyond. The air has cleared after months of wildfires and toxic smoke. This difficult year brings extra gratitude for nature’s solace, the days bathed in golden light.

Fall’s magnificent alchemy occurs when dropping temperatures and waning daylight cause chemical changes in deciduous trees, revealing yellows, oranges and reds. Harvest bounty like grapes, pumpkins and other squash, apples and persimmons add to autumn’s rich palette.

These varied walks, scattered around the county, allow visitors to experience fall splendor. See websites for COVID restrictions, accessibility, directions, maps and more information.

Glen Ellen

Jack London State Historic Park, where the author lived with his wife, Charmian Kittredge London (also an author), flaunts incandescent autumn hillsides of red, yellow and gold. Bigleaf maple and black oak forests that host wildlife like black bear, owls and woodpeckers turn yellow and deep orange. Trails afford sweeping views across Glen Ellen and the Sonoma Valley, as well as orchards and vineyards with gold to red foliage.

On clear days, hikers even a mile up from the parking lot can see as far as Mount Diablo. The Vineyard Trail leads to the Historic Orchard, featuring rare varieties of apple, apricot and plum. The moderately difficult 4- to 7-mile hike takes about 4 hours and climbs from 700 to 1,000 feet.

The park’s 29 miles of backcountry trails offer stunning vistas. The steep Sonoma Mountain Trail passes through oak woodlands and overlooks vineyards (8 miles/5 hours; difficult; 1,800-foot elevation gain). Hikers can then connect to the Vineyard Trail and Historic Orchard or the moderately difficult Sonoma Ridge Trail (9.5 miles/4 hours, 1,400-foot elevation gain), a segment of the Bay Area Ridge Trail.

2400 London Ranch Road, Glen Ellen. Open daily 9 a.m.-5 p.m. $10 vehicle fee. Bring your own water. Accessibility: weekend golf cart service noon to 4 p.m. for visitors needing assistance. Additional services on request from park office: 707-938-5216, ext.1. Picnic sites have ADA-approved tables. Oak Grove picnic site is accessible by an ADA-approved path. Handicap-accessible portable restrooms. jacklondonpark.com

Sonoma

Nearby, close to downtown Sonoma, are two local gems.

Sonoma Overlook Trail’s 3-mile unpaved path gradually climbs the hills above town. Woodlands of black and white oak showcase bronze and gold foliage, interspersed with evergreens. Panoramic views of Sonoma, Sonoma Valley and the Bay Area await visitors from the meadow at the top.

Open during daylight hours. Main trailhead at entrance to Mountain Cemetery, off First Street West, four blocks north of the Plaza. The upper trailhead starts from the cemetery’s Toyon Road. Free. sonomaecologycenter.org/sonoma-overlook-trail

Montini Open Space Preserve’s trail from Fourth Street West gradually ascends a gently sloped wheelchair-accessible path among oak woodlands and open grasslands to awesome views of Sonoma. The ADA-accessible part of the trail ends at a turnaround and view of the Sonoma Valley. Trailheads at First Street West and Fourth Street West. Valley of the Moon Trail offers amazing vistas of Sonoma Mountain and the Sonoma Baylands. Hikers can also cross Norrbom Road to connect with the Sonoma Overlook Trail for a 4- to 5-mile hike. Free. overlookmontini.org/about

Santa Rosa

Sonoma County’s spectacular autumn colors in our own yards and on streets as well as free urban trails like the mostly accessible Joe Rodota and West County Regional trails, built on former railway land. Together, they lead from downtown Santa Rosa through Sebastopol and Graton to end at Forestville. Visitors can start and end walks at multiple points along the way, past houses and open fields.

The popular (also with cyclists) Joe Rodota Trail is an 8.5-mile paved, off-road trail between downtown Santa Rosa and Sebastopol. It parallels Highway 12 and offers views of golden farmlands, the Laguna de Santa Rosa and surrounding mountains.

The West County Trail is a mostly paved, 5.5-mile trail linking Sebastopol, Graton and Forestville. The path winds through neighborhoods illuminated in red, yellow and amber by maples, aspen and sycamores and bucolic orchards and vineyards alongside the Gravenstein Highway. The northern tip of the trail follows an unpaved path to downtown Forestville. parks.sonomacounty.ca.gov/Visit

Sebastopol

West Sebastopol’s 3-acre Gold Ridge Farm offers visitors a leisurely stroll along a short (less than a mile), unpaved path among many of botanist Luther Burbank’s plant experiments, with orchards featuring black and English walnuts, Burbank cherries, Santa Rosa plums, multi-grafted apples and American and Japanese persimmons — fall’s bright orange harbingers.

Stroll the grounds or take a self-guided tour; there are brochures at entrance kiosk. Open every day from dusk to dawn. No restrooms currently available. Entrance at 7777 Bodega Ave., Burbank Heights and Orchards Senior Housing, Sebastopol. Free. wschs.org/farm

Healdsburg

Downtown Healdsburg’s Tree Walk has two accessible segments, centered around the Plaza and Badger Park. Autumn foliage abounds in golden-leaved black oak, walnut, wine-red pear, blazing-yellow ginkgo and yellow-to-red bigleaf maple. For the Plaza Walk, start at the corner of Matheson and Center streets. For the Badger Park Walk, begin at Heron Drive parking lot, near Second Street and Tucker. Free. bit.ly/3q2bPqD

More expansive views crown Healdsburg Ridge Open Space. With nearly 3.5 miles of public trails, the preserve encompasses Russian River tributaries, grasslands, mixed forests and serpentine chaparral.

The trailhead’s fragrant bay laurel and oak woodlands begin the 2.2-mile, easy (275-foot elevation gain) Nancy’s Hill/All-the-Oaks loop. A short (about 800 feet) wheelchair-accessible trail leads from the trailhead to the Fox Pond bridge and turnaround, where raccoon tracks appear amid willows and other riparian habitat plants.

A gradual climb through grasslands, where downy woodpeckers call, affords views of maples and ginkgo in the neighborhood below. The dirt trail follows rolling hills, with well-placed benches, and fallen leaves weaving tapestries on the ground. Oak titmice forage for seeds by the Mayacamas Mountains Overlook, revealing where the Walbridge fire burned part of the preserve. The scenic Russian River Overlook displays the river valley, vineyards and golden leaves of oak woodlands.

Trailhead entrance at Arabian Way, near Healdsburg Avenue, downtown, and Highway 101. Street parking. Free. bit.ly/2UZHFpQ

The coast

Sonoma County’s rugged coastline might not conjure immediate associations with autumn foliage. But oak and maple canopy drape over Highway 116, brilliant against dark conifers. The Russian River area displays golden cottonwoods and poplars. And Jenner’s Fort Ross State Historic Park boasts richly colored orchards just outside the fort (still part of the park), on Fort Ross Road.

The park highlights local natural history, Kashaya Pomo culture and 19th century Russian colonization and working ranchland periods in relics like the orchards. Huge pear trees heavy with fruit show bright foliage against towering redwoods and wide-open vistas from hillsides down to the sea. Seals and sea lions bark in the distance. Benches and picnic tables entice visitors to linger and meander among spectacular old pear, apple and other trees festooned with lichen.

19005 Highway 1, Jenner. Fort: Admission $8 per car. Accessibility: beach access (beach wheelchair available), Fort and Call House trails within the park. bit.ly/3l7zr9I and fortross.org

Orchard: Across Highway 1 from park entrance, turn right onto Fort Ross Road. About a mile up, park on the left side near the Stanley Spyra Memorial Grove sign. Free.

Note that about a mile of Highway 1 north of Jenner is under repair, “controlled traffic,” since the Meyers fire. You can find CalTrans updates at dot.ca.gov