New entrance, trail opens at Taylor Mountain Regional Park

Hiking Taylor Mountain Regional Park is about to get easier with the opening of a new and more visible entrance and parking lot off Petaluma Hill Road that will include a new trail.

Sonoma County Regional Parks Director Caryl Hart called it a “milestone” in the development of the 1,100 acre park, which opened in 2013.

“This is the first permanent entrance for the park developed under the park master plan,” said parks spokeswoman Meda Freeman.

The new entrance located just south of Yolanda Avenue, will be officially dedicated and opened to the public on June 13. It includes parking for 65 cars and 15 horse trailers as well as a several picnic sites and a temporary restroom.

From the parking lot visitors can hit a new 1.2 mile loop trail blazed by volunteers with the Sonoma County Trails Council. They also carved out a short connector that leads to the park’s existing five-mile trail system.

The trail offers a great diversity to hikers, leading through an oak forest, opening out into some meadows and leading up to a rocky outcropping offering panoramic views of the Santa Rosa Plain.

“This is intended to be the primary access to the park in the long term. From a logistical perspective, the trail we constructed was critical. Our task was to create a connection from the parking lot to the existing trails. What we really like about it is we were able to access a variety of terrains,” said Ken Wells, executive director of the Trails Council, which has a contract with the county parks to build trails at Taylor Mountain.

The current entrance to the park is tucked out of the way off Kawana Terrace near the Sonoma Academy. The trails from there were originally built as more utilitarian ranch roads that go straight up the mountain although a new ½-mile Todd Creek Trail was added by volunteers last year.

“They weren’t designed to be recreation. They’re not that enjoyable of a walk unless you’re looking for exercise, especially in the middle of summer,” Wells said of the old trails. The Kawana Terrace entrance, also home to a disc golf course, will remain open.

The next phase of the project calls for the construction of a children’s play area at the entrance that will include natural play features likes logs and boulders. Planning workshops will be held over the next several months with construction slated for the summer of 2016, Freeman said. Other features that will be added as funding becomes available include a permanent rest room, a group picnic area and camp sites.

The project was funded by a $750,000 grant from the Proposition 84 Statewide Parks Program and $350,000 in impact fees paid by developers for parks and roads.

You can reach Staff Writer Meg McConahey at meg.mcconahey@pressdemocrat.com or 521-5204. On Twitter @megmcconahey.