Exploring Nature in the San Francisco Bay Area
The cash-strapped city of Benicia has come up with a novel way to keep its local state recreation area open and off the list of California park closures: get the state to foot the bill. The city says it can operate the 500-acre park at less than half the state’s budget.
The Bear Valley trail, heading southwest from Park Headquarters to the coast, is one of the emblematic walks, and the most traveled trail, on the Point Reyes Peninsula. Jules covers about 10 miles and encounters a bobcat, an alligator lizard, early-blooming milkmaids, and very late-blooming Indian paintbrush.
Ravenswood Open Space Preserve in East Palo Alto. Trail: 2.7 mi, 9 ft elevation gain, loop
Each year, Bay Nature Institute honors several individuals who are making outstanding contributions to the understanding and stewardship of the natural world of the Bay Area. Here are this year’s winners.
Monarchs may be the most celebrated and regal of the Lepidoptera, and they’re hitting record highs in the Bay Area. Ardenwood Historic Farm in Fremont is estimating their numbers at 4,200, which is 10 times the normal count. Grab your binoculars.
This New Year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of Point Reyes National Seashore, yet another brilliant example of “America’s Best Idea.” To acknowledge and honor this milestone, I have set a personal goal to walk all of the 154 miles of designated trails within the Seashore during 2012, one step at a time.
Independent, nonprofit environmental journalism connecting people with nature in the San Francisco Bay Area.
