A Stunning Preserve on the Sonoma Coast Is Open

From a ridge overlooking Bodega Bay, a salty breeze ripples through carpets of purple Douglas irises and orange and yellow California poppies. Osprey and bald eagles cruise by, searching for fish below. On a clear spring day, one might spot gray whales passing close offshore as they migrate north. 

This is the view from the 600-foot crest of the Ridge Trail at the newly open Estero Americano Coast Preserve, where Americano Creek meets the Pacific Ocean, forming a coastal estuary. Across gentle slopes, three interconnected trails spanning more than four miles offer sweeping views of the region’s diverse landscape, from the rolling farmlands east toward the tiny town of Valley Ford to Point Reyes National Seashore to the south and the windswept Sonoma Coast to the north. To the west, the creek widens enough to demarcate Marin and Sonoma counties before flowing into the sea.