Hiking
Sonoma is situated amid some of the most striking mountains in America, and just about an hour’s drive from the Pacific coast. With 13,000 acres of state and regional parks you’ll find many opportunities to get outside to hike, bike, and run.
Sonoma County’s Outdoor Activities
Gunsight Rock and Hood Mountain Hiking Trail
Ledson’s California ‘Hood Mountain’ Gunsight, an exquisite red blend that is much greater than the sum of its parts, was named after the Gunsight Rock, sitting high atop Hood Mountain just behind the Ledson Castle, offering breathtaking views of Sonoma Valley and the San Francisco Bay area.
Steve Ledson was born at the base of the mountain. He has been hiking up to the Gunsight all his life long and if you are lucky, you will meet Steve along the trail.
This 7.9-mile out-and-back trail is generally considered a challenging route, it takes an average of 4 h 51 min to complete. This is a popular trail for hiking and running, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime.
The best time of year is Spring, early summer of fall, bring a hat during hot days, layers during cooler months, lots of water, good hiking shoes.
Annadel State Park
Around the beginning of the twentieth century, Steve Ledson’s grandfather, Barker B. Ledson, purchased a sixteen-hundred-acre ranch bordering Steve’s great grandfather’s one hundred- and five-acre ranch on the corner of Lawndale Road and Sonoma Highway, the land known today as Annadel State Park and Oakmont. During the week, Barker worked in San Francisco as the General Manager at the City Ice Company while his wife, Edna Cunningham, a sturdy and hard-working woman, managed the ranch. They raised cattle and harvested Eucalyptus on their ranch and raised their three boys: Noble (Steve’s father), Winslow and Whitby.
For years the two ranches prospered, until in 1937 Barker Ledson died at age 57 of a heart attack. Edna was left to manage the ranch, relying on her boys and the support of her brother-in-law Penn Rich and his sons, Clifford and Ken who had years earlier taken over the William and Hannah’s Cunningham ranch after their deaths. Clifford was still managing the ranch in 2009, personally discing, pruning, and spraying the 35-acre walnut orchard planted to the property until he died just four days shy of turning 98.
Eventually, Edna sold the family ranch to a steamship builder named Joe Coney who renamed the ranch Annadale and donated it later to the California Parks Department. To this day, markers in the Annadale Park–Ledson Marsh, Steve’s Trail–reflect the Ledson legacy.
North Burma, Louis, Warren Richardson, and Steve’s Trail
3.6 miles loop trail, 603 ft elevation, 1 hr 40 min. average time
Try this 3.6-mile loop trail near Santa Rosa, California. Generally considered a moderately challenging route, it takes an average of 1 h 40 min to complete. This trail is great for hiking, running, and walking, and it’s unlikely you’ll encounter many other people while exploring. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime.
This route starts off with an uphill climb, but then levels out. The loop starts and stops on Channel Loop which is a heavily trafficked trail. Parts of this loop include trails that are single-use and designated for hikers only, but other trails are shared by both hikers and mountain bikers. This route is mostly a shaded trail so bring a jacket during the foggy winter months.
Jack London Mountain and Quarry Trail
Check out this 3.0-mile loop trail near Glen Ellen, California. Generally considered an easy route, it takes an average of 1 h 25 min to complete. This is a very popular area for birding, hiking, and horseback riding, so you’ll likely encounter other people while exploring. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime.
There is a $10 fee for parking. This loop walk will include portions of the Beauty Ranch, the London’s experimental farm, vineyard views, a redwood forest walk, and London Lake. The walk will also take one to start-offs for several additional trails covering the bulk of Jack London SHP. Jack London’s “Beauty Ranch” comprises about 1400 acres stretching from the floor of the “Valley of the Moon” onto the eastern slope of Sonoma Mountain in the heart of Sonoma County’s wine country. The park includes the remains of a number of historic structures comprising the living and operating features of Jack’s beloved ranch. This park contains Lake London, London’s vineyard and orchard, wonderful mixed forest, oak woodlands and meadow-grasslands vistas typical of the region north of the San Francisco Bay with an added feel of early California. Jack London SHP has over 10 miles of trails and fire-roads traversing through the park. Trails are available for hiking, mountain biking, and equestrian use. Depending on the trails chosen, elevation changes range from 600 to 2,300 feet. The Park suggests carrying lots of water on trails, watching for ticks, rattlesnakes, mountain lions and poison oak. Dress for the season.