Santa Rosa, CA

My, how you've grown!

2025-06-12 kingsnake Hiking, Tourism 0

Heading down Cobblestone Trail. The next day was actually foggier!
Heading down Cobblestone Trail. The next day was actually foggier!

I first visited Santa Rosa around 1971  when the population was 50,000. My grandparents had retired there from Los Angeles. We flew out for that visit, probably into San Francisco. Santa Rosa’s population has more than tripled since, and what can you say about San Francisco?, except flying into Sacramento seemed a better option.

Indeed it was: Driving CA-128 over the Vaca Mountains, past Lake Berryessa and Lake Hennessey, along the Silverado Trail (nothing but vineyards), then over the Mayacamas Mountains to Santa Rosa, was a lot more relaxing than via freeways through scenic Vallejo.

Clockwise from upper left: 1) Frog Pond. 2) No Newts? I thought California was “No Nukes”? More Signs 3) Lot’s of St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum), and in much more profuse clusters. 4) Miniature lupine (Lupinus bicolor).

We had a two day family event, so my focus was on that, not hiking. But I couldn’t stand being totally sedentary, so I got out for a couple of walks around our Airbnb’s neighborhood in Melita.

First up was a short spin through Trione-Annadel State Park, along a fire road to Frog Pond, Cobblestone Trail, and Channel Dr. back to our Airbnb.

GPS File: Trione-Annadel_State_Park
Distance: 2.23 mi.
AEG: 304 ft.
Time: 45m

Clockwise from upper left: 1) 6:30 a.m., waiting for the fog to clear. It actually got worse for the next 45 minutes! 2) Spring Lake Trail is a fitness trail, so from a distance, I thought this was a rapelling tower. 3) Looking north, at the Mayacamas Mountains, from the south end of Spring Lake. 4) Common water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes). More Flowers
Clockwise from upper left: 1) 6:30 a.m., waiting for the fog to clear. It actually got worse for the next 45 minutes! 2) Spring Lake Trail is a fitness trail, so from a distance, I thought this was a rapelling tower. 3) Looking north, at the Mayacamas Mountains, from the south end of Spring Lake. 4) Common water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes). More Flowers

Next day, it was the west side of Violetta Rd., with a hike around Spring Lake. Midday, we drove out along the Russian River to Korbel for lunch, then a bit further to Guerneville, visiting the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve. California is a beautiful state, unfortunately ruined by criminal government incompetence.

GPS File: Spring_Creek_Trail
Distance: 3.14 mi.
AEG: 202 ft.
Time: 56m

Rumble Video

Vimeo Video

Colonel Armstrong Redwood from Preston McMurry on Vimeo.