This April, National Geographic‘s Stephanie Pearson published 100 Hikes of a Lifetime U.S.A., a stunning new book chronicling the country’s most scenic bucket-list trails alongside beautiful Nat Geo photography.
The book features numerous California routes, from the legendary Half Dome Trail in Yosemite to the lesser-known, backcountry Sierra High Route. But you don’t even have to leave San Francisco for a glimpse into the Bay Area Ridge Trail, which Pearson describes as “a wild urban oasis.”
Here’s a closer look at the Bay Area Ridge Trail, a trail project that’s nearly 4 decades in the making.
Hiking the Bay Area Ridge Trail
According to 100 Hikes of a Lifetime U.S.A., today’s Bay Area Ridge Trail was first conceptualized in the 1960s by William Penn Mott, Jr., who later became the director of the National Park Service. Mott imagined a continuous 550-mile trail that follows the ridgelines around the Bay Area, but it wasn’t until the late 1980s that the trail started to take form.
Now, 37 years after the first segment was added, the Bay Area Ridge Trail has grown to cover about 70% of Mott’s envisioned route. It may take another 20 years to cover the remaining 30%.
Despite being a work in progress, the trail has plenty of open trail segments that can accommodate hikers, cyclists, and horseback riders.
To the north, open segments offer views of the vineyards in Sonoma and Napa and of the ocean in the Marin Headlands. In SF, the trail crosses the Golden Gate Bridge, the Presidio, and Golden Gate Park before heading south to summit Mount Umunhum in San Jose, and then turns inland to traverse the ridgelines of the East Bay.
The Bay Area Ridge Trail Council works with local organizations to help the project intersect with the urban areas that it crosses. Groups like Latino Outdoors, Outdoor Afro, and Together Bay Area conduct outreach to help historically marginalized communities see the trail as a space for all.
The biggest finished stretches are the 80-mile segment between northern Marin and Highway 92, and the 43-mile segment between El Sobrante and Union City.
Visit the Bay Area Ridge Trail website for an interactive map and more details.
