Last week, my old hikin’ buddies and I celebrated our 75th
birthdays, and the 25th anniversary of the Petaluma Rim Trail, with
“a walk around town.”
We took the bus to the I Street trailhead, filled the water
bottles at the fountain, and started up Hash Hill, the rising sun warming our
backs. Hash Hill was the first trail segment to be acquired as part of the Rim
Trail project, back in 2003, connecting the Westridge Open Space to I Street.
Once on Westridge, we take a spur trail to the top of
Wotokipais, the 800-foot peak marking the southern end of the Petaluma Valley.
The Open Space District purchased it in 2009. From the top, we have a fine
south to Olompali and the Petaluma Marsh. We stop for a chat with old friends
at Robber’s Cave Rock, just down the hill. The Rock was added to the trail by a
gift of an easement 22 years ago, setting a precedent that helped made the Rim
Trail a reality.
We follow the trail’s ups and downs through Westridge,
crossing Thompson Creek, then along ridge tops on property line easements all
the way to D Street. From there it winds through the oaks beside Kelly Creek up
into Putnam Park. We pass the Bay Area Ridge Trail (the *other* BART. The Rim
Trail bristles with connector trails, from short jogs to scenic overlooks and
creeks, to links into the City’s network of trails.) We eat our sandwiches at
Putnam’s bench, overlooking Petaluma from the west.
Our next stop is the Paula Lane Nature Preserve, where
City-Hall fighting locals successfully refused to take “Grow!” for an answer.
The resident naturalist fills us in on the current winged inhabitants. Then,
via private pastures and rural lanes, we zigzag our way to Petersen’s Farm,
where we recharge our honey bottles. We detour for a stroll into the
perenially-popular maize maze, cross under the freeway on the Willow Brook
Trail, pass through Telecom Valley’s creekside parks, and join a dozen
hiking-booted dinner diners at Eagle Ridge Winery. Harvest season trekking
between Petaluma’s growing number of Farm Trails farms has become an attraction
for locals and tourists alike. Our flashlights guide us up the hill to Kortum
Campground, where we put in for the night in a cozy tent cabin.
Sunday we walk the Eastside Greenbelt, which is still
holding the City in check after three decades. We play a round of Frisbee Golf,
enjoy a lunch and concert at the Junior College, and stop at Prince Park for my
granddaughter’s first softball playoff. In another two miles, we reach Adobe
Creek and the BART again, and make plans for a family trip to Lafferty and Jack
London Parks via the Adobe Creek / Over The Mountain Trail. At the Marina, we
cross the north-south Rail Trail and then the Petaluma River by the high-wire
ferry. After winding over and around a few more hills, we have completed the
circuit, and break out the sparkling cider.
At dinner, my teenage grandson asks how Petaluma ended up
with such cool trails. We old gray Boomers, I told him, realized that walking
was the best form of exercise – cheap, sociable, safe – and that Petaluma had
great potential to make walking not only practical, but extremely interesting.
Remember, people then wanted their recreation closer to home, for security and
environmental reasons. And – if you can believe this– obesity had become a
national epidemic. Petaluma’s first true walking park, Schollenberger, was a
big hit. Petaluma’s special committee to promote walking and cycling proposed
the Rim Trail, and it was included as a goal in the City’s 2004 General Plan.
But it took more than a good plan. The County Open Space
District, stung by criticism for squandering millions on remote or unappealing
properties, and facing a re-authorization vote, was a major contributor to
purchasing the private property trail easements. Another critical factor: as
walking became more popular, rural landowners realized they’d be safer with trails
than without them. The County was willing to buy, they were willing to sell.
The rest is history. Or so we hope.