Jack London State Historic Park
Distance 4.2 miles round trip / 2 hours
Elevation Change: 600 feet
Level: Moderate
Rating: ***
Directions: From Sonoma on Highway 12, drive north for 4.5 miles to Madrone Road and turn left. At the end of Madrone Road, turn right on Arnold Drive and follow it for three miles to Glen Ellen, then turn left on London Ranch Road. Follow London Ranch Road for one mile to the park entrance kiosk. Park in the day-use area on the right (not in the visitors center lot on the left.) The trail leads from the parking area.
Author Jack London wanted beauty, and so he "bought beauty, and was content with beauty for awhile." Those were his words to describe his love affair with his Sonoma ranch and its surrounding hills, which are now part of Jack London State Historic Park.
London, famous for his novels Call of the Wild and The Sea Wolf, which made him one of the most popular and highest paid fiction writers of the early 1900s, wanted to build his home in Glen Ellen to escape city life. After two years of construction, his ranch dream house caught fire and burned to the ground just days before he and his wife were to move in. It was a devastating loss, both personally and financially, for the London�s. The couple lived on the ranch in a small wood-frame house until Jack London's death in 1916.
London's vision of beauty is the setting for this easy loop hike that begins at the ranch vineyards, then leads through a scenic woodland to a small lake and high vistas. Be sure to begin or end your trip with a visit to the Jack London Museum at the visitor�s center, which features interesting exhibits and photographs from the author's life.
Take the paved trail from the parking lot to the picnic area, then pick up the dirt fire road signed as Lake Trail. Head right, past the barns and winery buildings. Turn right at the sign for Pig Palace�the extravagant pigsty enjoyed by London's beloved pigs. Check out this elaborate stone structure, then return to the main path. Skirting past carefully tended vineyards, the road forks at a gate; hikers take the right turnoff on single-track Lake Trail. You'll climb for a half mile through mixed hardwoods and Douglas firs to the lake's edge. (Several paths junction with Lake Trail; all lead to the lake.)
London's prized lake is more of a pond nowadays. With sediment continually encroaching upon it, it has shrunk to half its original size. A redwood log cabin that was used as a bathhouse still stands. The London�s swam, fished, and entertained guests at the lake.
Beyond the lake lies the park's "real" hiking trails, Which consist of two separate loops. From the ranch road on the southeast edge of the lake, take single-track Quarry Trail east. A quarter mile of walking leads you to a bench and a vista point that overlooks the bucolic Valley of the Moon and green ridges behind it. Enjoy this spot, then continue on Quarry Trail, turn left and loop back on Vineyard Trail and Vineyard Road.
Back near the lake again, follow the wide ranch road uphill through a few switchbacks. (The road is now called Mountain Trail.) At a large clearing and second vista point, you gain another wide view of Sonoma Valley. This is also the intersection with Fallen Bridge Trail, where you'll make a 1.3-mile loop. Take the left fork first, crunching through the leaves lining the path. The route tunnels through madrones and oaks, then meets up with Asbury Creek and parallels it. Bear right to loop back on Upper Fallen Bridge Trail, now climbing steeply through the redwood-lined creek canyon. At a junction with Mountain Trail, turn right and follow the dirt road back to the clearing, then continue downhill through the switchbacks to the lake.
Options
If you're feeling more ambitious, a newly built trail travels 11 miles round-trip to a ridgetop overlook just below the summit of 2,463-foot Sonoma Mountain (the summit itself is on private property). The Sonoma Ridge Trail, as the trail is called, was completed in 2002, after four years of wrangling to obtain an extra 600 acres of parkland, nearly doubling the size of Jack London State Historic Park. To access the trail, instead of following the meandering route around the ranch property described above, head straight uphill on Lake Trail and Mountain Trail. Watch for Sonoma Ridge Trail, a hard left turn off Mountain Trail, about two miles from the parking lot. The single-track path climbs moderately but steadily for 3.3 miles through a lovely mixed forest until it finally tops out at a wide overlook of the Valley of the Moon, San Pablo Bay, and far-off Mount Diablo.
Alternatively, if you prefer a shorter, steeper path to the high ridge of Sonoma Mountain, you can simply stay on Mountain Trail, a wide fire road, and follow it all the way to the park border (a 6.6-mile round-trip). A short spur trail at its end leads to an overlook on an eastern ridge of Sonoma Mountain, about 100 feet lower than the summit. This vantage point provides broad views of Mount St. Helena, San Pablo Bay, and Mount Tamalpais.
Trip Notes
A $5 day-use fee is charged per vehicle. Dogs are not allowed. Bikes are allowed only on fire roads. A park map is available at the entrance kiosk for $1. For more information, contact Jack London State Historic Park, 2400 London Ranch Road, Glen Ellen, CA 95442, 707/938-5216 or 707/938-1519, website: www.parks.sonoma.net.