Regional Parks E-News
February 2016
Valentine's Day Adventures
Beaches and Mountaintops ... Where to Say 'I Love You' in the Parks

Cozy up at the Coast: Pack a picnic and drive up Highway 1 to Gualala Point Regional Park. Stroll the beach, check out the driftwood creations, and marvel at the sea lions lazing at the mouth of the Gualala River. If you're lucky, you might glimpse a bald eagle or peregrine falcon soaring overhead. Walk windswept bluffs and watch for migrating gray whales before dusk falls and the sky captivates you with a perfect sunset.
 
Romance on the Ridge: For an inspired view closer to home, we recommend Shiloh Ranch Regional Park, where you can set your heart racing by climbing the Ridge Trail to a vista point with benches and panoramic views of the Santa Rosa Plain. Return through the park's back country and the ferns and moss of the shady Creekside Trail. Share the love by posting a photo on our Facebook page or Instagram (#SonomaCountyParks.)
Backpack with Rangers
Intro to Backpacking Clinic
Interested in backpacking, but not sure how to start? Come to one of the backpacking clinics our rangers are leading March 9 at Spring Lake, March 15 at Ragle Ranch, and April 13 at Helen Putnam. They'll explain how to plan a trip, select and pack gear, set up camp, and fix meals. Participants will have the unique opportunity to backpack with rangers in the parks this spring and summer.
Hang Ten at Surf Camps
Kids at Surf Camp
The way-cool Junior Lifeguard Surf Camp at Doran Beach is back for spring break March 21-24. Kids 9 and older will learn surfing and ocean safety and enjoy games and other silliness on the beach. We've also set the schedule for summer lifeguard camps at Doran and Spring Lake and, for the first time, kayaking and stand-up-paddling camps on the Russian River. Spring break registration is available now, and summer registration begins in March.
Bringing Nature into Play
We're excited to be planning our first 'natural' play area, a space at Taylor Mountain Regional Park & Open Space Preserve where kids can get the earth in their hands and let their imaginations run wild. Natural play areas are made of landforms, vegetation and other natural components, not metal or plastic structures. They foster a connection to the outdoors and encourage unstructured, creative play, the kind researchers say is crucial to children's mental and physical health. 

We shared possible concepts at a recent workshop and will present a draft playground design in late March, with the goal of starting construction this summer. The play area will be near the Petaluma Hill Road entrance and likely will include embankment slides, climbing stones and logs and a digging zone. Sounds pretty fun, doesn't it? 
Cows and Conservation
Cow grazing at Taylor Mountain
Have you hiked Taylor Mountain or North Sonoma Mountain and wondered why you're sharing the parks with cattle? In a recent Press Democrat column, Regional Parks' Natural Resources Manager Melanie Parker explains why grazing benefits public lands. "The real story with grazing is that it's complicated, and it is both a science and an art," she writes. "As park managers, we are working hard to learn as much as we can about restoring and stewarding grassland ecosystems with grazing as one of our tools. When you see cows in a park, please know that they are there to get some work done."
 Grow Your Garden Skills 
Larkfield Community Garden
Join us at 10 a.m. Feb. 27 at Larkfield Community Garden for the first in a monthly series of workdays designed to teach organic gardening. At this workday we'll learn how to build a compost system and how to clear beds for new plantings. This new community-operated garden at Maddux Ranch Regional Park relies on volunteers. Can you dig in?
Outings & Events

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Sonoma County Regional Parks
(707) 565-2041
parks@sonoma-county.org
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