Bay Area Ridge Trail 24 miles from South of 9 and Castle Rock
Views: Coastal Range, Wooded, some Bay Views
Crowd: Light to moderate in a few sections
Average Speed: 3.5 mph
Stopped Time: 1 min
Difficulty 1-5 for relative distance: 2
Bike: No Bikes
Dogs: No dogs
Cautions: Some parts have Poison Oak
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Hike Direction: South to North, Thru Hike.
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Download GPX route: Click Here
Parking: Free in Skyline Park.
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Driving Directions:
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//37.217031,-122.06953/@37.218211,-122.1395856,12z/data=!3m1!4b1
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More info: http://ridgetrail.org/the-trail/trail-maps
This is probably the longest semicontinuous Bay Area Ridge Trail segment on the Peninsula.
As a thru hike it is about 24 miles. (Not sure why it is now listed at 23.4- the GPS had it at 23.98 miles). It starts about 4 miles South of Castle Rock and ends at Windy Hill.
Connects for longer options include many others From Castle Rock, Sanborn Park, Monto Bello, Los Trancos, Foothill, Arastradero, Alpine, Coal Creek, Rancho San Antonio, Hidden Villa, Skyline to the Sea backpacking route, Butano, Pescadero, Portola Redwoods, Sam Mcdonald, Windy Hill, Cole Creek and many other Open spaces creating many hundred of miles of trails.
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Red = Out & Back (O/B) or Connection hikes
Green = Loops
Blue = Backpacking including Backpacking thru hikes
Light Blue = Thru hikes
Yellow = To-do Backpack
Pink = Smaller loop option
Orange = To-do
Purple = Bay Ridge Trail thru hikes
GENERAL NOTES:
• Total Elevation Gain reported by GAIA on IOS devices looks to be a bit under reported when compared to Garmin devices that feature Baro elevation correction. It has been left for consistency.
• I carried a full overnight weekend backpack and hiked solo, unless otherwise noted. This certainly slows the time and pace a bit. I did so initially for the workout, but now so that the pacing is consistent and thus more predictable for comparing hike to hike times.
• Often midweek you might not see another person on your loop. Some of the Best Hikes on the Peninsula are surprisingly remote.
• Some of the trails have sharp drops just off the edge of the single track. A fall off in the wrong spot could be very bad.
• Cell signal is spotty to non-existent in many of the areas.
• Carry a headlamp in case you get lost, delayed, over estimated your progress, when you have an afternoon start, etc.
• When Hiking Solo, consider carrying extra food, first aid, and shelter or bivy, in case you find yourself lost, injured or in the parks after dark. It could be better to shelter in place, than continue without working light, tripping and falling off a cliff or wandering lost thru the night.
• Wildlife consists not only of lizards, rabbits, birds (including turkeys and hogs in some of the areas) and deer, but I have seen or seen signs of coyote, bob cat, rattle snakes and even mountain lions in several of the preserves over the years.
Seems like the lizards make the most noise as the run thru the leaves, but note that on several occasions the rattle snakes did NOT rattle. It never hurts to be aware of where you are stepping.
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ABOUT DOGS AND BIKES:
Most of the hiking routes cover a large area and numerous hiking trails. While some of the hiking trails used to create the route might allow dogs or bikes, a "NO" for either is listed if at any point on the hike, a hiking trail used for the hike, has a "NO" sign is posted.
However, regardless of the signs posted, please note that you'll often still see both.