A strikingly scenic, carefully preserved, yet previously difficult to access natural landscape in the San Francisco Bay Area gets a lot easier to experience this week.
Opening Aug. 24, the Skyline Watershed Ridge Trail stretches for 6 miles into San Mateo County’s Peninsula Watershed, a 23,000-acre preserve (just south of San Francisco) that protects four drinking water reservoirs and the surrounding forested ridges, coastal scrub, native grasslands, and diverse wildlife.
Intended for hikers, cyclists, and equestrians, the new out-and-back multiuse trail passes through all that scenery and, even better, shows off far-reaching views of San Francisco Bay, the Pacific Ocean, and beyond.
“It’s fairly spectacular, I have to say,” Tim Ramirez of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which manages the site, told public radio station KQED. “It has really phenomenal views of the bay and, in some places, downtown San Francisco, Mount Diablo, and also the ocean.”
Mile markers help you keep track of your progress, and interpretive panels along the way will fill you in on the flora and fauna in the vicinity as well as the region’s history and its crucial role in the water system.
The Skyline Watershed Ridge Trail is the latest addition to the planned Bay Area Ridge Trail, an epic, 550-mile hiking loop that, when finished, will go all the way around San Francisco Bay. With the opening of this latest link in the chain, the larger project is now about 75% complete.
How to hike the Skyline Watershed Ridge Trail: location, parking, permits
Located on Highway 35 (aka Skyline Boulevard) about 25 miles south of San Francisco, the new trail is free to visit, though you will need to apply online for a hiking permit in advance. The permit will remain valid for the rest of the year. There's no charge for applying.
Parking is also free but spots are limited, and you can expect lots of competition from the hiking-obsessed populace of San Francisco. Officials recommend arriving at the trailhead early to snag a parking space. The lot is open daily 6am to 6pm.
To learn more about the Skyline Watershed Ridge Trail, go to SFPUC.gov.