360 degree views from 2,729 feet above the Sonoma Valley floor out of the fog and in the sunshine with no one around but dragonflies and soaring vultures. AMAZING day!! We had a hard time believing what we were seeing. I know I keep thinking “this hike is the most picturesque hike” but seriously they all are and I can’t help but be super excited to share it all!
We got off to a slower than normal start thanks to having dinner with a friend the night before that (ok just because it was so good I will mention it) was a delicious tahini glazed salmon on cucumber spiralized noodles. I am a huge spiralizer person now and have even converted the hubs. Ok, back up a bit. Figs are in season and so is this amazing spring cheddar so that was appetizers with champagne. Then the yummy dinner with fresh blackberries muddled in Moscow Mules. So now that I have painted the picture for the reason behind the slower than usual start, it will make more sense to understand why I am so excited we were able to hike up 1,600 feet the next morning! 🙂
It’s probably a good thing we didn’t get up at the crack of dawn like I wanted to since our wonderful Sonoma Valley was socked in with fog. It did provide some lovely moody pics though! Once we hiked above the fog bank the views were amazing! It was as if we could just jump off onto the fog and take a nap! Needless to say I took a ton of pics and wish I could share each moment with you but had to refrain and only attach some of them. I hope they show the beauty of the area as well as my excitement of what we were so fortunate to see.
This mountain (I know it’s not super high up but it’s high for this area) provides 360 degree views of both wine country valleys as well as seeing the silhouette of mountains several miles away. We reached the top of the fire road to find a couple trail runners already checking out the views. Other than them we only saw a few other people along the trails. The hubs and I are still learning the area and were amazed when we were up there that we could see Napa Valley so clear and so close to Sonoma Valley. Both are equally gorgeous views but I am a little partial to Sonoma :).
Enjoy the pics below and if you can make it out to Sugarloaf Park definitely take the time to head up to the top of Bald Mountain! Check our Bay Area Hiker’s page for the route we took.
P.S. Sugarloaf is ran by a non profit group that took over after the state was going to close the park due to funding and have made this into a wonderful hiking destination. During the summer they have Funky Fridays concerts to fundraise every Friday evening. It is so worth the $10 for the music and to see what amazing work they have accomplished!
One of my favorite hikes ! Good work out too. Check it out on July 4th and watch 6 or 7 different firework shows with about 50 other people. Thanks for the post.
Oooh! Thanks for the 4th of July tip! That would be amazing up there!
I can definitely understand the excitement – those photos are gorgeous! The fog does look pretty comfy 🙂