New Marin Trail to Open May 19 with Tours, Rides and Hikes

There's a new trail in town, and the Marin County Parks wants you to celebrate the grand opening on Saturday, May 19, at 9:30 a.m. The will include key note speakers, ribbon cutting, volunteer recognition, and trail tours.

The 2.9 mile 680 Trail, so named for its elevation of 680 feet, lies within a floating trail easement deeded to the County from the in 2004. Visitors to the trail might see Western bluebirds (who winter in the area), Red-Tailed hawks, bobcats, coyotes and badgers.

As a resident of nearby Sleepy Hollow, County Supervisor and her four-legged (and leashed!) friend Rita are both excited to walk the 680 Trail, noting that “this new trail is an incredible community asset that will be treasured by generations to come.”

When completely open, the 680 Trail will be a shared-use trail for hiking, mountain biking and equestrian use providing a vital link between the Terra Linda/Sleepy Hollow Divide Open Space preserve and the Loma Alta Open Space Preserve.

Linda Dahl, Marin County Parks Director and General Manager, said, “Marin County Parks is thrilled to re-establish a public link between these preserves that has been lost for years.”  

The 680 Trail is already open to hikers, but has been kept closed to other users over the winter, allowing the trail tread and structures to harden.

Access4Bikes, the Forest Knolls Freewheelers and the Marin County Bicycle Coalition will lead a bike ride to the grand opening and ribbon cutting event. The ride begins at 8:30 a.m. from the Java Hut parking lot, 760 Center Boulevard, Fairfax. In the spirit and peace and sharing on this new multi-use trail, Access4Bikes will be installing free engraved bike bells to bike handlebars at the event.

“This magnificent trail will be a lasting celebration of the generosity and cooperation between a broad spectrum of community members and user groups,” said County Supervisor Steve Kinsey.

Construction on the trail took place between May and October 2011 and was carried out by Parks staff, Conservation Corps North Bay (CCNB), private contractors, biological consultants, and nearly 150 volunteers. Work included building bridges, rock walls, switchbacks, resource monitoring, and species protection.

Volunteers from groups including the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, Bay Area Ridge Trail, Forest Knolls Freewheelers, Access4Bikes, the equestrian community and the Marin County Parks Trail Management Team (TMT) assisted in trail work and outreach. A total of 690 hours of volunteer time was donated over the course of nine work days.

Randy Libby, President of the Forest Knolls Freewheelers, said “We were glad to help out on the trail and are excited to ride the trail when it opens.”

Getting There: The grand opening celebration will take place at the eastern trailhead- the intersection of the 680 trail and the Luiz Ranch fire road on the Terra Linda/Sleepy Hollow (TL/SH) Open Space Preserve. The trailhead is 1+ miles above the preserve entries of the following streets in Terra Linda: Del Ganado Road, De La Guerra Road, Vallejo Way, and Diego Drive and from Lucas Valley Road at Mt. Muir Court. The trailhead is slightly farther than 1 mile from streets closer to the Mission Pass bike path at the end of Manuel T. Freitas Parkway in Terra Linda.

It is also possible to access the 680 Trail from its west trailhead near the top of the Loma Alta Open Space Preserve and travel the trail east to the meeting spot. This would include access points in Fairfax at Glen Drive or near White’s Hill at Brown Bridge or from Lucas Valley Road at the Big Rock trailhead following the easement to the top of Loma Alta.  

To learn more about MCP and our anniversary celebrations, please visit marincountyparks.org.