Novato Area Hikes

Description:

Novato is located along HWY 101, and has several interesting hikes. Mount Burdell and the Olompali park are located off of the highway. There are additional parks there that we'd like to explore.

Directions to trailhead:

From Santa Rosa: Take HWY 101 south. Shortly after passing the dump, drive slowly in the fast lane and look for the Olompali park sign. Exit off the freeway directly into Olompali and park. This exit is not on the freeway signs. When you leave, you are forced to continue south on HWY101 and must travel to the next exit to be able to cross the freeway and turn around to go North.

From Marin: Take HWY101 north. You'll notice the Olompali park entrance on the other side of the freeway just after you pass Novato. Keep going north until the next exit, then turn around and go south.

Picture: This picture shows the freeway entrance into Olompali when one is driving North from Novato. There is a $5 parking fee.

From the parking lot, it is an easy stroll on level ground to walk around the remains of Rancho Olompali and to see the example Miwok village in the back. For a leisurely hike, continue on the miwok trail partly up Mount Burdell. You'll reach the Mount Burdell trail and can decide then whether you'd like to continue to the top (~8 miles round trip), or return back to the parking lot on the lower Mount Burdell trail. (2.2 miles round trip, ~637 feet elevation gain).

Maps

• Olompali trails custom topo map (pdf)

[Pictures]

This is a very easy hike - it has an extremely low grade, you'll barely notice that you're going uphill. It's a fun stroll through the remains of Rancho Olompali and the example Miwok Village, then a nice leisurely, shaded climb up mount Burdell under oak and buckeye trees. It's a partial loop hike - you'll start on the Miwok trail and return on the Mount Burdell trail. If you change your mind on the long hike, you can turn around early for a shorter 2.3 mile round trip hike.

We recommend going to the top. There are many views of the marshlands around Petaluma river as it flows into the bay. Mount Diablo looms in the distance. We often see deer and hawks.

Maps

• Olompali trails custom topo map (pdf)

[Pictures]

Timings: We met at Coddingtown at 10:45am, left there at 11:06am. We hit bad traffic and arrived at Olompali at 11:35am. We paid our parking fees and some people put on hiking shoes. We met people already there and started hiking at 11:50am. We took a leisurely stroll through Rancho Olompali, reading the signs and taking a group picture. We reached the Miwok village at 12:04pm. We continued onward, and hit the loop trail at 12:31pm. We decided to continue to the top. At 2:16pm, we arrived at the summit. We hiked at a very slow pace to keep speed with an out of shape hiker. We had lunch for a little over 30 minutes, and enjoyed the views, talking, and exchanging snacks. At 2:50pm, we started back down, and at 4:05pm we reached the loop trail again. At 4:38, we reached the parking lot via the lower mount Burdell trail. Traffic was light and we made it back to Santa Rosa about 5pm. Total hiking, lunch, and carpool time was about 6 hours. Faster hikers can shave an extra hour off these times.

GPS: Rob brought a GPS, and created the Olompali trails custom topo map (pdf).

Team: We had 6 people sign up. Most were experienced fast hikers, though 1 person had not hiked in 3 years and desired a very slow pace. In hindsight, we should have broke the groups into fast & slow, used walkie talkies, and suggested that the slow group carpool together or take the shorter loop trail. This way everyone could go at their own speed without feeling rushed or slow paced.