If you see smoke over the Mayacamas this week, it may be planned.
The burn
The park's website posted a smoke advisory: California State Parks, supported by local fire agencies and members of the Sonoma Valley Wildlands Collaborative, plans a prescribed burn at Sugarloaf Ridge as soon as Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, or soon after if conditions allow. The Spanish-language notice gives a window of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The site says details are on its Park Conditions page.
The park
Sugarloaf Ridge sits in the Mayacamas Mountains northeast of Kenwood, straddling the Sonoma-Napa county line, according to Wikipedia. It covers 4,020 acres and includes 2,729-foot Bald Mountain and the headwaters of Sonoma Creek, with a 25-foot seasonal waterfall. It was one of the first parks slated to close in the 2011 state budget cuts. Team Sugarloaf reopened it in June 2012 and still runs it with the Sonoma Ecology Center.
Visiting
The park's site says it is open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the visitor center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It has 25 miles of trails and 47 campsites, 44 of which are currently open. Pets are allowed in the campground, the picnic area and on paved roads in the main park area, but not on park trails. The park is also home to the Robert Ferguson Observatory, which the site describes as the largest observatory in the western U.S. dedicated to public viewing.