Tolay Lake Regional Park: A Sacred Valley Between Petaluma and San Pablo Bay

Sonoma County Regional Parks says Tolay Lake Regional Park is about 8 miles southeast of downtown Petaluma. At 3,400 acres, it is one of the largest parks in the county system. It is named for the seasonal lake that forms in the valley between its hillsides.

A sacred place

The county says Tolay Lake is a spiritual center and cultural landscape for the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, made up of Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo tribal citizens, and that the tribe is the county's partner in stewarding the park. The park page quotes tribal chairman Greg Sarris describing the area as one of three places in Northern California where Indian doctors from different tribes gathered for healing ceremonies.

Wikipedia says seasonal habitation around the lake goes back at least 4,000 years. Many prehistoric charmstones and arrowheads have been found in the lake bed.

How the lake changed

According to Wikipedia, settlers around 1850 dynamited a natural earthen dam on the lake's south side to drain it for farming and grazing, cutting the lake's size roughly in half. An east-west causeway was later built across it. The Cardoza family ranched and farmed the basin until 2005, when Sonoma County agreed to buy the property for $18 million. The park opened to full public access in October 2018.

The county says the park combines the 1,737-acre Tolay Lake Ranch, bought by the county's open space district, and the 1,665-acre Tolay Creek Ranch, bought and transferred by the Sonoma Land Trust. Restoration plans aim to return the lake to a natural system. The lakebed is not open to the public.

Trails and views

There are 11 miles of trails for hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians, mostly across open grassland with little shade. Popular routes listed by the county:

• Park Center to Three Bridges Vista Point, 2.5 miles each way, with views of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, the Bay Bridge and the Highway 37 overpass.
• The West Ridge Trail extension to the far reaches of Tolay Creek, an 8-mile round trip.
• Shorter accessible routes in dry weather, including the 1.35-mile Historic Lakeville Road Trail and the 0.9-mile Causeway Trail.

Watch for golden eagles, burrowing owls and other raptors, and for cattle, which graze along the trails. The county says the park is open 7 a.m. to sunset, parking is $8 or free for members, and leashed dogs are allowed. Some areas, including the Gathering Area and the Cardoza Road and Duck Pond trails, are closed through October for construction.