The idea is simple: they’d never create a bad trail in somebody’s honor. Most obvious example is the Matt Davis Trail at Mount Tamalpais State Park. I have no idea who Matt Davis was, but he must’ve had something on the ball because his name is on one of the finest trails in the Bay Area.
If I’m scanning a map, I always look or trails with human names. A couple examples:
- Ray Linder Memorial Trail, Butano State Park. It’s tucked into a redwood-studded hillside in the far northern reaches of the park. You’re looking at a 10-mile round trip just to get there, but it’s one of the best trips through second-growth redwoods in the area.
- Betsy Crowder Trail, Windy Hill Open Space Preserve — not spectacular but proves my point: it’s one of the prettiest stretches of dirt at Windy Hill: tree-lined, passing a peaceful pond and working its way up into the park.
And, of course, there’s the legendary John Muir Trail.
These are just the ones that spring immediately to mind. If you can think of any more, please leave a comment. Don’t worry if you’re not a Bay Area local — the concept is universal.
1) Ivan Dickson Overlook in Briones Regional Park. It’s short but a beautiful view of Briones Reservoir.
2) Helen Markt Trail in Marin County. This is one of my favorite trails ever– it runs alongside Alpine Lake, one of the lesser-frequented trails in Marin.
Victoria: Thanks much. I scrounged through a bunch of my maps and came up with a few more:
Iverson Trail, Portola Redwoods State Park. This goes along a creek and near a seasonal waterfall. Quite pretty.
Lyman Wilson Ridge Trail, Henry Coe State Park. One of the most humane routes up into the hills from the Hunting Hollow entrance. Once you get up into the hills, the views are awesome.
Virgil Williams Trail, Las Trampas Regional Wilderness. High on the eastern ridge at Las Trampas, one of the nicest areas in the park.
The Howard King trail (Big Basin) comes to mind.
I think Hobbs road is named after a human.
I must also add one of my personal “Bests”, the Bob Walker Ridge Loop at Morgan Territory Regional Open Space. Excellent views of the Sierra from the east side of his ridge, especially during winter.
Bob Walker’s photographs are currently being exhibited at the Oakland Museum, until October, I believe. His photos are featured in the EBRPD’s 2008 calendar, too….
Ah, let’s not forget McGuire Peaks Trail in Sunol Regional Wilderness. (Note: it’s often spelled Maguire, but the trail marker off Welch Creek Road says McGuire (my namesakes). There’s also a McGuire Trail up in the Foresthill area.
Yes, there is a great exhibit on Bob Walker at the Oakland Museum right now– AND Gambolin’ Man and Jane Huber (of bahiker.com) are both quoted…
Before relocating to the Bay Area I lived in Pittsburgh, PA for 10 years, home to the Rachel Carson trail. The trail is named for the famous environmentalist/author and hosts The Rachel Carson Challenge –a 34 mile endurance day hike– every year.