Sonoma Mountain : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost

Overview

Sonoma Mountain is located in Sonoma County, California. Besides being located in the middle of the famous wine country of California, Sonoma Mountain is located just a few miles south of Hood Mountain and Bald Mountain. Sonoma Mountain is ranked #163 on the California Prominence with 2,003 ft of prominence. Sonoma Mountain is located adjacent to the Jack London State Historic Park near the quaint little town of Glen Ellen.

Jack London was a prolific author of the early 20th century whose home has been converted to this state park. Upon his death Jack London was buried on the property and you can visit his gravesite. There are redwoods in the park and the trail to the summit passes through some of the redwood stands.

Getting There

The trailhead for Sonoma Mountain is located in Jack London State Historic Park . This state park is located south of Highway 12 between Sonoma and Santa Rosa. The intersection is well marked and signaled for the quaint little town of Glen Ellen and Jack London State Historic Park. Turn south towards Glen Ellen which is .9 mile from Hwy 12. In the middle of town there is a signed right turn to the Jack London State Historic Park. Drive up this road 1.2 miles to the entrance to the park. Pay your $6 day use fee and pull into the large parking lot on the right. This is the trailhead and the elevation here is about 715 ft.

The entrance fee allows you to view the grounds and house also. Hours of entry are 9:30 AM PDT (Edit: 10:00AM PST per Bob Burd 9/24/08) until Sunset.

Mountain Bikers often use the trail system all the way to the highpoint of the park.

See the Route Description for info on the trail and finding the summit of Sonoma Mountain.

"If the $6 entrance fee is too rich for your blood, and 9:30 AM is too late for you to start a hike, it is perfectly acceptable to park your car in the town of Glen Ellen and walk up the road to Jack London State Park." per nikolai . Be advised this will add about 2.5 miles and 500ft of elevation gain to your hike.

Red Tape

No permits required, but you do have to pay the $6 day use fee to park in the state park. Maps and other information are available at the nearby Visitor Center and Museum. Maps are also posted at the trailhead. Entry hours are 9:30AM until Sunset.

Contact the Jack London State Historic Park for questions or for more information.

Camping

There is camping available nearby at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park .

Overnight camping is not allowed in the state park so don’t plan on it. They would probably frown on you setting up a stealth bivy site.

When to Climb

This mountain is accessible year round. During the winter there could be lots of rain and high winds, so make good decisions when you chose to climb.

Mountain Conditions

This mountain is accessible in all seasons

For current weather conditions in Santa Rosa and Sonoma follow these links.

Sonoma

Santa Rosa

Additions and Corrections

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	Dennis Poulin	Re: getting in for free
	Hasn't voted	Thanks again! I added your information to the main page. Dennis
		Posted Apr 13, 2007 11:25 am

mrchad9

Some updates...

Voted 10/10

The park fee is now $8, and everything closes at 5:00PM instead of sunset. There is a sign indicating the summit is owned by Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District but not open to the public. Where I live the East Bay Regional Park District, and perhaps Sonoma County is on this list too, seems to have a habit of acquiring land and holding it for years... even decades... before giving the public the access they paid for. As a result we didn't feel too bad about crossing over and having lunch on the summit.

Posted Mar 28, 2010 10:04 pm

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