Tolay Lake Regional Park is the largest of Sonoma County’s regional parks, spanning 3,400 acres. It is named for the seasonal lake that forms in the valley between its hillsides. The park offers trails for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding and is the site of the annual Tolay Fall Festival each October.
The park has been open to the public for nearly one year, after a decades-long effort to provide public access to the area. The property was acquired in 2005 by Sonoma County’s Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, and a second section was purchased by the Sonoma Land Trust in 2007 with support from the Open Space District and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Both parcels are now co-managed by the county and Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, whose tribe’s ancestors previously lived in the area.
The park’s 200-acre namesake water body is seasonal and won’t reappear until the winter’s heavier rains come.The lake once occupied more of the area before being drained by ranchers in the late 19th century, revealing thousands of “charm stones” that held sacred value for past inhabitants. – Santa Rosa Press Democrat
The diverse terrain of Tolay Lake Park includes sprawling grasslands with coast and live oaks, stands of willow trees, serpentine geology, the seasonal lake and Tolay Creek. The park has 11 miles of trails, a network the county hopes to expand in the future.
With luck, winter rains will allow visitors to view the lake in its full glory later this year.
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