Olompali State Park Hike (April 28) Preview

We're back to Mount Burdell for a second time this Spring, this time to hike on the eastern flank beginning at Olompali State Historic Park. (Click here for a recap of last year's "April Fools Day" jaunt). Here's what Wendy says about this hike: "This site was a Miwok settlement inhabited from about 500 AD, a ranch given to Mary Black when she married James Burdell, a home for the Grateful Dead and a gathering place for Bay Area rock musicians, and finally a State Historic Park. We’ll take a loop trail for the natural history and then check out the historical buildings. We can expect Chinese houses, fork-toothed ookow, and paper onions, but Olompali is full of surprises that in past years have included caterpillars of Lorquin’s admirals, silver-spotted skippers, gopher snakes, and a junco’s nest with nestlings! This is often a buggy hike so bring some insect repellent in case."

Directions to trailhead: Olompali State Historic Park is 2.5 miles north of the city of Novato. Take Highway 101 north. Exit on the Redwood Landfill Road and cross the freeway. Olompali is on the west side of 101. Restrooms at trailhead. 35 minutes from College of Marin. (Carpoolers can meet at Smith Ranch Park & Ride lot around 9:15-20 am).

Weather forecast: As of Tuesday, April 21st, the National Weather Service forecast for Novato on Tuesday, April 28 was mostly sunny with a high near 66. (Click here for an updated forecast). Let's hope the NWS prediction is more accurate that their forecast of 71 degrees for the Wolf Ridge hike.

More on this hike: Hike "E14 Two Hikes at Olompali State Park" in the Martins' book, Hiking Marin, shows the trails in the parks. The Google Earth image below shows this section of Mount Burdell looking from east to west. (Click on the photo to open a larger image in your Web browser).