- Trailhead: Island In the Sky Vista Loop
- Distance and Elevation: 6 miles, 1300 feet
- Parking and Fees: Parking is limited on the street. No entrance fees
- Dogs Allowed: Uncertain ~ Sign appears to indicate no, but many dogs were on the trail
- Fitness Level: Beginner (with rests on the incline)/Moderate
- Essentials: At least 2 liters of water (particularly in warmer months), sturdy shoes for possible mud
- Location: https://goo.gl/maps/Z6L6fB9ApXs9nezm9
Why opt outside? Simple….. It is virtually impossible to be in a bad mood while exploring mother nature’s gymnasium. Free (relatively anyway) therapy and exercise.
On this day, exploring new ground through a 6ish mile day hike was our objective. With a general route plan (from All Trails), we set off having some desired route changes in mind. As with most things, flexibility is key when it comes to explorations of the day hike variety, so we were open to any other changes missed junctions might bring out way.
In the hiking world, “The early bird gets the worm,” translates into “The early bird gets a parking space and quiet trails.” As such, we set off to reach the trailhead by 9am (late for me, but a few extra sleep minutes and a leisurely hot tea sounded really good on this day), and we did just that. We arrived with only two other cars in the area.
First to note, the road to the trailhead is closed with a locked gate. This requires that you park and walk in a bit, before actually reaching the trailhead. This is important to remember, as it caused me to second guess my navigation and at one point I turned to head back to the car thinking I was going the wrong way when in fact, I wasn’t. Even experienced hikers have their moments…. Flexibility, remember?
Anyway, at the locked gate, parking is limited with most of it along the road. You likely understand now why “early” is important. Although following the gravel road sounds unappealing, and is not part of the “actual” route, it is beautiful nonetheless. Flat grasslands, for cow grazing, provided a luscious green foreground for the rising mountains to our left, with towering redwoods and flourishing ferns to our right. When quiet, the sound of babbling creeks could be heard among the morning bird songs.
Up the road a bit, is the actual trailhead, with another gate and signage posted to ensure you are in the right place. A box to the left holds a “trail log” which didn’t really contain much of a log, but it did contain a gifted “follow your bliss” painted rock to set the tone for the day. We left it for others to enjoy.
We followed upper freezeout road as instructed by the All Trails map https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/islands-in-the-sky-seven-springs-and-snaps-trail-loop. Full disclosure here….. When you look at the Willow Creek Open Space map https://sonomahikingtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/willow-creek-state-park-map_2014.pdf this road name is not listed, but it does appear to be part of what they call “Island in the sky Vista Loop.” Before continuing, it is important to note many of the All Trails “trails” are not listed on the Willow Creek map, and there were signs posted, along our route, which indicated “private property”. Continue at your own risk.
There was a chill in the air, on this day, while hiking along this portion of the trail. The towering redwoods provide great cover, which I’m sure is beneficial during the heat of the summer. The sounds of the area were mesmerizing and although this portion of the day hike is “up” for some distance, the beauty draws you forward.
After some time, we came to our first junction (remember we are following All Trails) and we learned the junctions in this park can be quite confusing as they don’t particularly match the posted trail signs. Here you get your first glimpse of the wide open, with views reaching the ocean.
The views are compelling, and pull you in that direction, but knowing our intended route would loop us back around that way I opted to stay the course. This vista, I knew, would be well worth the wait. While the intended trail was “Snaps Trail” which is not on the Willow Creek Map, we took the Fern Springs Trail (small, single track, unassuming, and easy to miss) to the left. A path definitely less traveled, but well worth exploring. Completely engulfed in the redwood forest, time stood still.
Although here was where we began to see “private property” signs, this trail does appear to be on the area map. When finally breaking through the trees, we were blessed with the warming rays of the sun and brilliantly blue skies. With a sharp right, we turned onto Seven Springs Trails which wound along the edge of the forest occasionally re-entering the seclusion of the trees. What beautiful land we had stumbled across.
As planned, we looped back to the wide open vista junction, and chose to head towards the ocean. Staying to the right, as we neared the edge of the vista, we were again on the Islands in the Sky Vista Loop. True to its namesake, we were blessed with our first views of the “island” which stood in the center of this flat vista, in all its glory. An “island” worth exploring another day.
Being later in the day, we began to see more people on the trail, signifying the end to our seclusion. I’ll pause here to give yet another important piece of information. I found nothing online which spoke to the appropriateness of dogs on this trail. As such, we opted to leave ours at home. At the trailhead, there is a sign posted with a dog and what looked to be the remnants of a red line (signaling “no” dogs) removed. While we assumed “human tampering,” others clearly assumed this was a “go ahead” signal for dog owners as we saw several furry four legged friends on the trail.
While this area is fully exposed, and likely warm in the summer months, the Islands in the Sky Vista Loop trail ultimately took us back into the forest, and returned us to our starting point. Important to note that once back under the tree canopy, this portion of the trail was quite a mucky, muddy, manageable mess. From reading comments from others who hiked it before me, it appears this is quite common this time of year. Be prepared with proper footwear.
All in all, this is definitely an area I will explore more. While there are areas that are exposed, and likely quite warm at other times of years, there are plenty of areas where the grand trees will provide you protection.
Enjoy your explorations and remember to hike your journey!
