Above Lake Lagunitas, Fairfax

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Above Lake Lagunitas, Fairfax If you’re looking for panoramic views of the East Bay, consider this 6.9-mile moderate hike that starts at Lake Lagunitas in Fairfax, climbs about 600 feet and returns via the scenic Phoenix Lake. There are some steep downhills with loose rock, so bring hiking poles if you sometimes use them. The first thing I like to do at the top of the short fire road from the Lake Lagunitas parking lot to the dam is scan for Western pond turtles, California’s only native fresh water turtle. The turtles are federally listed as a vulnerable species. Volunteer turtle observers logged 88 Western pond turtles in 2017 (down from 170 in 2016) and they were out-numbered by 405 non-native red-eared sliders, which compete with them for habitat. For more information on what Marin Municipal Water Department is doing to enhance conditions for Western pond turtles and how you can help, go to marinwater.org/200/Turtle-Observers  . Turn left and follow Lakeview Road along the north shore of the lake. Pass the Lake Lagunitas Fire Road, staying on Lakeview. At the fork where Eldridge Grade goes both right and left, stay right and head uphill. As the trail climbs for 1.1 miles there are still a few late wildflowers to enjoy, including the purple coyote mint, orange sticky monkeyflowers and yellow deerweed. Toyon, which will have red berries in December, is in bloom now.

At the signed junction where Eldridge Grade goes right to continue up toward East Peak, take the left fork to Indian Road. Shortly after this fork there is a seep that makes the road muddy and provides an excellent place for butterflies to puddle. The day I hiked both California sisters and California tortoiseshells were taking advantage of the minerals in the mud. From Indian Fire Road there are views of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and Mount Diablo. True to its name, Windy Ridge provides some cool breezes from the bay.

Indian Fire Road ends at the paved Phoenix Road in Kent Woodlands, but in about a block you will leave suburbia and be back in the woods. Watch on your left for a brown MMWD Mount Tamalpais Watershed sign. There is no sign saying it is the Harry Allen trail. Descend through bays and buckeyes to a junction where you turn right, following the sign to Phoenix Lake.

The trail ends at Bill Williams Road at the south tip of Phoenix Lake, where you turn left. Williams is said to have deserted the Confederate Army taking along a chest of stolen Confederate gold, which legend has it may be buried somewhere on Mount Tamalpais. Turn right on Gertrude Ord trail to follow the south shore of the lake to Phoenix Lake Road and turn left to Phoenix Junction. Gertrude Sarah Moore Ord was a second-generation California resident, born around 1880 who loved riding with her daughter, also named Gertrude.

From Phoenix Junction take Fish Grade .7 miles uphill to the paved Filter Plant Road. As you start up Fish Grade there is a patch of mugwort on the right. This plant in the sage family was used by the Miwoks for rheumatism and headache. Because it was believed to keep away ghosts, mourners wore a necklace of mugwort for a month after the death of a relative, and those who handled a corpse rubbed themselves with mugwort to prevent being haunted by the deceased.

Turn right on Filter Plant Road and head uphill to the junction with Sky Oaks Road, the road you came in on. Turn left to return to the Lake Lagunitas parking area to complete the loop. Dogs on leash permitted.

To get to Sky Oaks from Highway 101, take Sir Francis Drake Boulevard to Fairfax. Turn left on Pacheco Avenue and make an immediate right on Broadway. Turn left on Bolinas Road. Go approximately 1½ miles to 700 Bolinas Road where you will see a wooden sign on your left saying, “Lake Lagunitas.” Turn left at the sign onto Sky Oaks Road and follow it to the parking lot at Lake Lagunitas.

Wendy Dreskin has led the College of Marin nature/hiking class Meandering in Marin since 1998, and teaches other nature classes for adults and children. To contact her, go to wendydreskin.com