New 680 Trail Open to All

Although some hikers have already enjoyed the 680 Trail between Terra Linda and Loma Alta,  the stretch will be open to all on May 19.

At 9:30 a.m. on May 19, Marin County Parks will celebrate the grand opening of the 2.9-mile trail that hundreds of volunteers and agencies recently spent months constructing. The trail connects the open spaces between the Terra Linda/Sleepy Hollow area and Loma Alta, a link that  until now was severed for several years, according to Parks Director and General Manager Linda Dahl.

The trail is already open to hikers, but has been kept closed to other users over the winter in order for trail tread and structures to harden. When completely open, it will be a shared-use trail for hiking, mountain biking and equestrian use.

Construction on the trail took place between May and October 2011 and was carried out by Parks staff, several agencies including the Conservation Corps North Bay and the Marin Bicycle Coalition and nearly 150 volunteers. Work included building bridges, rock walls, switchbacks, resource monitoring and species protection. A total of 690 hours of volunteer time was donated over the course of nine work days.

The 2.9 mile 680 trail, so named for its elevation of 680 feet, lies within a floating trail easement deeded to the County from the San Domenico School in 2004. Visitors to the trail might see Western Blue birds (who winter in the area), Red Tailed hawks, bobcats, coyotes and badgers.

The event will include key note speakers, a ribbon cutting, volunteer recognition, and trail tours. Access4bikes, the Forest Knolls Freewheelers and MCBC will lead a bike ride to the grand opening and ribbon cutting event. The ride begins at 8:30 a.m. from the Java Hut parking lot, 760 Center Blvd. in Fairfax. Access4Bikes will also be installing free engraved bike bells to bike handlebars at the event.

“This magnificent trail will be a lasting celebration of the generosity and cooperation between a broad spectrum of community members and user groups,” Marin Supervisor Steve Kinsey said.

Getting There:

The grand opening celebration will take place at the eastern trailhead- the intersection of the 680 trail and the Luiz Ranch fire road on the Terra Linda/Sleepy Hollow (TL/SH) Open Space Preserve. The trailhead is 1+ miles above the preserve entries of the following streets in Terra Linda: Del Ganado Road, De La Guerra Road, Vallejo Way, and Diego Drive and from Lucas Valley Road at Mt. Muir Court.  The trailhead is slightly farther than 1 mile from streets closer to the Mission Pass bike path at the end of Manuel T. Freitas Parkway in Terra Linda. It is also possible to access the 680 trail from its west trailhead near the top of the Loma Alta Open Space Preserve and travel the trail east to the meeting spot.  This would include access points in Fairfax at Glen Drive or near White’s Hill at Brown Bridge or from Lucas Valley Road at the Big Rock trailhead following the easement to the top of Loma Alta.