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24-429: The trail is intended to provide recreation for hikers and bicyclists, viewpoints for wildlife, space for environmental education, and corridors for bicycle transportation as well as access to historic, natural and cultural sites, including over 130 parks. The Bay Trail is an interconnected trail system that links parks, open spaces, points of interest, and communities on or near the bay shoreline. It will not only encircle

48-647: A bachelor's degree in landscape architecture in 1931. He continued his education at the University of California at Berkeley, receiving a master's degree in 1933. After graduation, he spent 14 years working as a landscape architect in San Francisco. He then became superintendent of parks for Oakland, California ." From 1946 to 1985 he served successively as Oakland's park superintendent, the East Bay Regional Park District 's general manager, director of

72-1263: A retired engineer, and Bob Cowell, a retired fire chief, completed the first hike of the Ridge Trail in 1999. The pair followed designated and non-designated trails, including a crossing of the Carquinez Strait by kayak. The first two segments of the trail, dedicated on May 13, 1989, were located in San Mateo County and managed by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and the San Mateo County Department of Parks. Marin County and San Francisco City and County opened their first segments in September 1989; Napa , Solano , and Santa Clara counties in October 1989; Contra Costa and Alameda counties in June 1990; and Sonoma County in October 1990. Existing trails in public spaces were incorporated into

96-617: Is a planned 550-mile (890 km) multi-use trail along the hill and mountain ridgelines surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area , in Northern California . As of May 2022 , 400 miles (640 km) have been established. When complete, the trail will connect over seventy-five parks and open spaces. The trail is being designed to provide access for hikers, runners, mountain bicyclists, and equestrians . It will be accessible through trailheads near major population centers, but

120-630: The California Department of Parks and Recreation under Governor Ronald Reagan . Mott was hired as the general manager of EBRPD in 1962, replacing Richard Walpole, who had managed the agency from 1945 until he retired because of health issues in 1960. Wesley Adams had served as interim manager until Mott was hired. When Mott left the agency in 1967, EBRPD's land holdings had grown from 7,000 acres (2,800 ha) to 17,000 acres (6,900 ha). The district comprised 20 parks and had an annual budget of about $ 12 million. Following his appointment as

144-638: The 12th NPS director in May 1985, Mott issued a "Twelve Point Plan" to protect the parks and their resources, better serve the public, and improve the service's management. He took a strong interest in park interpretation and returned the NPS to a more expansionist posture after a near-moratorium on park additions during President Reagan's first term. When the Bush administration replaced him with its own appointee in April 1989, Mott remained on

168-854: The Bay but will also provide access inland to open spaces and preserves, streams, and the Bay Area Ridge Trail , which forms the second of two concentric rings around the bay. Sections of the Bay Trail exist in all nine Bay Area counties. The longest continuous segments include 26 miles (42 km) primarily on gravel levees between East Palo Alto and San Jose in Santa Clara County; 25 miles (40 km) in San Mateo County between Millbrae and San Carlos; 17 miles (27 km) in central Alameda County from San Leandro to Hayward; and 15 miles (24 km) along

192-613: The East Bay, and the views from the office inspired his vision of a hill-and-ridge trail encircling the Bay and linking its communities. The plan would later attract bipartisan support, with George Miller joining Mott. In May 1987, the Greenbelt Alliance held a meeting to strategize how to approach the San Francisco Water Department and convince them to open their watershed lands to the public; Mark Evanoff convened

216-570: The Ridge Trail, extending the trail to 100 miles (160 km) by 1990 and 200 miles (320 km) by 1995. By 1999, 217 miles (349 km) of the Ridge Trail had been completed, mostly on public lands. 10 miles (16 km) of the Ridge Trail were added in 2005, including a new bridge over San Geronimo Creek ; at that point, the Ridge Trail ran for 285 miles (459 km). The section of Ridge Trail through Crockett Hills Regional Park in Contra Costa County, which opened in June 2006, pushed

240-720: The San Francisco office of the National Park Service (NPS) as a landscape architect from 1933 to 1940. He then became director of the Oakland, California Zoo. In 1962, he was hired as director of the East Bay Regional Park District until 1967. California Governor Ronald Reagan named Mott as the Director of the California Park Service in 1967, where he remained until 1985, when President Reagan named him to head

264-504: The U.S. National Park Service (NPS). Mott served at the Federal level until President George H. W. Bush nominated a replacement for him in 1989. He continued to work for the NPS as a consultant until his death in 1992. His last major project was to transition the Presidio in San Francisco into a national park. A native of New York City, Mott enrolled at Michigan State University , where he earned

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288-645: The meeting and Brian O'Neill , Superintendent of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area , proposed a potential strategy to pursue the goals outlined in the report by the President's Commission on Americans Outdoors. Later that year, a planning committee was formed with memberships from nearly forty public agencies, recreation groups, and individuals. Eventually, this committee became the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council. Dinesh Desai,

312-510: The path cannot be used to cross the bay, as the western span lacks a bike path. The San Mateo–Hayward Bridge , the longest bridge in California, currently lacks a pedestrian or bike path entirely. The idea for the Bay Trail was launched in the Fall of 1986, when state Senator Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) was having lunch with a local editor in a waterfront restaurant. The end-of-session legislative frenzy

336-455: The planning process, designated the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) as the lead agency, and provided $ 300,000 for the preparation of a Bay Trail Plan by July 1, 1989. The Bay Trail Plan, adopted by ABAG, shows a network of trails that meander and loop along the shore, connecting all nine surrounding counties and crossing the region's toll bridges. The San Francisco Bay Shoreline Guide

360-578: The remaining mileage is on private property in Santa Clara, Sonoma, and Napa. Starting at the Golden Gate Bridge and proceeding clockwise, the route goes through every Bay Area county: Marin , Sonoma , Napa , Solano , Contra Costa , Alameda , Santa Clara , Santa Cruz , San Mateo , and San Francisco . The planned alignment of the Ridge Trail extends as far north as Calistoga and Angwin , and as far south as Gilroy . From south to north,

384-464: The rolls as special assistant to the western regional director overseeing planning for the Presidio of San Francisco. He died in 1992 at Orinda, California of pneumonia . During his tenure, the NPS added 17 new facilities and 1.4 × 10 acres (5.7 × 10  km ) of land The Twelve Point Plan in 1985 was a means to "strengthen public trust, revitalize the organization and assure its continued success over time". The twelve points are: According to

408-522: The shoreline and on city streets through Richmond in Contra Costa County. The northernmost trail section passes through San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge . Protected bicycle and pedestrian lanes exist on six Bay Area toll bridges: Golden Gate Bridge , Carquinez Bridge , Benicia-Martinez Bridge , Dumbarton Bridge , the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge , and the Bay Bridge . In the last case,

432-555: The trail and points of interest along its route. Production of the maps was funded in part by the California Coastal Conservancy . The San Francisco Bay Trail Plan: A Recreational Ring Around San Francisco Bay was published in 1989 by the Association of Bay Area Governments. The plan includes the trail alignment, project goals, policies and implementation strategies for the Bay Trail. Bay Area Ridge Trail The Bay Area Ridge Trail (shortened as Ridge Trail )

456-517: The trail passes through the following landmarks: Lake Merced , Stern Grove , Twin Peaks , Buena Vista Park , the panhandle of Golden Gate Park , and the Presidio . (1.6 kilometers) (1.6 kilometers) The Bay Area Ridge Trail Council (BARTC), founded in 1987, is the organization building, maintaining, and promoting the Ridge Trail. BARTC initially was supported by the Greenbelt Alliance, but it

480-496: The trail past the 300-mile (480 km) mark. As of 2020 , the Ridge Trail stood at 383 miles (616 km) completed. The section of the trail that runs through San Francisco has been completed, and parts of the San Francisco trail have been rerouted to pass through more green space and over the Twin Peaks . Large sections of the trail running through San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa, and Alameda counties have been completed. Much of

504-512: The trail will extend into more remote areas. The first trail section was dedicated on May 13, 1989. William Penn Mott Jr. , the twelfth director of the National Park Service , gave a speech in March 1987 at a state parks and recreation conference and discussed plans for the Ridge Trail. While working for the East Bay Regional Park District in the 1960s, Mott's office was on a ridgeline in

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528-583: Was incorporated in 1991 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit under co-chairs Brian O'Neill and Marcia McNally. The Council office is located in Berkeley . William Penn Mott Jr. William Penn Mott Jr. (October 19, 1909 – September 21, 1992), was a trained landscape architect who rose to direct the California Department of Parks and Recreation and U.S. National Park Service . He earned bachelor and master degrees from Michigan State University and University of California, respectively. After graduation, he worked for

552-413: Was over, and Senator Lockyer was in a reflective mood. “Let me try this idea out on you,” he said to his companion. “What if we tried to develop a pedestrian and bicycle path around the bay, with access to the shoreline?” His luncheon partner applauded the idea and urged the senator to pursue it. The outcome was Senate Bill 100. Coauthored by all Bay Area legislators, the bill passed. It defined parameters of

576-442: Was revised in 2012. It provides information about the natural and cultural history of San Francisco Bay and includes maps for 325 miles of the shoreline Bay Trail open to the public. Published by University of California Press for the California Coastal Conservancy . The San Francisco Bay Trail maps were released in May 2013 and last updated in 2018. The box set of 25 cards and a large fold-out map provide detailed information about

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