Ignacio
Valley Open Space Preserve,
Marin County Open Space District,
Marin County
In brief:
2.1 mile out and back hike on fire roads above the College of Marin Indian Valley
campus. Some sections of trail are incredibly steep.
Getting there:
From US 101 in Novato, Marin County, exit Ignacio Boulevard. Drive west about
1.3 miles, then turn left onto Country Club Drive. Drive about 0.3 mile, then
turn right onto Eagle Drive. Continue uphill about 0.4 mile, to the end of the
road.
Trailhead details:
No parking or entrance fees. Side of the road parking at the edge of a residential
neighborhood. No drinking water, restrooms, designated handicapped parking, or
maps. No wheelchair access. There is no direct public transportation to this trailhead.
Golden Gate Transit bus #1 runs along Ignacio Boulevard. Visit the Transit
Info website for details.
Gas, food, and lodging:
Stores, gas, pay phones, and restaurants off Ignacio Boulevard in Novato. No camping.
Distance, category, and difficulty:
Can a 2.1 mile out and back hike really be considered moderate? If it's
possible, this hike is a contender. Although much of the out-and-back hike is
easy, there are 2 very steep sections that must be navigated coming and going.
Total elevation change is about 600 feet. If you've got a trekking pole, take
it.
Rules:
Preserve has one trail closed to cyclists, and a multi-use fire road. Dogs are
permitted on leash on the trail; off leash under voice command on the fire road.
Dog owners must have a leash for each dog.
The Official Story:
MCOSD's Ignacio
Valley page
MCOSD office 415-499-6387
Map Choices:
• Use AAA's San Francisco Bay Region map to get there.
• Download the pdf
map from the MCOSD website.
• Trails of Northeast Marin County is my favorite map (available from
Pease Press).
• Barry Spitz's Open Spaces has a good map and trail descriptions
(order
this book from Amazon.com).
Ignacio
Valley in a nutshell -- a printable, text-only guide to the featured
hike.
View
photos from this hike.
If I named this 450 acre Novato preserve it would go 
by
Ignacio Ridge rather than Ignacio Valley. Although the property curves around
Ignacio Valley, the preserve trails are strictly ascending routes to and along
ridgelines. One short path, Halloween Trail, climbs to Big Rock Ridge and Pacheco
Valle Open Space Preserve, and the other two trails, a footpath and fire road,
traverse a ridge above the College of Marin and Indian
Valley Open Space Preserve. Since there are merely three trails, and the only
access is through Novato neighborhoods, Ignacio Valley is one of the least visited
Marin Open Space Preserves. On this featured hike cyclist and equestrian encounters
are especially rare, since the solitary trail departing from the trailhead is
a hiking-only route.
For a hike on Eagle Trail and Montura Fire Road, come
prepared for a few dramatic elevation changes. Even though the hike is a little
more than 2 miles round trip, there are two extremely steep sections of slippery
fire
road which present a challenge to descend. The ridgetop fire road offers good
views, particularly to the east, and a pleasant variety of madrone, manzanita,
and oak woodlands with a grassy understory. If you're deciding when to visit,
the cool temperatures of spring, autumn, and late winter are preferable to the
sweltering heat of a Novato summer. In autumn valley and black oak leaves are
pretty, but the most stunning season may be mid-winter, when early wildflowers
and manzanitas are in bloom.
Start at the end of Eagle Drive, on hiking-only Eagle
Trail. At first domestic noise from nearby houses is strong, but as the narrow
trail ascends things quiet down a bit. Trailside vegetation is grassland with
valley and coast live oaks, manzanita, monkeyflower, and toyon. After a short
moderate climb, the trail sweeps left through a little patch of grassland and
levels out a bit. Then a woodland of California
bay, coast live oak, madrone, and manzanita closes in on the trail. I saw a deer
in the woods on both legs of my hikes, in the exact same location both times.
At 0.21 mile, Eagle Trail ends at an unsigned junction with a fire road. A gate
(marking private property) is visible to the right. Turn left onto Montura
Fire Road.
Massive, tree-size manzanitas are conspicuous along the
broad, multi-use fire road as it winds uphill at a moderate grade. As Montura
Fire Road climbs along the ridgeline, it steepens considerably. Coast live oak,
madrone, black oak, and California bay shade the trail. The grade is steep, but
not too bad, and as the trail reaches a crest at 0.35 mile there's a well-worn
viewpoint on the left side of the trail, where you can stop and catch your breath.
Look to the southwest for a view of the forested slopes of Big Rock Ridge, and
east past Novato neighborhoods all the way to Contra Costa and Solano counties.
On
a clear day, the towers of the Carquinez Bridge are visible. The fire road continues
uphill, now at an easy grade. Coast live oak, madrone, black oak, and manzanita
continue to dominant the landscape, but in occasional sunny patches on the left
chamise grows in nearly pure stands. Since the fire road gets light use by humans,
look for animal tracks. On my hike deer prints were common, but I also picked
out skunk and raccoon, and coyote scat was particularly abundant where animal
paths crossed the fire road. There are good views of Big Rock Ridge near the highest
point along the trail, about 670 feet. The fire road begins to drift downhill,
and it's easy going until you reach the first steep stretch of the rollercoaster
section. On my hike I found this descent the worst, since the trail was covered
with loose dirt and small stones. I made it part of the way down by stepping sideways
-- tedious, but better than falling. At the bottom of the hill the fire road climbs
moderately, 
continuing
along the ridge. Then you'll reach the second steep descent. This one was easier,
since there was a "racing line" on one side; a smooth, hard surface
than gave my boots good grip. The trail climbs again and passes beneath a power
line crossing the mountain. Montura Fire Road continues uphill, then reaches an
unsigned junction at 0.91 mile. The fire road on the right descends sharply to
the College of Marin campus. Continue straight.
Montura Fire Road climbs again, but any ascent seems
easy after those nasty hills. Running slightly downslope to the right of the ridgeline,
the trail emerges on the upper flank of a sloping meadow, at 1.03 miles. Coyote
brush and coast live oaks punctuate pretty grassland. If there were a bench along
the trail, this would a perfect rest stop, but you might find a nice place in
the grass. The Indian Valley campus is visible, along with Mount Burdell and in
the distance to the northeast, Sonoma Mountain. A tiny path heads downhill to
Pacheco Pond, but it's steep going in both directions -- this could be an optional
add-on to this hike if you'd like to explore the southern corner of Indian Valley
Open Space Preserve. Montura Fire Road does officially continue another 0.10 mile.
A rough path best suited to deer continues to the preserve's boundary. When you're
ready, retrace your steps back to the trailhead.
Total distance: 2.06 miles
Last hiked: Thursday, October 31, 2002
Go to Bay Area Hiker Home page
by
Ignacio Ridge rather than Ignacio Valley. Although the property curves around
Ignacio Valley, the preserve trails are strictly ascending routes to and along
ridgelines. One short path, Halloween Trail, climbs to Big Rock Ridge and Pacheco
Valle Open Space Preserve, and the other two trails, a footpath and fire road,
traverse a ridge above the College of Marin and Indian
Valley Open Space Preserve. Since there are merely three trails, and the only
access is through Novato neighborhoods, Ignacio Valley is one of the least visited
Marin Open Space Preserves. On this featured hike cyclist and equestrian encounters
are especially rare, since the solitary trail departing from the trailhead is
a hiking-only route. 
fire
road which present a challenge to descend. The ridgetop fire road offers good
views, particularly to the east, and a pleasant variety of madrone, manzanita,
and oak woodlands with a grassy understory. If you're deciding when to visit,
the cool temperatures of spring, autumn, and late winter are preferable to the
sweltering heat of a Novato summer. In autumn valley and black oak leaves are
pretty, but the most stunning season may be mid-winter, when early wildflowers
and manzanitas are in bloom.
bay, coast live oak, madrone, and manzanita closes in on the trail. I saw a deer
in the woods on both legs of my hikes, in the exact same location both times.
At 0.21 mile, Eagle Trail ends at an unsigned junction with a fire road. A gate
(marking private property) is visible to the right. Turn left onto Montura
Fire Road.
On
a clear day, the towers of the Carquinez Bridge are visible. The fire road continues
uphill, now at an easy grade. Coast live oak, madrone, black oak, and manzanita
continue to dominant the landscape, but in occasional sunny patches on the left
chamise grows in nearly pure stands. Since the fire road gets light use by humans,
look for animal tracks. On my hike deer prints were common, but I also picked
out skunk and raccoon, and coyote scat was particularly abundant where animal
paths crossed the fire road. There are good views of Big Rock Ridge near the highest
point along the trail, about 670 feet. The fire road begins to drift downhill,
and it's easy going until you reach the first steep stretch of the rollercoaster
section. On my hike I found this descent the worst, since the trail was covered
with loose dirt and small stones. I made it part of the way down by stepping sideways
-- tedious, but better than falling. At the bottom of the hill the fire road climbs
moderately, 
continuing
along the ridge. Then you'll reach the second steep descent. This one was easier,
since there was a "racing line" on one side; a smooth, hard surface
than gave my boots good grip. The trail climbs again and passes beneath a power
line crossing the mountain. Montura Fire Road continues uphill, then reaches an
unsigned junction at 0.91 mile. The fire road on the right descends sharply to
the College of Marin campus. Continue straight.