Indian
Valley Open Space Preserve, 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).
• Hiking Marin by Don and Kay Martin (order
this book from Amazon.com) has a detailed map and brief preserve descriptions
• Barry Spitz's Open Spaces has a good map and trail descriptions
(order
this book from Amazon.com).
• View photos from this hike.
Indian Valley is a 
great
all-year-round place to hike. There's a flat, lovely trail great for an
easy and simple (as well as surprisingly cool) summer stroll, and some fabulous
trails that climb the shady sides of Big Rock Ridge. On a hot day Indian Valley
seems cooler than almost anywhere else in eastern Marin. The heavily wooded
slopes of Big Rock Ridge provides lots of shade, and there is often a delicious
breeze drifting through the canyon to the west. As summer drifts into autumn,
the preserve's black oak foliage perks up the drab and dry hillsides. Hard to
believe that Indian Valley's many seasonal creeks, bone dry most of the year,
become engorged with runoff in the wettest months of winter and spring. All
that moisture ensures substantial swaths of wildflowers in summer, both in the
preserve's grassland and wooded sections.
This preserve gets a lot of use from equestrians
and joggers, but most visitors stick to flat Indian Valley Fire Road, an ideal
trail for a daily stroll or dogwalk, and you may have the hills to yourself.
For more of a challenge, you can create a loop on several trails (some of them
signed hiking only) that
climb through mixed woodland. Although these trails are short, they do
wander up and down on moderate to steep grades.
Start your hike at the edge of parking lot
8, to the right of the police station at the west end of the campus. This
area is managed by the City of Novato. The trail immediately splits, and either
way is an option; to keep things simple, bear right. A paved path skirts
the ball fields and passes some (locked) restrooms, then meets an unsigned junction
at 0.14 mile. Continue straight. At the far edge of the fields you'll
pass through a gate and reach the boundary with the open space preserve, at
0.23 mile. Indian Valley Fire Road heads straight, while two other trails begin
to the right and left. Continue straight on Indian Valley Fire Road.
This wide dirt trail, open to hikers, cyclists,
and equestrians, cuts through the remains of a marsh, damp all year round and
replete with blackbirds and cattails. Coyote brush, sagebrush, and poison oak
accompany a few bushes of manzanita to the right. On the left side of the trail,
thick stands of California bay and coast live oak thrive.
At 0.46 mile, two trails begin on the left at a signed junction. Continue
straight on Indian Valley Fire Road.
Look to the right for a large rockcut. Moisture
loving plants such as hazelnut, creambush, and buckeye blend into a woodland
dominated by coast live oak and California bay. The creekbed on the left may
be dry in the summer, but in the winter waterfalls cascade down the slopes filling
the channel. In autumn you might see red honeysuckle berries dangling from
trees and shrubs. At 0.62 mile, Wildcat Trail sets out to the left from a signed
junction. Continue straight.
Indian Valley Fire Road maintains a level grade.
At 0.78 mile, Indian Valley Fire Road continues straight toward the preserve
boundary, while Buzzard Burn Access breaks off to the left. Turn left onto
Buzzard Burn Access.
Broad multi-use Buzzard Burn Access crosses a
creekbed and begins to climb gradually through a forest of California bay, buckeye,
madrone, coast live, blue, and black oak, and manzanita. 
Although
the thick tree cover obscures any views, these woods are scarcely quiet, and
you might hear the sounds of nearby Novato civilization, such as a squeaky fan
belt or the whirr of a lawnmower. The grade picks up, and Buzzard Burn Access
ascends steeply through a mixed woodland with prominent black oaks and some
very large manzanitas. In summer dragonflies and butterflies float lazily through
the warm air. As the trail crests and narrows, morphing into Hill Ranch Trail
(there is no sign, although bikes are not permitted any further on this trail),
look to the left for partial views back downhill to the east. A few huge old
and gnarled blue oaks grace the hilltop. Hill Ranch Trail takes a brief dip
downhill, then resumes a climb at a reasonable grade. Manzanitas, some as tall
as fully grown neighboring madrones and coast live oaks, tower over the trail.
At 1.22 miles, Hill Ranch Trail reaches an undersigned junction (Hill Ranch's
continuation uphill out of the preserve is now obstructed). Turn left to
continue on Hill Ranch Trail (there is some debate about trail names here;
some maps show this section as Wildcat).
Diminutive Hill Ranch Trail starts a moderate
descent,
winding through California bay, with madrone, coast live oak, black oak, and
more big manzanitas creating a pleasant mix of vegetation. Bikes are prohibited
from this trail, but keep an eye out for equestrians. The trail emerges into
oak-rimmed grassland, and a series of fences help to keep visitors off a sloping
meadow. Hill Ranch Trail skirts the meadow and then heads back into the woods,
descending all the while. California bay dominates the landscape along the trail,
and a few small seasonal creeks cross the path. Look for hazelnut shrubs and
some ferns, indicative of the moist conditions in the low reaches of this canyon.
At 1.50 miles, Hill Ranch Trail ends at an undersigned junction. Wildcat Trail
starts to the left, while Alexander Trail heads steeply uphill to the right.
Turn right onto Alexander Trail (if you'd like to shorten the hike, and
avoid the steep grades on Alexander, turn right and take Wildcat to Indian Valley
Fire Road, then turn right and return to the trailhead).
Hiking only Alexander Trail immediately takes
a steep course uphill, weaving through buckeye, California bay, and black oak.
The trail crests at a small grassy spot, 
where
a break in the tree cover permits a view north to Mount Burdell. Coast live
oak, madrone, and more massive manzanitas provide shade, but this is a lightly
wooded area with some grass in the understory. Alexander Trail follows the contour
of the hillside at a reasonable grade. There are lots of black oaks along the
path, and they provide some fall color in October. This is one of the prettiest
stretches of mixed woodland I can think of, with lots to look at in every season.
There is a similiar blend of oaks and manzanita a few miles north on Olompali
State Park's Loop Trail. Curving right, the trail ascends steeply again.
Some giant manzanitas mark a transition downhill. The path is very steep in
parts, so harsh that I thought back to the previous ascent with fondness. The
worst is over soon enough, and Alexander Trail resumes a slight descent. At
2.04 miles, a trail departs to the right at an unsigned junction. This path
is a shortcut uphill to Waterfall Trail. Continue straight.
Twisted manzanitas, along with madrone,
and oaks, lines the path. At 2.08 miles, Alexander Trail ends at a signed junction.
You can extend this hike (a fine consideration in winter when the water is flowing)
uphill along the creek on Waterfall Trail, and then return to Indian Valley
Fire Road on Jack O. Burgi Trail. But for today, turn left onto Waterfall
Trail.
Once over (or through) the creekbed, the
hiking and equestrian trail splits at an unsigned junction. Either way is an
option, as both paths reconnect downhill. Waterfall Trail descends easily, following
a discrete distance from the creek, which is totally dry except in winter and
spring. California bays are common, and they shade the trail almost completely.
A bridge helps hikers cross without getting their feet soaked in wet months.
At 2.38 miles Waterfall Trail ends at a previously encountered junction with
Indian Valley Fire Road. Turn right and retrace your steps back to the trailhead
on Indian Valley Fire Road.
Total distance: 2.83 miles
Last hiked: Tuesday, October 2,
2001
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