August 2025 Newsletter
Natural air conditioning
When the temperatures climb, the trees deliver. From redwood groves to oak woodlands, your Sonoma County parks offer a variety of shady trails perfect for cooling off on a hot day. Check out six of our favorite forested forays, including those less traveled, such as at Stillwater Cove Regional Park (pictured above).
Cool off at lifeguarded swim spots
Head to Healdsburg
Cool off at Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach on the Russian River, where the seasonal dam is up, swim areas are clearly marked and lifeguards are on duty daily through Labor Day. Free loaner life jackets are available. Bring a picnic and come wade, swim or paddle with family and friends.
Soak it up at Spring Lake
There’s still time for summer fun at Spring Lake! The swimming lagoon, floating Water Park and kayak and paddle board rentals are open daily, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., through Tuesday, Aug. 19. After that, hours will shift to weekends only through Labor Day. Water Park admission starts at $10 and boat rentals at $15 at SoCoParks.org/Aquatics. Swimming in the lagoon is always free. Lifeguards are on duty, and free loaner life jackets are available.
You can also visit the Environmental Discovery Center, open 1-4:30 p.m., (Thursday-Friday) and 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Saturday-Sunday).
'Tis the gravenstein season
It’s time to celebrate all things apple at the Gravenstein Apple Fair on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 9-10, at Ragle Ranch Regional Park in Sebastopol. This sweet fair offers live music on two stages, delicious local food and ag-inspired fun for the whole family. Connect with your neighborhood farmers and artisans! Regional Park members get free parking.
Science Saturday
Junior scientists (ages 6-12) have two chances to make their own ice cream on Saturday, Aug. 9, at Spring Lake Regional Park's Environmental Discovery Center. Session times are at 11 a.m.-12 p.m. or 1-2 p.m. Adults can drop off kids and enjoy some free time in nature. Cost is $10-12; registration required.
Intro to Disc Golf
Learn to play disc golf in a relaxed, beginner-friendly setting with The United Flyers of Sonoma on Thursday, Aug. 21, at 5:30 p.m. at Maddux Ranch Regional Park. Cost is $10-12; registration required.
What matters to you in your parks?
We’re creating a strategic plan to guide what we focus on over the next few years, and we want to hear what's important to you! Please take this quick survey to tell us what matters about your regional parks. Your feedback will guide how we invest in parks, programs and services through 2028.
Woolly weed control
Sonoma County’s parks are getting wildfire-ready with help from some woolly new collaborators. For the first time, sheep grazed Ragle Ranch Regional Park in Sebastopol, thanks to a LandSmart Grazing grant from local resource conservation districts. These four-legged “mowers” munched dry grasses and low hanging trees and shrubs, reducing wildfire fuel loads.
Their efforts mark the beginning of a multi-step process. Starting in mid-August, our Forestry Crew will thin the understory in the grazed areas and prep piles to be safely burned this winter. Our long-term goal is to reintroduce beneficial “good fire” through a carefully planned prescribed burn.
This innovative approach uses prescribed fire and ecological grazing and forestry practices to protect our parks, support native habitats and safeguard the broader community.
The Sonoma County Parks Foundation’s “Sponsor a Sheep” program supports this work. Learn more here.
Help us shape the Lower Russian River Trail
We’re applying for grant funding to build a segment of the Lower Russian River Trail, and we want your input! Community feedback in 2022 shaped the larger vision for the trail, and now we're asking for your thoughts about a specific stretch of River Road. Once completed, the trail will provide a safe pathway for bicyclists and pedestrians to be separated from traffic.
This project is part of a countywide effort to expand safe transportation options in partnership with Sonoma Public Infrastructure. Your input will help us strengthen the funding application and shape this next phase of trail development.
Thru-hike with the Sugar Shuttle
Challenge yourself to a hike from Hood Mountain Regional Park and Preserve to Sugarloaf Ridge State Park (or vice versa) — and use the Sugar Shuttle to avoid parking a car at both parks. Operated by Team Sugarloaf, the free, seasonal shuttle runs between the parks, departing every 30 minutes from 8-10:55 a.m. On Sept. 6 and Sept. 7, the shuttle will run between Sugarloaf and Hood Mountain's Pythian Road entrance. The 7.4-mile one-way hike up and over Hood Mountain takes about four hours and includes 2,300 feet of elevation gain. Reserve your spot for $10 (refunded on the day of the ride), as there is only space for five riders per shuttle.
Make a splash at Water Bark!
Tickets are on sale for Spring Lake's most famous doggie event: Water Bark! This popular annual event, which opens the fenced-in swimming lagoon for dogs to romp and splash off leash, returns on Saturday, Sept. 6, and runs 9 a.m.-4 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday through September (except Sept. 13).
The Water Bark is a fundraiser for the Sonoma County Parks Foundation, and proceeds benefit our more than 50 dog-friendly parks and trails.
Advance tickets are $8 for regional parks members; $12 for non-members. Season passes are $50. Tickets purchased after Sept. 5 (or at the gate) are $10 for members; $15 for non-members. Parking for Water Bark is free for Regional Parks members; non-members will need to pay the day-use parking fee.
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Sonoma County Regional Parks
400 Aviation Boulevard, Suite 100, Santa Rosa, CA 95403
(707) 565-2041
ParksMarketing@sonomacounty.gov
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