Sonoma County Supervisors OK Plan For Region's Largest Park

SANTA ROSA, CA -- The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors this morning approved a master plan for what will be the county's largest park when it opens later this month. The 3,400-acre Tolay Lake Regional Park southeast of Petaluma has been in the planning phase for the past decade.

Public access was available only on weekends by special permit, but the park's northwest corner has been the setting of the annual Tolay Lake

Festival on a ranch formerly owned by the Cardoza family. The festival concludes this weekend.

"This has been a long time coming, and we appreciate the public's patience," Supervisor David Rabbitt said. "Tolay Lake has been a complex park to design. Now we're days away from opening the gates and welcoming everyone to this truly unique setting."

Tolay Lake Regional Park is named after a 200-acre seasonal lake in the valley between its ridges. The lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in the county, and was a spiritual center for the local Coast Miwok and
Native Americans throughout the state.

The park plan was a collaboration among Sonoma County Regional Parks, the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, which donated $500,000 for planning costs, the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District and Sonoma Land Trust.

"The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria are proud to have worked with Sonoma County to create a model program whereby the Tribe can co-manage the park in order to both remember and understand the history and cultural significance of the land and to restore the land and its natural resources," the tribe's Chairman Greg Sarris said.

There currently are 11 miles of trails, many of them former ranch roads, in rolling grasslands and open ridges with views of San Pablo Bay, the San Francisco skyline and Bay Area peaks. Habitat in the park includes birds,
especially raptors, and the park is a piece of a larger protected wildlife corridor in southern Sonoma County.
Many of the concepts in the park plan currently lack funding and will be implemented when money is available, likely over several decades, county officials said.

The plan calls for 30 miles of trails, hike-in camp sites, a visitor center and bunkhouse, outdoor classrooms, equestrian amenities, new parking areas and restrooms.

Tolay Lake Regional Park is located at 5869 Cannon Lane off of Lakeville Highway. Hours will be 7 a.m. to sunset daily beginning Oct. 27 when the park opens. Intermittent closures may be necessary when roadwork is being done on Cannon Lane later this year.

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