Las Gallinas Pond Walk
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location: Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District, 300 Smith Ranch Road, San Rafael, CA 94903
Starting Point: Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District can be reached by taking exit 456 (Lucas Valley Road) off Highway 101 and driving all the way to the end of Smith Ranch Road. Pass McInnis County Park and follow the sign to the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District. The parking area gate leads to the wildlife pond and two additional ponds.
Info/Links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser.
Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District info link (scroll down for bird video link and river otter link):
http://www.lgvsd.org
Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District wildlife info link:
http://www.lgvsd.org/community-programs/public-access/wildlife-info/
Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District map and directions link:
http://www.lgvsd.org/about-us/contact-us/directions-locations/
Also recommended: Link on birds at Las Gallinas from Nature in Novato:
http://natureinnovato.com/2018/01/24/las-gallinas-ponds/
Distance:
There are 3 ½ miles of trails on the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District lands. Visitors can make a short visit to the wildlife pond, just stopping for a view over the small bridge from the parking area, or can walk around any or all of the three ponds. (The Bay Area Hiker site also describes an almost 5 mile hike that extends beyond the ponds. See “Las Gallinas Wildlife Ponds” for their detailed description.)
Considerations:
•The water in these ponds are part of the local sewage treatment facility operations. Heed all notification signs. Dogs must be kept on leash, away from the pond water. Clean water is available at the picnic area near the parking lot.
• There is a portable toilet at the parking lot. I read on one web site that there is a beautiful public toilet somewhere nearby, but I have not found it yet.
• There is no shady tree cover on the trails around the ponds, and it can get quite hot and sunny in the area, so bring sun protection and water.
• On my two visits, there was only one brief moment driving along the road toward the parking lot when I noticed a sewage treatment plant smell. That was not an issue when walking by the ponds during my visits.
• This is a very popular place for photographers, birders, and those just out for a pretty walk. The parking lot can get full on nice days.
The trail:
This site, no getting around it, is part of the local sewage treatment facility. As noted under Considerations above, on my two visits, there was only a brief moment on the road toward the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District parking lot when the sewage “aroma” was detectable in the air. Picnic tables, a full parking lot, and popular use of the trails around the ponds here make it clear that the beautiful wildlife, mostly birds, on view here, along with the lovely scenery, outweigh any concerns about being near a sewage treatment facility.
Visitors follow the signs after McInnis Park and turn left to follow Smith Ranch Road to the end to the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District grounds. The parking lot is the end of the road.
Past the parking a lot is a gate that opens onto a service road, which makes for a nice level walking path for visitors. The gate opens onto to a small bridge that crosses Miller Creek. In addition to the wide variety of local birds, I also saw a river otter swimming in Miller Creek on my first visit.
Once past the bridge, visitors have a broad view of the first pond, noted as the wildlife pond. There are islands of trees in the middle, with water fowl posing in various formations. Swans, herons, egrets, pelicans, cormorants, mallards, and other water fowl grace the smooth waters of the ponds, while blackbirds, turkey vultures, phoebes and a wide variety of other birds alight on surrounding trees and brush when not flying overhead.
There are idyllic pastoral views of fields on either side of the ponds, entrancing under the long shadows of late afternoon, or on a misty morning visit. A walk looping around the full three ponds is not too strenuous for most walkers because the gravel trails/service roads are quite flat.
Though many might not think of grounds at a sewage treatment facility as a likely hiking spot, they will be pleasantly surprised by a visit to the Las Gallinas ponds.
(Las Gallinas Pond Walk Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Beauty Beneath the Surface” Insights post.)
Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page. Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. See products with inspiring designs that support the efforts of HikingAutism under Support/Shop. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links.
Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location: Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District, 300 Smith Ranch Road, San Rafael, CA 94903
Starting Point: Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District can be reached by taking exit 456 (Lucas Valley Road) off Highway 101 and driving all the way to the end of Smith Ranch Road. Pass McInnis County Park and follow the sign to the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District. The parking area gate leads to the wildlife pond and two additional ponds.
Info/Links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser.
Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District info link (scroll down for bird video link and river otter link):
http://www.lgvsd.org
Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District wildlife info link:
http://www.lgvsd.org/community-programs/public-access/wildlife-info/
Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District map and directions link:
http://www.lgvsd.org/about-us/contact-us/directions-locations/
Also recommended: Link on birds at Las Gallinas from Nature in Novato:
http://natureinnovato.com/2018/01/24/las-gallinas-ponds/
Distance:
There are 3 ½ miles of trails on the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District lands. Visitors can make a short visit to the wildlife pond, just stopping for a view over the small bridge from the parking area, or can walk around any or all of the three ponds. (The Bay Area Hiker site also describes an almost 5 mile hike that extends beyond the ponds. See “Las Gallinas Wildlife Ponds” for their detailed description.)
Considerations:
•The water in these ponds are part of the local sewage treatment facility operations. Heed all notification signs. Dogs must be kept on leash, away from the pond water. Clean water is available at the picnic area near the parking lot.
• There is a portable toilet at the parking lot. I read on one web site that there is a beautiful public toilet somewhere nearby, but I have not found it yet.
• There is no shady tree cover on the trails around the ponds, and it can get quite hot and sunny in the area, so bring sun protection and water.
• On my two visits, there was only one brief moment driving along the road toward the parking lot when I noticed a sewage treatment plant smell. That was not an issue when walking by the ponds during my visits.
• This is a very popular place for photographers, birders, and those just out for a pretty walk. The parking lot can get full on nice days.
The trail:
This site, no getting around it, is part of the local sewage treatment facility. As noted under Considerations above, on my two visits, there was only a brief moment on the road toward the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District parking lot when the sewage “aroma” was detectable in the air. Picnic tables, a full parking lot, and popular use of the trails around the ponds here make it clear that the beautiful wildlife, mostly birds, on view here, along with the lovely scenery, outweigh any concerns about being near a sewage treatment facility.
Visitors follow the signs after McInnis Park and turn left to follow Smith Ranch Road to the end to the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District grounds. The parking lot is the end of the road.
Past the parking a lot is a gate that opens onto a service road, which makes for a nice level walking path for visitors. The gate opens onto to a small bridge that crosses Miller Creek. In addition to the wide variety of local birds, I also saw a river otter swimming in Miller Creek on my first visit.
Once past the bridge, visitors have a broad view of the first pond, noted as the wildlife pond. There are islands of trees in the middle, with water fowl posing in various formations. Swans, herons, egrets, pelicans, cormorants, mallards, and other water fowl grace the smooth waters of the ponds, while blackbirds, turkey vultures, phoebes and a wide variety of other birds alight on surrounding trees and brush when not flying overhead.
There are idyllic pastoral views of fields on either side of the ponds, entrancing under the long shadows of late afternoon, or on a misty morning visit. A walk looping around the full three ponds is not too strenuous for most walkers because the gravel trails/service roads are quite flat.
Though many might not think of grounds at a sewage treatment facility as a likely hiking spot, they will be pleasantly surprised by a visit to the Las Gallinas ponds.
(Las Gallinas Pond Walk Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Beauty Beneath the Surface” Insights post.)
Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page. Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. See products with inspiring designs that support the efforts of HikingAutism under Support/Shop. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links.
Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777
