Bay Area Ridge Trail
Someday the Bay Area Ridge Trail will be a continuous public trail system for hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders along the ridges circling the San Francisco Bay. Today some 35 public trails totaling over 200 miles in length have been designated as part of this system and more sections are being added every year. These trails vary from short, easy walks along the bay and ocean to challenging hikes on some of the highest mountains in the Bay Area. Easy or difficult, all the hikes provide an opportunity to enjoy fabulous views while getting close to the natural world of the parks, watersheds, and open space preserves we have in and around our communities. For more information and maps go to: www.ridgetrail.org
The Bay Area Ridge Trail Patch
The Bay Area Ridge Trail Patch was created by the High Adventure Team of the Santa Clara County Council and it comes in four segments representing four
quadrants of the Bay Area. A segment is earned by hiking or biking a section of the Ridge Trail in each of the quadrants. Elementary school students, Brownies and Cub Scouts must hike/ride at least one mile, and junior high/high school students, Girl Scouts, and Boy Scouts at least two miles on the trail although most will probably want to explore much further. Alternately, a segment can be earned by performing trail maintenance or construction under supervision of the public land agency responsible for that part of the trail. Youth under 11 years old must work one hour and older youth two hours.
An order form can be completed for patch segments after they have been earned.
Completing a hike in each of the four quadrants earns you all four patches for the full 4”x4” Bay Area Ridge Trail “map”! Click here for the Trail Tracker fact sheet.
