Stafford Lake Park to Novato From Richard Katz's
Skating Unrinked book, published in paperback by HarperCollinsWest in 1994. Or was it '95? If you are not reading this on a screen, stop reading and head to www.Amazon.com. Thanx. Richard Katz = katz@frogojt.com. email
If you didn't really want to read a rollerskating trails book: Back to Richard Katz's Homepage
If you want to go back to the Table of Contents of Skating Unrinked, Back to TOC
Chapter stafford
Rural Marin County
Stafford Lake Park to Novato
The path from Stafford Lake Park in upper Marin County to the San Marin district of Novato has an antique look and feel. It's narrow, and it's old and it's cracked. But that's okay, it's still a good place to go out and skate, because it's out in dairy farm country. It's something out of the ordinary for most of us.
At the beginning of the trail is a well-maintained county park with a playground for kids and a resident flock of geese. There are picnic tables and a lot of open space surrounding the reservoir.
There is a bit of traffic on the country road next to the trail.
NOTE: Bring along four quarters in change for the parking meters.
How to Get There by Car from Highway 101:
Take the Atherton Avenue &endash;&endash; San Marin Drive exit from northbound or southbound Highway 101. Go west on San Marin Drive; this is a six lane road through a modern light industrial district (note the suburban headquarters of Fireman's Fund Insurance on your right.) At the intersection with San Andreas there is a big shopping center with a Petrini's for buying picnic supplies, or getting your four quarters for parking when you get to the trail. Gradually the road shrinks to two lanes in each direction, and hooks around to the south to meet up with Novato Boulevard. San Marin High School is on the right. Across the street is the end of the trail.
Make a right turn onto Novato Boulevard, heading west again. Punch your odometer. You are now on Hicks Valley Road. You will pass a road on the right leading to a quarry. After 2.4 miles, you will see a wooden sign on the left announcing Stafford Lake Park. Make the left turn, put your four quarters in the parking lot robot, turn left and drive to the end of the parking lot. The trail begins on your right.
What It's Like:
The trail quickly leaves lovely Stafford Lake Park, clinging to the edge of the lake as it runs back toward Stafford Lake Dam on your right. The first quarter mile of the trail is subsiding right back into the lake, so beware of longitudinal cracks and fissures. Although it's scenic, it's on a rise, and it's narrow, and it runs cheek by jowel with the highway on your left and a rickety wire and wood fence on your right. Skate with care.
At the end of a downhill followed by a blind curve, there is a stop sign for the cars coming at you from the right. Be wary of these motorists. They won't see you at all even if you think you have established eye contact with the driver. Let discretion be the better part of valor, and prepare to come to a full stop at the bottom of this grade. Make a right turn; the trail continues on your right behind a barred metal gate.
This part of the trail is also old and cracked, but it's very nice. It first goes a fair distance away from the road, so the traffic noise is abated somewhat, then meanders around a field for about a quarter of a mile. You might want to spend some time skating back and forth here, enjoying the cool wooded country atmosphere. Then it's back to the road again, and a second barred metal gate and a trail that runs cheek by jowel with the highway.
This situation continues for a half mile or so, until you get to the T-shaped intersection with an unnamed road that leads to Bowman's Canyon. There is a quarry at the end of that road, and the trucks leaving the quarry deposit a little bit of gravel each time they turn onto the highway. This makes the skating path nearly impassable here, but having been forewarned you can pick your way through it.
The trail hugs the side of the road for another mile. On the right is Neil O'Hair Park. The trail comes to an abrupt end at the intersection with Sutro Avenue. I would advise you to turn around here, although experienced skaters might want to push on a little further, past Sutro Avenue, in the street on Novato Boulevard's bike path. The trail jogs to the north side of the street, and runs into Miwok Park, where you can visit the Marin Museum of the American Indian. The tale of the Navajo Talkers in World War II is fascinating.
On the return trip, take a short detour to the left at the Indian Valley Golf Club sign. Cross Novato Creek on a cracked concrete bridge, and head left at the sign that directs you to the North Marin Water District facility. They have made a handsome outdoor display out of a 24" inside diameter steel valve on a plinth. (Again, watch out for the cars from the golf course.) Experienced skaters might want to climb up the five star pavement to the top of the dam, both for the beauty of the overlook and the rush of the descent.
Places to Eat:
There isn't so much as a water fountain along this trail. If you want a bite to eat, better buy it at the shopping center and have a picnic at the park, while staring at the cows across the road.
Public Transportation:
You can get right to the corner of San Marin Drive and Novato Boulevard on the Golden Gate Transit 50 bus line. The corner of Redwood Boulevard and Grant Avenue is a major transfer point for Golden Gate Transit.
Ratings:
Path Surface = ** (some *)
Public Transit Access = ****
Surroundings = ***
Level of Difficulty = Not Easy
Overall Rating = **
Length = Three miles one way
Other trails to check out in the neighborhood:
Old Lucas Valley Road: Take Highway 101 south from Novato to Lucas Valley Road. Head west on Lucas Valley Road about 1.5 miles to Mt. Lassen Drive on your left. Make the left onto Mt Lassen Drive and park anywhere. Old Lucas Valley Road runs east from where you parked. The old highway is now a Marin county open space called Jerry K. Russom Park. You can see how nature is encroaching on both sides of this abandoned road, so that it is now little more than a horse trail in places. The county is doing a little work on it, and perhaps in time it will be a better place to skate than it is now. This trail is only about 0.6 miles long.
If you go a little further west on Lucas Valley Road, just across from the T-shaped intersection with Mt Shasta Road there is another isolated and abandoned section of Old Lucas Valley Road to skate on. Similarly, there is another section about four tenths of a mile long a little bit further west across from Mt McKinley Road. If you happen to be in this Marinwood neighborhood on the way to Point Reyes, check it out.
Note from the Author: Haven't put in links to the other chapters yet.
From Richard Katz's Skating Unrinked book, published in paperback by HarperCollinsWest in 1994. Or was it '95? If you are not reading this on a screen, stop reading and head to www.Amazon.com. Thanx. Richard Katz = katz@frogojt.com. email
Back to Richard Katz's Homepage
If you want to go back to the Table of Contents of Skating Unrinked, Back to TOC