Map Choices:
• Use AAA's San Francisco Bay Region map to get there.
• Download the pdf map from the MCOSD website.
• Trails of Northeast Marin County is my favorite map (available from Pease Press).
• Hiking Marin by Don and Kay Martin (order this book from Amazon.com) has a detailed map and brief preserve descriptions
• Barry Spitz's Open Spaces has a good map and trail descriptions (order this book from Amazon.com).

• View photos from this hike.

Indian Valley is a great all-year-round place to hike. There's a flat, lovely trail great for an easy and simple (as well as surprisingly cool) summer stroll, and some fabulous trails that climb the shady sides of Big Rock Ridge. On a hot day Indian Valley seems cooler than almost anywhere else in eastern Marin. The heavily wooded slopes of Big Rock Ridge provides lots of shade, and there is often a delicious breeze drifting through the canyon to the west. As summer drifts into autumn, the preserve's black oak foliage perks up the drab and dry hillsides. Hard to believe that Indian Valley's many seasonal creeks, bone dry most of the year, become engorged with runoff in the wettest months of winter and spring. All that moisture ensures substantial swaths of wildflowers in summer, both in the preserve's grassland and wooded sections.
      This preserve gets a lot of use from equestrians and joggers, but most visitors stick to flat Indian Valley Fire Road, an ideal trail for a daily stroll or dogwalk, and you may have the hills to yourself. For more of a challenge, you can create a loop on several trails (some of them signed hiking only) that climb through mixed woodland. Although these trails are short, they do wander up and down on moderate to steep grades.
      Start your hike at the edge of parking lot 8, to the right of the police station at the west end of the campus. This area is managed by the City of Novato. The trail immediately splits, and either way is an option; to keep things simple, bear right. A paved path skirts the ball fields and passes some (locked) restrooms, then meets an unsigned junction at 0.14 mile. Continue straight. At the far edge of the fields you'll pass through a gate and reach the boundary with the open space preserve, at 0.23 mile. Indian Valley Fire Road heads straight, while two other trails begin to the right and left. Continue straight on Indian Valley Fire Road.
      This wide dirt trail, open to hikers, cyclists, and equestrians, cuts through the remains of a marsh, damp all year round and replete with blackbirds and cattails. Coyote brush, sagebrush, and poison oak accompany a few bushes of manzanita to the right. On the left side of the trail, thick stands of California bay and coast live oak thrive. At 0.46 mile, two trails begin on the left at a signed junction. Continue straight on Indian Valley Fire Road.
      Look to the right for a large rockcut. Moisture loving plants such as hazelnut, creambush, and buckeye blend into a woodland dominated by coast live oak and California bay. The creekbed on the left may be dry in the summer, but in the winter waterfalls cascade down the slopes filling the channel. In autumn you might see red honeysuckle berries dangling from trees and shrubs. At 0.62 mile, Wildcat Trail sets out to the left from a signed junction. Continue straight.
     Indian Valley Fire Road maintains a level grade. At 0.78 mile, Indian Valley Fire Road continues straight toward the preserve boundary, while Buzzard Burn Access breaks off to the left. Turn left onto Buzzard Burn Access.  
      Broad multi-use Buzzard Burn Access crosses a creekbed and begins to climb gradually through a forest of California bay, buckeye, madrone, coast live, blue, and black oak, and manzanita. Although the thick tree cover obscures any views, these woods are scarcely quiet, and you might hear the sounds of nearby Novato civilization, such as a squeaky fan belt or the whirr of a lawnmower. The grade picks up, and Buzzard Burn Access ascends steeply through a mixed woodland with prominent black oaks and some very large manzanitas. In summer dragonflies and butterflies float lazily through the warm air. As the trail crests and narrows, morphing into Hill Ranch Trail (there is no sign, although bikes are not permitted any further on this trail), look to the left for partial views back downhill to the east. A few huge old and gnarled blue oaks grace the hilltop. Hill Ranch Trail takes a brief dip downhill, then resumes a climb at a reasonable grade. Manzanitas, some as tall as fully grown neighboring madrones and coast live oaks, tower over the trail. At 1.22 miles, Hill Ranch Trail reaches an undersigned junction (Hill Ranch's continuation uphill out of the preserve is now obstructed). Turn left to continue on Hill Ranch Trail (there is some debate about trail names here; some maps show this section as Wildcat).
     Diminutive Hill Ranch Trail starts a moderate descent, winding through California bay, with madrone, coast live oak, black oak, and more big manzanitas creating a pleasant mix of vegetation. Bikes are prohibited from this trail, but keep an eye out for equestrians. The trail emerges into oak-rimmed grassland, and a series of fences help to keep visitors off a sloping meadow. Hill Ranch Trail skirts the meadow and then heads back into the woods, descending all the while. California bay dominates the landscape along the trail, and a few small seasonal creeks cross the path. Look for hazelnut shrubs and some ferns, indicative of the moist conditions in the low reaches of this canyon. At 1.50 miles, Hill Ranch Trail ends at an undersigned junction. Wildcat Trail starts to the left, while Alexander Trail heads steeply uphill to the right. Turn right onto Alexander Trail (if you'd like to shorten the hike, and avoid the steep grades on Alexander, turn right and take Wildcat to Indian Valley Fire Road, then turn right and return to the trailhead).
     Hiking only Alexander Trail immediately takes a steep course uphill, weaving through buckeye, California bay, and black oak. The trail crests at a small grassy spot, where a break in the tree cover permits a view north to Mount Burdell. Coast live oak, madrone, and more massive manzanitas provide shade, but this is a lightly wooded area with some grass in the understory. Alexander Trail follows the contour of the hillside at a reasonable grade. There are lots of black oaks along the path, and they provide some fall color in October. This is one of the prettiest stretches of mixed woodland I can think of, with lots to look at in every season. There is a similiar blend of oaks and manzanita a few miles north on Olompali State Park's Loop Trail. Curving right, the trail ascends steeply again. Some giant manzanitas mark a transition downhill. The path is very steep in parts, so harsh that I thought back to the previous ascent with fondness. The worst is over soon enough, and Alexander Trail resumes a slight descent. At 2.04 miles, a trail departs to the right at an unsigned junction. This path is a shortcut uphill to Waterfall Trail. Continue straight.
     Twisted manzanitas, along with madrone, and oaks, lines the path. At 2.08 miles, Alexander Trail ends at a signed junction. You can extend this hike (a fine consideration in winter when the water is flowing) uphill along the creek on Waterfall Trail, and then return to Indian Valley Fire Road on Jack O. Burgi Trail. But for today, turn left onto Waterfall Trail.
     Once over (or through) the creekbed, the hiking and equestrian trail splits at an unsigned junction. Either way is an option, as both paths reconnect downhill. Waterfall Trail descends easily, following a discrete distance from the creek, which is totally dry except in winter and spring. California bays are common, and they shade the trail almost completely. A bridge helps hikers cross without getting their feet soaked in wet months. At 2.38 miles Waterfall Trail ends at a previously encountered junction with Indian Valley Fire Road. Turn right and retrace your steps back to the trailhead on Indian Valley Fire Road.

Total distance: 2.83 miles
Last hiked:  Tuesday, October 2, 2001

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