Over 30 years after its inception, the Bay Area Ridge Trail now has over 380 miles open to the public and ready to explore.
Join Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) and the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council for a discussion of the history and future of our region’s most ambitious trail network. We will hear from Elizabeth Byers, a founder of the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council and author of Bay Area Ridge Trail: The Official Guide for Hikers, Mountain Bikers and Equestrians. Elizabeth will talk about the beginnings of the Ridge Trail Council, give a broad overview of the trail system, and share some of her favorite spots along the way.
We’ll also be joined by Liz Westbrook, Trail Program Director for the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council and former POST staffer. Liz will share about recent and current projects to expand the trail, in collaboration with POST and other regional partners.
POST Stewardship Project Manager Taylor Jang will also be joining the discussion. Taylor works as part of the team managing POST’s involvement in Ridge Trail projects.
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about how to enjoy – as well as support – one of the Bay Area’s most iconic trail projects.
Panelists
Elizabeth Byers– Author of Bay Area Ridge Trail: The Official Guide for Hikers, Mountain Bikers and Equestrians and a founder of the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council
Liz Westbrook– Trail Director for Bay Area Ridge Trail
Taylor Jang– Stewardship Project Manager for Peninsula Open Space Trust, Ridge Trail Board Member
About Elizabeth Byers and Bay Area Ridge Trail: The Official Guide for Hikers, Mountain Bikers and Equestrians
Elizabeth began working in the land conservation field in the mid 80s, for 16 years as a project manager, land trust program director, and writer at The Trust for Public Land (TPL), and then as a consultant for many nonprofits and agencies, including The Garden Conservancy, Bay Area Ridge Trail Council, and TPL.
While at TPL, Elizabeth became one of the founding board members of the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council in 1988, and stayed connected to the organization over the years. As a writer and researcher, she coauthored the second edition of The Conservation Easement Handbook, published by TPL and the Land Trust Alliance in 2005, and was a photographer and project coordinator for the 2014 Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy publication Alcatraz Gardens: Remembered, Reclaimed, Reimagined.
Elizabeth hiked, biked, and photographed the Ridge Trail to update this guidebook, often with family and friends, and this journey reconfirmed for her the magnificence of the Bay Area landscape. She is also a mom to two children in their twenties and is thrilled that they, too, love getting out on the trails.
Discover Bay Area Ridge Trail
There are over 380 miles open to the public and ready to explore today. The Ridge Trail runs through all of the Bay Area’s nine counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Solano, and Sonoma, as well as a planned route in Santa Cruz. The Ridge Trail is also now accessible from BART at the Berryessa station in San José. Circumnavigate the bay or hike, bike, and ride on the Ridge Trail nearest you. Check out the Bay Area Ridge Trail website for trail guides, itineraries, and maps.
This event is part of POST’s community event series, which is open to the general public as well as POST donors. We hope you’ll join us! We also curate a separate series of private events for our donors. Learn how you can support POST here: openspacetrust.org/support-post
About our Partners
Bay Area Ridge Trail‘s mission is “To plan, promote and sustain a connected hiking, cycling, and equestrian trail on the ridgelines around San Francisco Bay—linking people, parks and open space for today and future generations.”
Peninsula Open Space Trust protects and cares for open space, farms and parkland in and around Silicon Valley. Since 1977, POST has protected over 79,000 acres in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties.
