Looking Ahead: Headwaters to Headwaters 2025

Mar 20, 2025

This April, over one hundred community members will set out on the trail together for Sonoma Ecology Center’s annual Headwaters to Headwaters fundraiser hike. Over the course of the day, hikers wind through the northern half of Sonoma Valley and the Mayacamas Mountains, including areas that are typically closed to the public. Participants are immersed in the native landscapes of Sonoma Valley—from the riparian headwaters of Santa Rosa and Sonoma Creeks, to the California oak woodlands and chaparral that feature within the ecosystem. 

Headwaters is a celebration of our home, as well as an opportunity to give back. Although Sugarloaf Ridge State Park is a California State Park, Sonoma Ecology Center does not receive operational funding from the State of California. The Headwaters fundraiser supports SEC’s management of Sugarloaf, alongside the visitors, donors, and volunteers who help to ensure the park remains open and accessible to the broader community. Experiences like Headwaters to Headwaters connect these supporters directly to the land and ecologies they are helping to preserve. This year’s event is sold out, with a waitlist available to the community here, and a variety of sponsorship options available for individuals and local businesses looking to make an impact.

Participants traverse across a sun-soaked hillside during Headwaters 2022. Photo by Richard Dale.
The Mayacamas mountains, through which the Headwaters hike weaves, host a diverse range of ecosystems. It roughly divides Sonoma and Napa counties, with its highest point of Cobb Mountain at over 4,700 feet (over 1,400 meters) in Lake County. The range stretches from the Russian River to just above the San Pablo Bay. In Sonoma Valley, a regional wildlife corridor connected to the Mayacamas allows for the safe passage of native wildlife, such as bobcats, black-tailed deer, jackrabbits, mountain lions, and golden eagles. Their territory spans local woodlands, redwood forests, creeks, and grasslands, which hike participants wander through parts of together. These mountains are also the ancestral territory of the Wappo, Southern Pomo, and Yuki people, before the era of missionaries, settlers, and miners. In the aftermath of the California Gold Rush, the Mayacamas range became a hotspot for mercury and silver mining, and later, part of the iconic agricultural terroir that our region is known for today. 

“Having led the epic hike the past two years, I can say it is one of my favorite hikes in all of Sonoma County,” says Tony Passantino, Education Programs Manager at Sonoma Ecology Center, “It’s an opportunity to traverse between dense conifers, exposed rocky outcroppings, cross rippling creeks, and enjoy the bountiful spring wildflowers.” In previous years, Tony has taken to the trailhead to lead the 17-mile epic route through the Mayacamas.

Wildflowers captured on the 2023 Headwaters hike. Photo by Maya Luong. 
Headwaters to Headwaters does not only bring community members closer to the landscape, but to each other as well. From vibrant conversations with fellow hikers over the course of the day to moments of shared discovery, Headwaters is an opportunity for engagement and connection. “I love the opportunity to spend a challenging and rewarding day with other hikers, while watching the beautiful terrain and feeling the great mountain breeze,” says Ninie Phoon, a Headwaters attendee and donor. The day-long experience even has the ability to bring people together in the most surprising of ways: Tom Stedman, three-time participant and Sugarloaf Trail Crew volunteer, met his future wife on his second Headwaters hike. 

Together, community members, volunteers, staff members, and neighbors come to Headwaters to show their appreciation for Sonoma County—for the land, the park, and for each other. “Participating in Headwaters to Headwaters is a way I can show my appreciation and support for Sugarloaf Ridge State Park,” says Yan Liu, a Kenwood local and Headwaters sponsor, “With its seasonal beauty, from waterfalls and wildflowers to wildlife sightings, I can’t think of a better ‘backyard’.” 

Participants of Headwaters 2024 enjoy the fruits of the day’s labor: a communal BBQ picnic in the sun. Photo by Melania Mahoney.

As Sonoma Ecology Center nears its 35th anniversary, we reflect on the importance of moments such as these: opportunities to bring people together to celebrate the land and community that we share. Headwaters to Headwaters is a day of breathtaking views, sweat on your brow, and simply being present together…and, of course, to top it all off: a delicious BBQ dinner.

It is our hope that in the years to come, we can continue creating lasting memories such as these within Sonoma Valley—and we thank you, our community, for your support in this mission for the last thirty-five years. 

If you did not have the chance to register for this year’s Headwaters hike, or if hiking just isn’t your niche, you can still support Sonoma Ecology Center’s work in stewarding Sugarloaf Ridge State Park through donation or volunteer opportunities. Find Sugarloaf volunteer information here, or donate below.

 

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