Go See Grandmother

Hike to the Grandmother Oak in Hood Mountain Regional Park

Grandmother Tree Hike Hood Mountain Sugarloaf park Sonoma

Grandmother’s calling, so you must go. And it’s going to be a lovely visit, one where you can get a lot of social distance too. In fact, you might be the only company Grandmother gets all day. The Grandmother Tree is the largest known coast live oak in Sonoma County. Unfortunately the tree toppled over last winter from the combination of wildfires, rain, strong winds, and erosion. Regardless, Grandmother will be happy to see you.

Visit her via a 5-mile (round-trip) hike high in Hood Mountain Regional Park, which crosses into Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. You’ll get big views, plentiful solitude, and Grandmother, waiting way up on a ridgeline that spills out to sweeping, spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. Just getting to the trailhead is an adventure, driving and winding up Los Alamos Road to the parking lot and the start of Hood Mountain Trail (the map on the sign shows the route).

Follow the trail down and through a forest canopy to a signpost reading McCormick Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. Here, you’ll go left, onto Sugarloaf’s Quercus Trail, a bit of a thigh-burner as you rise and wind with peek-a-boo views. Continue on, and at Headwaters Trail (signed) head left and keep going up. At the Grandmother Oak Trail follow the ridgeline path, taking in sweeping vistas before coming to a small forested area where you’ll find …. Grandmother! The toppled giant oak rests her thick trunk, a girth of impressive proportions, in the exact place where she lived in strength, branches reaching out in all directions, like the best ever air-hug. (Pictures below of before and after she fell.)

Continue up the hill to a trio of trees at the top, which we recommend as your end point because of its brilliant vantage of the Mayacama Mountain Range and rolling Sonoma County. It’s perfect for a lunch break. Return the way you came, and as you pass by Grandmother assure her you’ll be back soon. She already misses you.

The trailhead parking lot is at the north entrance of Hood Mountain Regional Park, in Santa Rosa (map). From the parking lot, follow Hood Mountain Trail until the McCormick Ranch/Sugarloaf Ridge sign. From here, go left, onto Sugarloaf’s Quercus Trail. Follow it about 1.5 miles and go left on Headwaters Trail to the Grandmother Oak Trail, which takes you right past the Grandmother Tree (it’s the big one!) and up to a sweeping vista point just beyond it (you’ll see three trees on the ridge). Hood Mountain Regional Park is dog-friendly, but no dogs in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park.

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. All right, Almaden!

    Take a trip through time on this 5-mile loop in Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Explore the ruins of an old cinnabar mine and enjoy the first hints of wildflower season.

    View
  2. Waterfalls and Wine Pours

    Cooler temps, green hills, and the return of our magnificent waterfalls! This family-friendly 2-mile hike at Uvas Canyon County Park in Morgan Hill is a great way to get the most out of a short hike post-rain.

    View
  3. Woman hiker is climbing up the ladder in the Steep Ravine section of the Dipsea Loop Trail on Mount Tam

    Misty on Mount Tam

    Mount Tam’s 3.9-mile round-trip Steep Ravine and Dipsea Trail Loop weathers the wets and wilds with some confidence, sheltered in parts by redwoods, and wowing with a waterfall.

    View
  4. Mile-Long Cataract Club

    In winter after heavy rains, the north flank of Mount Tam glows with flows. The nearly mile-long series of waterfalls—Cataract Falls—transforms into a supercharged spectacle. Starting at Alpine Dam, a 1.6 mile (one-way) narrow trails threads through redwoods and ferns along Cataract Creek.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories
  1. Peace Labyrinth

    Hidden in LA’s historic West Adams district, the Peace Awareness Labyrinth & Gardens is a welcome respite from the norms of urban noise.

    View
  2. Weekend Sherpa Podcast: Take It Outside

    Adventure for your earbuds. What's new in the world of the outdoors? Listen to Weekend Sherpa co-founders discuss local hikes, beaches, bike rides, camping spots and all kinds of travel and adventure in California and beyond!

    View
  3. Hikers sitting on a large rock slab next to Three Sisters Falls in Cleveland National Forest Southern California near Julian

    Three Sisters

    Good things come in threes at this hike to a lovely trio-tiered waterfall in Cleveland National Forest. The 4.25-mile out-and-back hike rambles among rolling hills, with rocky mountain views as switchbacks take you down to a lush canyon and the falls.

    View
  4. People gathered around a tree at an LA Park as part of the Tree Tour led by Stephanie Carrie

    LA's Tree Tour

    Los Angeles is famous for its iconic palm trees but did you know that LA is home to one of the most diverse urban forests in the world? With over 1,000 different tree species lining its streets, LA offers a unique urban canopy waiting to be explored. One of the best ways to discover it is by joining a Tree Tour

    View