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Apr
26
Fri
Blooms & Birds (2024 CNC Weekend) @ Sugarloaf Ridge State Park
Apr 26 @ 9:30 am – 11:30 am

CA Naturalist Carolyn Greene leads this wildflower hike along Lower Bald Mountain Trail through mixed evergreen forest and chaparral. Enjoy the warming spring sun, the variety of colors, shapes, scents, and arrangements peeking through the vegetation, as well as the added bonus of whatever birds cross our path.

Tickets are $5-$10 sliding scale for adults and free for children under 18. Meet at the White Barn. Wear hiking shoes, layers appropriate for weather, bring at least a quart of water, sun protection, a camera, and a wildflower guide if you have it. Parking fees apply. Heavy rain cancels.

The 2024 City Nature Challenge runs from April 26 to 29. It’s a bioblitz-style friendly competition where cities are in a contest against each other to see who can make the most observations of nature, who can find the most species, and who can engage the most people. Learn more about City Nature Challenge or view the Sugarloaf Project here!

Participants of any level of experience can help find, photograph, record, and/or identify life in the park. Smartphones with the iNaturalist app will be our main tool, but those lacking phones are also welcome to participate. If you haven’t used iNaturalist, or haven’t made an observation for a while, this is your chance – just make sure to load the iNaturalist app on your phone before you arrive. This event is part of the Challenge along with other events scheduled from April 26-29.

Ease of access: The main parking lot has one van-accessible parking space and an accessible vault toilet. There is no running water in this area. The Lower Bald Mountain trailhead beginning from the main parking lot is a single-track dirt and gravel trail of approximately one mile in length and 500 ft of elevation gain. It has narrow sections with steps and switchbacks, as well as some wider sections in full sun exposure. Stern Trail is a roughly-paved fireroad with a few steep areas of loose gravel. It is about a mile in length, with the second half of the mile being flatter and sunny.

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For more events at Sugarloaf, visit our calendar of events.

Butterfly Greenhouse @ Sugarloaf Ridge State Park
Apr 26 @ 11:00 am – Apr 29 @ 12:00 pm

Community scientists John Hibbard and Alex Weishaar set up a butterfly display in the greenhouse at the White Barn parking lot for you to you to enjoy during the 2024 City Nature Challenge. Free event; no RSVP required. Stay until noon on Saturday, April 27 or Sunday, April 28 for a guided butterfly walk.

Apr
27
Sat
Butterfly Walk (2024 CNC Weekend) @ Sugarloaf Ridge State Park
Apr 27 @ 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

Community scientists John Hibbard and Alex Weishaar lead this easy-to-moderate 2-mile butterfly walk as part of 2024’s City Nature Challenge. We will encourage butterfly and bug photography; cameras, binoculars, hand lenses, and field guides are recommended. Stop by the greenhouse (across from the White Barn) between 11:00 am-12:00 pm prior to the walk for everything butterfly-related.

Meet at the White Barn for the walk. Tickets are $5 for adults and free for children under 18. Wear comfortable shoes, sun protection, bring at least a quart of water, a fully-charged battery on your mobile device, butterfly identification guides (if you have them), and if desired, a snack. Parking fees apply; rains cancel.

The 2024 City Nature Challenge runs from April 26 to 29. It’s a bioblitz-style friendly competition where cities are in a contest against each other to see who can make the most observations of nature, who can find the most species, and who can engage the most people. Learn more about City Nature Challenge or view the Sugarloaf Project here!

Participants of any level of experience can help find, photograph, record, and/or identify life in the park. Smartphones with the iNaturalist app will be our main tool, but those lacking phones are also welcome to participate. If you haven’t used iNaturalist, or haven’t made an observation for a while, this is your chance – just make sure to load the iNaturalist app on your phone before you arrive. This event is part of the Challenge along with other events scheduled from April 26-29.

Ease of access: The White Barn parking lot has one van-accessible parking spot and an accessible porta-potty. We’re unable to determine ease of access for the hike as the route will be decided the day-of by the hike leader and other logistics (temperatures, seasonality of butterflies, etc).

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For more events at Sugarloaf, visit our calendar of events.

Apr
28
Sun
Wildflower Walk (2024 CNC Weekend) @ Sugarloaf Ridge State Park
Apr 28 @ 9:30 am – 11:30 am

Join wildflower poet and Sugarloaf docent Phil Weil on this wildflower walk along Lower Bald Mountain and Meadow Trail.

Meet at the main parking lot, about 1/4 past the entrance kiosk. Tickets are $5-$10 sliding scale for adults and free for children under 18. Wear comfortable shoes, sun protection, bring at least a quart of water, a fully-charged battery on your mobile device, butterfly identification guides (if you have them), and if desired, a snack. Parking fees apply; rains cancel.

The 2024 City Nature Challenge runs from April 26 to 29. It’s a bioblitz-style friendly competition where cities are in a contest against each other to see who can make the most observations of nature, who can find the most species, and who can engage the most people. Learn more about City Nature Challenge or view the Sugarloaf Project here!

Participants of any level of experience can help find, photograph, record, and/or identify life in the park. Smartphones with the iNaturalist app will be our main tool, but those lacking phones are also welcome to participate. If you haven’t used iNaturalist, or haven’t made an observation for a while, this is your chance – just make sure to load the iNaturalist app on your phone before you arrive. This event is part of the Challenge along with other events scheduled from April 26-29.

Ease of access: The main parking lot has one van-accessible parking space and an accessible vault toilet. There is no running water in this area. The Lower Bald Mountain trailhead beginning from the main parking lot is a single-track dirt and gravel trail with narrow sections, steps, and switchbacks, and elevation gain of at least 100ft. The Meadow Trail is a mostly-flat, unpaved fireroad of approximately one mile in length with some sections in full sun exposure.

______________________
For more events at Sugarloaf, visit our calendar of events.

Reptile Hike (2024 CNC Weekend) @ Sugarloaf Ridge State Park
Apr 28 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

March and April make for good reptilian-spotting months as ectotherms leave their burrows in search of food and mates. Join Galen and Rachel Freed in this easy 2-mile hike in search of snakes, lizards, and other wildlife. We’ll start off with a presentation inside the Robert Ferguson Observatory classroom and then hike Lower Bald and Creekside Trails, whose habitats is preferred by these species.

Meet at the White Barn parking lot. Tickets are $5-$10 sliding scale for adults and free for children under 12. Wear sun protection ad comfortable shoes, bring at least a quart of water, and if desired, a snack. Rains cancel. Parking fees apply.

The 2024 City Nature Challenge runs from April 26 to 29. It’s a bioblitz-style friendly competition where cities are in a contest against each other to see who can make the most observations of nature, who can find the most species, and who can engage the most people. Learn more about City Nature Challenge or view the Sugarloaf Project here!

Participants of any level of experience can help find, photograph, record, and/or identify life in the park. Smartphones with the iNaturalist app will be our main tool, but those lacking phones are also welcome to participate. If you haven’t used iNaturalist, or haven’t made an observation for a while, this is your chance – just make sure to load the iNaturalist app on your phone before you arrive. This event is part of the Challenge along with other events scheduled from April 26-29.

Ease of access: The White Barn parking area has one van-accessible designated parking spot and one accessible porta-potty. There is a flat, paved 1/4-mile road from the parking area to the observatory. The observatory is wheelchair-accessible by a wooden ramp and deck. The Lower Bald Mountain Trail has two trailheads: one outside of the observatory, and one at the main parking lot. It is a single-track trail with sections of dirt, and some sections of gravel, with switchbacks, steps, and a cumulative elevation gain of 54ft. The Creekside Nature Trail is ADA-compliant from the main parking lot to the White Barn parking lot, about 0.48mi.

______________________
For more events at Sugarloaf, visit our calendar.

Butterfly Walk (2024 CNC Weekend) @ Sugarloaf Ridge State Park
Apr 28 @ 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

Community scientists John Hibbard and Alex Weishaar lead this easy-to-moderate 2-mile butterfly walk as part of 2024’s City Nature Challenge. We will encourage butterfly and bug photography; cameras, binoculars, hand lenses, and field guides are recommended. Stop by the greenhouse (across from the White Barn) between 11:00 am-12:00 pm prior to the walk for everything butterfly-related.

Meet at the White Barn for the walk. Tickets are $5 for adults and free for children under 18. Wear comfortable shoes, sun protection, bring at least a quart of water, a fully-charged battery on your mobile device, butterfly identification guides (if you have them), and if desired, a snack. Parking fees apply; rains cancel.

The 2024 City Nature Challenge runs from April 26 to 29. It’s a bioblitz-style friendly competition where cities are in a contest against each other to see who can make the most observations of nature, who can find the most species, and who can engage the most people. Learn more about City Nature Challenge or view the Sugarloaf Project here!

Participants of any level of experience can help find, photograph, record, and/or identify life in the park. Smartphones with the iNaturalist app will be our main tool, but those lacking phones are also welcome to participate. If you haven’t used iNaturalist, or haven’t made an observation for a while, this is your chance – just make sure to load the iNaturalist app on your phone before you arrive. This event is part of the Challenge along with other events scheduled from April 26-29.

Ease of access: The White Barn parking lot has one van-accessible parking spot and an accessible porta-potty. We’re unable to determine ease of access for the hike as the route will be decided the day-of by the hike leader and other logistics (temperatures, seasonality of butterflies, etc).

______________________
For more events at Sugarloaf, visit our calendar of events.