Natural Attractions: sweeping views from Taylor Mountain

Alayza Cervantes, Southeast Greenway Assistant Director, recommends visiting Taylor Mountain

Fall is one of my favorite times to visit Taylor Mountain. Nothing is more humbling than trying to catch your breath after conquering a final hill, only to have the incredible views take it away all over again. No matter how many times I do the 2.5 miles up Taylor Mountain, I always have the same thought as I take in the vast landscape at the top: “How lucky are we to live in a county where people want to respect and protect natural spaces.” From the top, I see a mosaic of development interconnected with nature and open space. There are many trails on the mountain that merge into each other and eventually end at the summit, so take your pick!

As every Taylor Mountain hiker does, I always take my time once I’ve reached the summit. There used to be a rock throne at the top that I liked to sit on, but now it’s just a pile of rocks. But, they just put in a new wooden bench, so I like to sit there and take in the view. It faces North, and while I sit there, I look for the Southeast Greenway and visualize how someone in the (hopefully) near future will be able to walk or bike from downtown Santa Rosa all the way to Spring Lake and beyond.  

In shaky times, I’m relived that, because of a project like the Southeast Greenway, 2% of Santa Rosa residents will no longer have to hop in a car like I did to go out and explore nature. Every year, we host a bioblitz for California Biodiversity Day in which the community joins us in finding and documenting as many plants, animals, and fungi on the greenway as we can, getting to know the neighbors that already call it home. You can see the list here on iNaturalist and document what you find anytime! Thanks to projects like the Southeast Greenway, community and nature will continue to weave together, creating healthy and thriving futures for our neighbors.  

I’m thrilled by how quickly the project has progressed and am overjoyed by the community’s response. From filling out surveys, to joining us on our monthly walks and hopefully attending a few workshops along the way, our community is ready to create more green spaces.