Agency Details:

Bay Area Ridge Trail Council

The Bay Area Ridge Trail Council works to create the Bay Area Ridge Trail, more than 550 miles of multi-use trail on the ridge tops surrounding San Francisco Bay.

Description:
The Bay Area Ridge Trail Council works to create the Bay Area Ridge Trail, more than 550 miles of multi-use trail on the ridge tops surrounding San Francisco Bay.

The Council works in partnership with agencies around the region to promote, acquire, build and maintain the Ridge Trail, which when complete will be a 550+ mile trail, open to hikers, cyclists and equestrians. There are over 320 miles currently open for the public to enjoy. The trail will connect over 70 different parks and open spaces in the Bay Area.

History:
National Park Service Director William Penn Mott, Jr. envisioned a trail that would ring the San Francisco Bay, high on the ridge line. Although he only lived to see part of the trail completed, he inspired a dedicated grassroots effort that has made amazing progress.

Representatives of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the Greenbelt Alliance organized the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council in 1987. They hoped to preserve open space by creating managed public access to a trail along the ridge tops. This initial partnership brought together public park agencies and trails advocates from all around the region to map out a route for the Ridge Trail and establish an organization to promote its completion.

In 1992, the Council became an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It continues to work in close partnership with local governments, public agencies, nonprofit land trusts, and local grassroots activists in the nine counties of the Bay Area to complete the Ridge Trail.

Contact people:

Joel Gartland, Volunteer Coordinator, (phone), (email) Martha Benioff, Office Manager, (phone), (email)

Main office number: (415) 561-2595
Office fax number: (415) 561-2599

Address:

1007 General Kennedy Avenue, Suite 3 San Francisco, CA 94129 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.ridgetrail.org

Last updated on December 15, 2009