Taylor Mountain Regional Park Gets $750K Grant

Officails announced this week that Taylor Mountain—part of Sonoma County's network of regional parks—will get a $750,000 grant to boost public amenities, from a new driveway and parking, to more trails, an activity course and new picnic areas.

The 1,100-acre open space preserve called the funding, which was made available through Prop. 84, a 2006 bond act that financies water, conservation and environmental projects in California, critical.

Taylor Mountain, whose highest point is approximately 1,300 feet and features views of the Santa Rosa Plain, the Coastal Range, Bennett Valley and the Mayacamas, is located between Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park, east of Petaluma Hill Road.

, Sonoma County's parks are scrambling to find funding, to say open and accessible to the public.

“What we area really struggling with now is all of our park operator agencies, the Sonoma County Regional Parks Department and the California State Park system — they’re going through huge massive budget cuts,” Bill Keene, general manager for district in a series we published in 2011, titled "."

Sonoma County Supervisor Shirlee Zane called the upkeep for Taylor Mountain important.

“The opening of this park will put nature right in our backyards,” Zane said. “It really is an incredible setting and an amazing resource in the middle of an urban area.”

Regional Parks Director Caryl Hart echoed Zane.

"Taylor Mountain is the backdrop to Santa Rosa and a spectacular landscape," Hart said. "But more than that, its central location means all residents and visitors to Sonoma County will have easy access to outdoor recreation and wilderness experiences."

According to parks officials, "Regional Parks and the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District are leading the Taylor Mountain Master Plan project, which includes extensive community outreach about the future uses and features of the park."

Public access to Taylor Mountain currently is restricted to those who attend an on-site orientation and obtain a permit as part of a program managed by the conservation group LandPaths.

About the site: The Open Space District acquired the four ranch properties that make up the preserve between 1995 and 2005 for a total of $21 million financed by a voter-approved sales tax. The preserve is now used for cattle grazing. Its highest point is approximately 1,300 feet and features views of the Santa Rosa Plain, the Coastal Range, Bennett Valley and the Mayacamas.