Mapping the new Lawson Trail

Coppertone and I had heard about Hood Mountain's new Lawson Trail for some time.  But we had steered clear of the park entirely after the 2020 Glass Fire since that had devastated practically the entirety of the park.  We had figured the new trail was destroyed as well.

After looking for some new trails to map I happened upon Hood Mountain's site and found that although only a tiny portion of the park was open.  But, as it turns out, the section containing the new Lawson Trail was among those areas!

We started off our hike at the Pythian Road trailhead.  Indeed, it's the only open trailhead at the moment.  Although there are large maps at the trailhead which show 90% of the park in red, indicating that those areas are closed, we find a group plotting their path through the closed area.  When someone in the group inquired what the red meant we broke the news to them.  To their credit, they ended up doing the same hike we did on the open trails.

We headed north along the Low Johnson Ridge Trail.  It had been a while since we were in this area of the park, so we had forgotten how steep the start is.  Even when staying on the paved road it's a tough pitch.  On the "bright" side, the path is still well shaded by tree cover.

After about 3/4's of a mile of ascent the trail intersections with the new Lawson Trail.  The change in tone on the trail is almost immediate.  Because the Lawson Trail was recently constructed and laid out to be a hiking trail from the beginning, care was taken to minimize possible slope damage.  For those of us with weaker knees that means the pitch of the trail becomes much more manageable and pleasant.  The easier path is accomplished with widely ranging switchbacks that gently follow the contours of the hill.  It's a refreshing change from the death march up Lower Johnson Ridge Trail.

We were surprised to find a marked spur early in the trail towards a viewpoint.  It's not on the latest park trail map.  The short spur leads to the west and provides a stunning view into Sonoma Valley.  For those who do not want to invest the energy to get to the top of the picnic area ahead this spot provides a view that provides at least 80% of the awe that awaits father up ahead.

One thing to keep in mind is that the tree cover gets more sparse on the trail.  So if you intend to hike the Lawson Trail be sure to apply some sunscreen to avoid getting burned.

As the trail sways back and forth over the mountain one is affforded different views both within the park and outside of it.  Some of those views into the remainder of the park show the utter destruction the Glass Fire caused.  The scorched earth in some places is completely denuded of vegetation and represents a landslide risk as roots of living plants are no longer holding some of the slopes together.  Let's give some of these areas time to recover.

Topping out at the summit of the hill is the picnic spot.  There are more stunning views of Sonoma Valley here but the vistas are longer than what they were below.  Not only is Sonoma Valley visible here but now we get a peak into the Santa Rosa area and beyond.  There's a picnic bench here and more signs that fire moved through the area.

We doubled back towards the trailhead, retracing our steps down the mountain.  Our legs were pretty tired after covering the 6.4 miles.  The 1,000+ feet of elevation gain was the real culprit for our fatigue.  We had spent far too much time away from the trails and had not worked our way back into our trail legs!

The views into Sonoma Valley were fantastic.  The Lawson Trail path is wonderfully well done.  Now if we can get a few years without wildfires in the area this trail will be well worth return visits.