Sweeney Ridge

Sweeney Ridge, a 1,200-acre (5 km²) national park in Pacifica, California is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Historically, the ridge was the location of San Francisco Bay Discovery Site, as part of the Portolá Expedition on November 4, 1769.

Description

Hiking trail access to the park is available from the Shelldance Nursery site, for the Mori Ridge trail, from the east end of Fassler Avenue for the Baquiano Trail, and from the lot #2 and lot #4 of the Skyline College for the Sweeney Ridge Trail. Access is also available on foot and bicycle through the Peninsula Watershed of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission from Sneath Lane in San Bruno.

Ecologically, Sweeney Ridge is a superb example of Coastal Scrub habitat, the landscape being dominated by Coyote Bush, Bush Lupine, and Coastal Sage—in some places up to 6 to 8 feet high. Access from Sneath Lane provides a 2-mile walk up a fenced hardtop road through this lush shrubby habitat. The ridgetop itself has quite a bit of wind-shorn Coastal Prairie with patches of iris species. The ridgetop is also considered one of the best Bay Area lookouts for spring northbound raptor migration, based on studies by the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory.

The ridge trail leads to a series of abandoned buildings that were formerly the site of the SF-51C Nike missile control facility.

External links

• National Park Service Sweeney Ridge fact sheet
• Jef Poskanzer's website of the SF-51C missile structures on Sweeney Ridge
• Sweeny Ridge Hiking