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Tolay Lake Regional Park, one of the largest Sonoma County Parks, features two prominent ridgelines and a wide valley containing the seasonal, spring-fed Tolay Lake, which, before its draining, covered more than 200 acres. Before 1870, Tolay Lake served as a sacred spot for healing ceremonies for over 4,000 years for Northern California tribes. Diseases and bad spirits were transferred from people to charmstones - oblong or rounded stones about 2 to 3 inches long. The charmstones, then ritually put into the lake, secured the noxious spirits from returning. At one time, Tolay Lake was the largest freshwater lake in Sonoma County. Rancher William Bihler dynamited an earthen berm to increase his farmland, largely draining the lake in 1870.
Learn more about the native history and settler history of Tolay Lake as we hike to Three Bridges Vista Point via the Causeway and East Ridge Trail, we’ll have lovely views toward the Petaluma River. We will return via Pond and Lakeville Road trails. The hike is 4.6 miles and has moderate inclines.
Learn more on our website: https://sonomamountain.org/upcoming-hikes-on-sonoma-mountain/
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Tolay Lake Regional Park, 5869 Cannon Ln,Petaluma,CA,United States
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