Mount Tamalpais trails plan heads toward environmental review

A plan to open several trails in the Mount Tamalpais watershed to bicycles would involve extensive restoration and a 2,500-acre conservation area.

After a nearly three-hour discussion, the board governing the Marin Municipal Water District, which manages the watershed, directed staff to advance the plan to environmental review.

"I'm super excited to see that the idea of having a protected area be put into this plan," said Jed Smith, board president, at the June 18 meeting. "Very proud of our move to protect the environment and I'm hopeful."

The staff has "proven that this is not just a recreation plan and about bikes. This is about really protecting our land and being thoughtful about land management," he said. "This was beyond my expectations."

In addition to a conservation zone on the west side of Kent Lake, the plan proposes two recreation areas: a nearly 7,000-acre "Pine Mountain Area" east of Kent Lake, and a 9,506-acre "Mount Tamalpais Area," around Alpine and Bon Tempe lakes. A mix of restoration and new recreation improvements are proposed for both areas.

Supporters, many of them cyclists, celebrated the proposal as being environmentally minded while also opening trails to biking.

"It is difficult to be alienated from the trail systems of Mount Tamalpais and 65 miles that we have not had access to for all these years," said Vernon Huffman, executive director of Marin Trail Stewards, formerly Access4Bikes. "I have worked hard over the decades to change that."

Huffman said the cycling community consists of stewards of the land who are ready to help the district in rehabilitation projects and general maintenance.

"We're here to help and we look forward to it," Huffman said.

Members of an environmental group that sued the water district in 2024 to stop a pilot program to allow bikes on trails said they have questions about the new plan.

"The area they propose to protect is an area in the watershed with the least habitat diversity, so it's confusing why that would be so beneficial since they aren't proposing to protect the areas that have the most diversity," said Barbara Salzman, president of the Marin Audubon Society, one of the plaintiffs in the case.

Regarding the trails where bicyclists will gain access, Salzman said, "What kinds of habitats do they go through? What are they going to be doing around the trails?"

David Long, a board member of the Marin chapter of the California Native Plant Society, also a part of the plaintiff group, said he wants to see the full plan in writing.

"We've worked cooperatively with the water district for years and look forward to continuing that," Long said. "There are just a lot of facts that we don't know."

Members of the Marin Horse Council have long voiced concerns that adding cyclists on trails where equestrians ride could pose a safety threat. They have argued that cyclists move faster and could spook horses.

Added to the concerns is the fear of losing access to certain areas, said Linda Novy, treasurer of the organization.

"Marin Horse Council wholeheartedly supports the goal of improving environmental conditions on Mt. Tam. We support an emphasis on restoration more than increased access," Novy said.

Novy said there has been no explanation from the district about the reduced horse access.

"Horse riding is a tradition on Mt. Tam. Horses on the roads and trails are a valuable cultural component of Mt. Tam and the greater community," she said. "Marin Horse Council would like to discuss further, reviewing the next steps in this process and having a meaningful discussion with the board and staff."

About 17 miles of trails are open to equestrians. Under the proposal, about 5.2 miles would be changed to multiuse designations, where hikers, cyclists and equestrians would intermingle, said Jessie Underhill, district spokesperson.

"It is important to note that trails designated as multiuse would not exclude equestrians," Underhill said, noting that the plan also proposes about 3.5 miles of trails for hiking and biking only.

Over the past year of planning, the focus of the roads and trails management plan has largely been on bike access, a polarizing issue for decades. Critics have cited safety and environmental issues as their main concerns.

The new assessment is part of an effort to update the district's road and trails management plan, which hasn't been revamped since its adoption in 2005. The proposal was developed after collecting comments through a series of workshops and site visits on trails in the watershed.

Across both of the proposed recreation areas, more than 60 miles of fire road and trails would be restored, including the elimination of 47.5 miles of "social trails." Those are trails that were not created or inherited by the water district.

The areas also include about 12 miles of proposed fire road-to-trail restoration. Fire roads are about 12 feet to 14 feet wide. The roads would be slimmed to about 4-foot-wide trails. The road footprint around those trails would be turned back to nature.

The proposal also includes more than 42 miles of access changes on roads and trails. Nearly 19 miles of new trails would be added to the system, either through new construction or the adoption and upgrading of social trails. About 29.7 miles of trails are being evaluated for bike use.

The plan would create more than 4 miles of trails accessible for people with disabilities.

Several user groups said a proposal to allow bikes on the Sunnyside Trail along the northern border of Bon Tempe Lake would be a mistake. Critics argued it's a family-friendly trail and adding bikes would be a major safety concern.

However, its family-friendliness is what's appealing to some who support the move. They say this would be an ideal trail for children to bike. The board directed staff to continue exploring that option.

"We are still in the evaluation phase, so this is an approximation of what is under consideration," Underhill said. "No final decisions have been made. The next step will be the environmental scoping period, where there will be opportunity for interested parties to learn more and provide comments on the scope to be addressed in the environmental impact report."

The environmental review process is expected to begin late this summer.

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