William F. Hayden Park on Green Mountain offers a challenging system of multiple-use trails for all abilities. The trails tend to dry earlier than many of the foothills parks, making the park a fantastic winter destination.
The park trails include:
- Rooney Valley Trail: 3 miles. A challenging single track trail that offers a sense of solitude and remoteness.
I’m not sure where the solitude and remoteness comes from as you are walking along the side of the hill for most of it in full view of 470 and Alameda. I’ve done most of this hike already and wanted to finish off the the last part of it, but I came around the corner nearly two miles in and nearly stepped on the guy in the pictures when he was laid out across the trail. I took two steps back and started leaning in to figure out what kind of snake it was when he woke up. I figured out what kind of snake he was pretty quickly when I heard the rattling. I waited for him to move for about five minutes before I turned around and went home.
Here’s the stats for this trip:
- Distance: 2.73 miles
- Time: 53:50 minutes
- Avg Speed: 3.0 mph
- Starting Elevation: 6,490 ft
- Elevation Gain: 417 ft
Here’s the pics:
