![]() | Golden Gate - Sweeney RidgeBrochure |
Brochure of Sweeney Ridge at Golden Gate National Recreation Area (NRA) in California. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).
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covered parks
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Dennis Ziemienski, 2019
Sweeney Ridge
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Ohlone and Portolá Expedition members view San Francisco Bay from Sweeney Ridge on November 4, 1769.
In Their Footsteps
Sweeney Ridge has felt the footsteps of mountain lions and Ohlone people for
thousands of years, and more recently, explorers, soldiers and citizen activists. Each
has left their mark upon this spacious landscape. As you follow their footsteps, we
hope you discover what drew people to this magnificent place and why this land
was important to them.
Petlenuc
Re-interpreting the
Bay “Discovery Site”
In 1769 Spain sent explorer Juan Gaspar de
Portolá overland to find and settle Monterey
Bay. Native peoples along the way befriended
the expedition. When the hungry and sick
party failed to recognize Monterey Bay
and continued on to the Bay Area, the local
Ohlone shared their food and accompanied
the explorers to the top of Sweeney Ridge,
where they were the first Europeans to view
San Francisco Bay on November 4, 1769.
What is the legacy
of colonization?
Over the centuries, the lens of history has
sharpened. The notion that America was
vast and empty, waiting to be discovered
and settled by Europeans was based on the
pretense that no one of significance was here
before. The truth is that indigenous people
with thriving and highly developed cultures
lived across the continent for thousands of
years before colonization started.
The Spanish “discovery” of San Francisco
Bay would soon mean the loss of Ohlone lives,
San Francisco
homelands and traditional
ways. Yet,
a new
Sitlintac
chapter would begin as four of theChutchui
expedition’s
men would marry native California women
Yelamu
and raise families that contributed
to the
Amuctac
coming Californiano culture.
Ompuromo
Yelamu
Siplichiquin
Urebure
San Bruno
Aramai
Timigtac
Local Tribal
Boundaries
Altagmu
Ohlone Village
1769 Portola
Expedition
Route
GGNRA
Park Lands
SFO
Discovery Site
Pacifica
Ssalson
Pruristac
Uturpe
Chiguan
Chagunte
0
2 mi
Half Moon Bay
Lamchin
Ssatumnumo
Tribal territories and villages of the Ramaytush
Ohlone on the San Francisco Peninsula and the
route of 1769 Portolá Expedition.
Fear Factor
All of us have felt fear at some time. During
the 1950s, Cold War-era fears of Soviet
long-range “Bear” bombers caused the U.S.
Army to develop a weapon to destroy those
planes. Nike anti-aircraft missiles were
deployed across the country, including 11
sites protecting the Bay Area. Nike Site SF51 included a control station atop Sweeney
Nike missiles stand ready
Ridge and a missile launching site at nearby
Milagra Ridge. By the 1960s, nuclear capable
Nike Hercules missiles stood guard on
this ridgetop. Obsolete by 1974, SF-51 was
abandoned under the provisions of an
arms-reduction treaty.
College
IF
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20
ler
a
Pat
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d
ar
An E
ev
ul
n
N
Bo
Sa Z O
0
R
50
0
0
l
ai
Tr
12
PENINSULA
WATERSHED
San Andreas
Reservoir
San Francisco Public
Utilities Comission
00
DG
PRIVATE
E
625'
Ri
00
0
No Trailhead Parking
0.5 Kilometers
0
dg
10
40
SamTrans #14
Limited Turnaround
e
0.5 Miles
0
Tra
i
l
Bou
levard
1195'
1132'
00
k
ee
Cr
400
North
Portola
Gate
Private
Stables
11
levard
Bou
ar
M
o
dr
Pe
LINDA MAR
Bou
leva
rd
Bo
ule
va
rd
a
ov
da
Lin
San
1
N
Od
dst
ad
Terra
spi
Cre
to 280
as
re
Trail
o
RI
PACIFICA
0
S
uian
Av
en
ue
50
EA
0
80
Portolá
Discovery Site
1220'
EY
Baq
EN
80
975'
40
R
ne
yli
Sk
D
Ca
AN
SWE
Cattle Hill
er
ssl
Fa
Path
N
e
Lan
400
SWEENEY
RIDGE
PRIVATE
SamTrans #14,
110, 112 & 295
SA
th
Snea
d
Nike Missile
Control Site
800'
PACIFICA
STATE BEACH
Bruno Avenue
San
Pave
400
0
ROCKAWAY
Bike
e
Lan
200
0
40
ROCKAWAY
STATE BEACH
Shelldance
250' Nursery
VALLEMAR
10
T
960'
800
Reina del Mar A
ven
ue
1
th
Snea
e
Bik
l
Trai
35
Sneath Lane
Trailhead
Sweeney
Paved
Pacifica Chamber
of Commerce and
GGNRA Visitor Center
Ridge
th
Snea
l
Parking
ri
0
380
280
i
ra
Wheelchair access
790'
40
Mo
Sewage
Treatment
Facility
Creek
930'
Pedestrian Underpass
FAIRWAY
PARK
SamTrans
#140
Ridge
Fishing
Coast Guard Site
City of San Francisco
MORI POINT
Picnic area
ee
Sw
Service Road
(Restricted)
0
SamTrans
#110, 112
SHARP PARK
e
Lan
San Francisco
County Jail
ne
y
40
y
Wa
dy
Lun
Public Golf Course
Mori
Point
GGNRA parking at southeast
corner of Parking Lot #2
arp
Sh
d
ar
ev
ul
Bo
Trail (hiking
and bicycling)
Bay Area
Ridge Trail
675'
Par
k
Laguna
Salada
Trail
(hiking only)
Ro
ad
PRIVATE
SAN BRUNO
d
ar
ev
ul
Bo
Other parks and
public lands
Avenue
M
or
el
an
SKYLINE
COLLEGE
SamTrans
#140, 121, 123
e
Fir
Clarendon
10
ne
ide
yli
ers
Sk
Riv rive
D
d Dr
S H0A R P P A R K
GGNRA lands
and boundary
Drive
lege
Col
ive
Dr
La
ne
MILAGRA
RIDGE
rancisco
etto
h Blvd
SHARP PARK
STATE BEACH
40
0
Protecting Their Priorities
In the 1970s and 80s, local citizens recognized
new threats to Sweeney Ridge as new housing
developments sprawled up nearby hillsides
and a proposed 8-lane freeway extension
would bisect the ridge. Community activists
organized, signed petitions and voted to
San M
ate
o
protect this 1200-acre ridgetop. Many of
these same citizen activists now volunteer
to improve wildlife habitat, maintain trails
and lead walks.
How can you help your community?
California Acad. of Sciences
Ranging on the Ridge
A refuge for mountain lions
About Your Visit
980
80
101
LANDS END
1
Fr
an
ci
ay
FORT FUNSTON
Daly
City
101
35
Pacifica
MILAGRA RIDGE
5 Kilometers
5 Miles
San Bruno
380
SNEATH LANE
MORI POINT
SWEENEY
RIDGE
FASSLER AVE.
San
Andreas
Lake
PACIFIC
280
Lower
Crystal Springs
Reservoir
OCEAN
Millbrae
82
92
San Mateo
PENINSULA
WATERSHE
101
A
M
IN
O
R
1
Upper 280
Crystal
L
92
EA
Half Moon
Bay
North
0
0
WESTBOROUGH BLVD.
COLLEGE AVE.
SHARP PARK ROAD
FITZGERALD
MARINE
880
C
EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA
n
280
35 Springs
Reservoir
Redwood
City
PHLEGER ESTATE
84
Half Moon Bay
HUDDART PARK
Woodside
KINGS MTN. ROAD
1
(rev. 12/19)
Sa
San Francisco
OCEAN BEACH
580
Oakland
EL
Pacifica Visitor Center
(650) 355-4122
www.pacificachamber.com
Presidio Visitor Center
(415) 561-4323
www.nps.gov/prsf
Site Stewardship Program
(415) 561-3073
www.parksconservancy.org
G
PRESIDIO
B
From Pacifica, Sweeney Ridge trailheads are
located at Shelldance Nursery off of Highway
1, and at the east end of Fassler Ave. From
San Bruno, trails start at west end of Sneath
Lane off of Hwy 35 (Skyline Blvd), and from
Skyline College Parking Lot #2.
ALCATRAZ
Ga t e
o ld e n
o
For More Information
Please protect Sweeney Ridge by staying
on designated trails and picking up litter.
Mountain bikes allowed on fire roads, but
not on single-track trails. Dogs allowed on
leash. Fires, camping, and off-road vehicles
not permitted. Protect yourself by wearing
layers year round. Bring sunscreen and water.
in Sweeney Ridge’s native coastal scrub
vegetation. Today, the National Park Service
protects this ecosystem and park volunteers
remove invasive plants that threaten the
delicate ecological balance by displacing
the native plants on which wildlife depend.
sc
Finding Your Way
Like their human counterparts, wildlife
explore and defend territories. On Sweeney
Ridge, the web of life is remarkably intact:
mountain lions, coyotes and bobcats range
in search of rabbits, mice, voles and shrews,
which in turn search for their own food and
water. All of these creatures find protection
35
www.nps.gov/goga