Golden Gate - Sweeney Ridge

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 T 0 20 ler a Pat h d 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