Joe Rodota Trail

This is a sad state of affairs when a group of people can destroy a living thing. The homeless have taken over the trail. They are not afraid. Santa Rosa Police and the Sonoma County Sheriff’s office claim that they can’t do anything about them OR the garbage. The piles and piles of garbage, human waste and the people that are kind of aggressive. So complain to Regional Parks, SRPD, SCSO and anyone else who will listen. Help clean up and make safe this local beauty so that EVERYONE can enjoy it

Can’t believe nothing has been posted on this yet.
The trail is more for convenient bike commuting between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol (about 6 miles, under an hour if you ride at a good clip) than for a scenic or challenging hike. It’s entirely flat and paved and there’s not much to see but two huge farms/​wineries on one side and Highway 12 on the other. It’s not uncommon to see deer crossing the street and egrets out here though.
Outside of Santa Rosa you don’t have to cross many streets and none of them are real busy so it’s a real zippy ride between the edge of Roseland and Sebastopol. Great alternative to the very hairy walk or ride down 12 or Occidental Road, both of which have shoulders that suddenly narrow to almost nothing in a lot of spots, and poor-​to-​nonexistent lighting after dark.
If you’re planning on hiking maybe skip the portion of the trail that falls within Santa Rosa city limits as its thoroughly hobo’d out day and night. From the Santa Rosa side you can jump in at South Wright instead.
And when you get to Sebastopol the trail drops you off right in front of Hopmonk Tavern for a reasonably priced microbrew and some fried fish: D