Jack London State Park, outside the town of Sonoma. Forget the wineries and hike here.
We have hiked many, many places. From Cambodia to Morocco, Provence to Ireland, and few parks are as magical as Jack London State Park, near the town of Glen Ellen, Sonoma county, California. As one can guess, it is named after the famous early 20th century author who celebrated the West and nature. But what few know is that he lived for his farm (over 800 acres) and wrote to make money.
The gift and challenge of those park – still somewhat rundown from his estate going to rot before the state took over; even then, many local groups have had to raise money to restore the original farm buildings, paths and much work needs to be done.
But what is there, is so real and genuine, raw and yet the hand of Mankind is seen trying to tame it. The foot of the park offers an upper and lower parking lot. You need to drive to both. Why? The lower lot takes you out to the ruins of a massive house made of rounded boulder-like stones, he called Wolf Trap. (Note: his biggest best seller was called “Call of the Wild and was told from the perspective of a wolf in Alaska). To read the stories placed on placards and take it in form the deep woods that nearly cover it, one sees a genius of a mind and incredible spirit of this man and his wife. Yet, in the same breath, when you see how the house was never really finished because of his premature death, you feel a deep sense of sadness; a sense of dreams reached for but not attained. So very human and tragic, yet when you go to the upper lot, then you see the depth of his accomplishments.
The house is downslope of a thick redwood cluttered forest; it rises from a valley vineyard to end over 2000 feet high ridge that lead to the Pacific.
Outspoken Traveler 