Verissimo Hills
The Verissimo Hills Preserve is one of a series of linked open spaces in Marin County that include the Little Mountain Open Space Preserve, Mt. Burdell Open Space Preserve, and Indian Tree Open Space Preserve. Adventurous hikers determined to rack up the miles can use the maps and information on the Marin County Parks website to plan routes along trails that run between these preserves.
It's particularly popular to start hikes in the Verissimo Hills Preserve and continue to the Little Mountain Open Space Preserve. You can even follow a network of trails from Verissimo Hills all the way to Dogbone Meadow, an off-leash dog park in O'Hair Park! This route runs about three miles each way. Keep in mind that your dog will need to stay on a leash on the trails on the way to the park.
If you just have time for a quick hike, you can have plenty of fun staying within the bounds of the Verissimo Hills Preserve. The named trails in the park are the Ravine Trail and the Sanchez Fire Road, which offer a total of about one mile of hiking and connect to the Stafford Lake Trail at the preserve's boundary. Where the Sanchez Fire Road connects to the Stafford Lake Trail, you can either continue north to the Little Mountain Open Space Preserve and O'Hair Park or south to the Indian Tree Open Space Preserve.
If the rolling hills of the Verissimo Hills Open Space Preserve look familiar, it may be because of their close resemblance to "Bliss," the photograph that was used as the official desktop background for Windows XP. That photograph was shot about 20 miles from Verissimo Hills, though you might think it was shot in this preserve, especially if you're here in spring when the hills are an impossibly vivid green. As in that photo, the hills are mostly open grassland, though some are crested with beautiful groves of oak and bay trees. Do note that some hikers have referred to the constant up-and-down climb along these hills as a "roller coaster," so come prepared to do some uphill work!
After you spend a day in Verissimo Hills, you'll head back home with a new set of desktop images for your mind, and inspiration to get off of your computer and into nature more often!
