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karenincalifornia Says: In 1977, the State Park system bought Rancho Olompali, and turned it into a State Park, which opened to the public in 1990. This is a very low key, no frills State Park, without so much as a campground. You have to give the State Park credit, however, for doing something...
karenincalifornia Says: Olompali sits at the base of Mount Burdell, which is a tiny "mountain" with an elevation at the peak of 1558 feet. The trailhead starts at 335 feet. Total one way distance is about 4 miles. This is not a tough hike. The trail is a gentle rise throughout, so you hardly feel...
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When you summit Mount Burdell at the nose-bleeding elevation of 1558 feet, the first thing you'll note is it looks nothing like the top of K2 or Mount Everest. (Not that I've been at either one of those, but I've seen the movies.) The top of Mount Burdell doesn't even look like the top of a mountain. It's so flat, you'll wonder where the mountain went. You might even see a rabbit hop through the fields.
Unlike K2 and Everest, there are no prayer flags up here, but there are picnic tables. So you can pack your chicken wings or frog's hair or rabbit, or whatever, and some cantelope, kiwi, fried okra and golden raisin oatmeal cookies, and have a nice meal at one of the two picnic tables.
Because it takes so long to get up to these tables, you usually won't have to compete with some kid's birthday party and bounce house.
Updated May 8, 2006
karenincalifornia Says: At one time, Olompali was one of the most significant Miwok communities. Thousands of Miwoks lived in the area. As many as 500 were "converted" to Christianity and then relocated to the newly colonized San Rafael in the early 1800's to build the mission. They were returned...
karenincalifornia Says: In the 1960s, Rancho Olompali was owned by the University of San Francisco. They used it as a Jesuit retreat, but it was too expensive to maintain. USF decided to find tenants, but very few people were willing to pay the whopping $250/ month rent for the 700-acre estate and...
karenincalifornia Says: The Chosen Family hippie commune, founded by Don McCoy, lived in the 26 room mansion located on the grounds of Rancho Olampali from 1967 to 1969. The mansion was the former home of the Burdell family, former owners of the ranch in the 1800s and early 1900s. Unfortunately,...
karenincalifornia Says: Janis Joplin came to Olompali and serenaded The Chosen Family hippie commune in the late 1960s. After the mansion burned down, they left. A few years later, anthropologists discovered artifacts from the Miwok civilization. Amazing what you might find if you start digging up...
karenincalifornia Says: All right - this is not exactly on the Bay, but there is a connection. Donald Crawford McCoy developed the first houseboat neighborhood in Sausalito, and owned the houseboat where Otis Redding wrote "The Dock of the Bay." Don McCoy dropped out of the establishment and in...
karenincalifornia Says: According to the local park ranger, at least one Deadhead makes a pilgrimage here to Olompali State Park every year. I came here yesterday, but not to pay homage to anything other than the trees, the beautiful flowers, and the redtailed hawk that flew overhead. I did have my...
karenincalifornia Says: After The Grateful Dead moved in, Rancho Olompali became a popular hang out for other big names - Grace Slick, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Airplane, Carlos Santana, to name a few.
karenincalifornia Says: Poison oak is all over the place in the hills of Marin and Sonoma Counties. You'll see it along the trail as you hike in the park. It is very recognizable, if you know what it looks like. This is a clear picture of the leaves. Avoid it at all costs. A case of poison oak is a...
karenincalifornia Says: Actually, "Touch of Black" would be a more appropriate title, but Grateful Dead didn't write that song. In Marin County, many of our coast live oaks have fallen to the fate of picking up sudden oak death. Kind of a misnomer - it's not all that sudden. The fungus attacks the...
karenincalifornia Says: Only in the movies and on TV do you see two people in love running towards each other in a field of flowers. As tempting as that may be, you can't do that here. You'll have ticks crawling up your legs for sure. That would freak me out and be such a downer. I know those ticks...
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Favorite thing: The best time to visit Olompali --
Definitely April or May. It's the perfect termperature during those months. Wait until the winter rains stop, and the trails have had a few days in the sun to dry up - otherwise you'll be sloshing around in the mud. In April and May the grasses are a deep almost blinding emerald green. Wildflowers are abundant. You'll see California poppies, wild irises and all sorts of flowers that I can't name. Little itsy bitsy yellow ones. Purple daisy looking things. Purple spikey flowers. A botanist I am not.
Updated May 8, 2006
Former Home of the Grateful Dead . . .
Olompali State Park is located just north of my home in San Rafael, California (Marin County). The State Park system (with their very limited funding) is doing their best to promote this as a heritage...
Build your own Rancho Olompali State Historic Park page
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