The slow and steady pace of expanding Lynch Canyon
Protecting land is never a race, and yet, running in a race can result in new protected land for all of us.
That may sound like a parable, but it’s straightforward. When you participate as a runner in the Lynch Canyon Trail Run and Community Hike, your registration fee supports Lynch Canyon Open Space Park. (Community hikers participate for free and can also donate to support Lynch Canyon.)
At this summer’s Trail Run on Saturday, June 2, you will have the opportunity to help expand Lynch Canyon, the first such opportunity since it opened in 2007.
New trails
An expanded Lynch Canyon means new trails, new views, and more opportunities to explore! Eventually, you will be able to run, walk, bike, and horseback ride on new trails that connect with a regional trail system that takes you along beautiful and scenic ridges around the entire San Francisco Bay. Right now, you can enjoy ridge-top views on the Bay Area Ridge Trail at Lynch Canyon, Rockville Hills Regional Park, and the City of Vallejo’s Open Space around Hiddenbrooke.
New tools
Expanding Lynch Canyon is going to take all of us, which is why we are bringing new tools to the effort. Friends and family of trail runners will also be able to invest in these additional 150 acres when you invite them to support your run using social media. Your mobile phone will serve as a tool to help add new trails and more acres to Lynch Canyon. Click here Lynch Canyon Expansion to set up your own fundraising page and get behind this worthy cause.
Leveraging federal dollars
The seed of the expansion can be traced to an earmark fund negotiated by Representative George Miller (1975-2015) in 2005 that resulted in $2.5 million to protect land and expand the trail system in the hills between Vallejo, Benicia, and Fairfield. It has been a long road, but the final stretch is in sight. We can leverage the federal dollars if we can raise $350,000 in matching funds by July 1, 2018, and you can help us get there.
The finish line
It was 15 years ago that the process to expand Lynch Canyon began, but slow and steady, just like the tortoise and hare fable, we are nearing the finish line.
At next year’s Lynch Canyon Trail Run and Community Hike, trail runners will be among the first to enjoy the new trails of the expanded property—if we can raise the matching funds.
So, lace up those running shoes and hiking boots and get ready to race your way to an expanded Lynch Canyon; and take pride in knowing that you helped make this happen.