Hood Mountain (Stock Photo)
Nine miles of trail and other areas of Hood Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve are set to re-open this Saturday. Open areas include the park’s northwest entrance and parking lot on Los Alamos Road, and Hood Mountain Trail leading to Hood Mountain’s 2,730-foot summit. On the south side of the park, accessed via Pythian Road, the Merganser Pond backcountry campground will reopen, along with nearby trails such as Panorama Ranch Trail and Orchard Meadow Trail. The lower equestrian parking lot will also reopen. These re-openings come after cleanup crews have been working to clear the many hundreds of hazardous trees and repair road and other infrastructure damage caused by the 2020 Glass Fire.
What remains closed? On the northwest side, Azalea Creek picnic area and campground and Summit Trail remain closed; and on the south side, Upper Johnson Ridge Trail and parts of Lower Johnson Ridge Trail remain closed.