Touring *

From U.S. 101 heading north from San Rafael or south from Petaluma, take the Atherton Avenue/Marin Drive exit and follow Marin Drive west and then south. To park for free, turn left when you reach Novato Boulevard, and then after a block and a half, turn left again to park at the Miwok Indian Museum. To park at Stafford Lake (and do this trip in reverse), turn right on Novato Boulevard and drive 2.5 miles west to the entrance of Stafford Lake Park on the left. You'll need four quarters to pay for parking.

Are you ready for some adventure skating? Choose an absolutely gorgeous spring day to skate the trail connecting Novato to Stafford Lake and adventure is just what you'll get. The rural country setting and peaceful presence of cud-chewing Holsteins will make up for the poor quality of the trail's surface. By parking at the small Miwok Indian Museum, you can indulge yourself in the lot's perfectly smooth asphalt before starting out. Is it really that bad? Forewarned is forearmed: the trail surface is rough and generally in ill repair. Near the reservoir, cracks and shifting asphalt are marked with traffic cones, which makes the trail that much narrower. You can hear nearby traffic, and the trail is often covered with debris from the trees overhead and the nearby road. (One 10-yard stretch near the entrance to a quarry is so littered with gravel that you'll need to walk through it.) Because it isn't very wide, the section of trail up the side of the reservoir takes a bit of effort to get up and much skill to get down. Are you still with me, adventurers? For those of you who are willing to put up with such inconveniences, the Stafford Lake Park Trail offers the kind of scenery you don't usually find in urban areas. Start skating at Novato Boulevard, turning right as you leave the Miwok Indian Museum and returning to the intersection at Marin Drive. Cross to the south side of Novato Boulevard at the intersection and continue heading west as Novato Boulevard becomes Hicks Valley Road. Just past some horse pastures, you'll reach a pleasant section bordered by fields. A short time after you pick your way across the gravel patch near the quarry, the trail dips down toward Novato Creek, a nice spot far enough away from traffic to feel like you're really communing with nature. Just after the trail goes back up to rejoin Hicks Valley Road, you'll begin the short-strokes climb up the side of the reservoir. A view to the southwest of sparkling water backed by rolling hills greets you when you arrive at the top. Stafford Lake Park is a great spot to rest and picnic, with a water fountain and children's play yard, cool grass for soothing tired toes, and rest rooms. After gazing across the rippling lake and watching the geese and ducks for half an hour, the trip back will somehow seem better. But first you must successfully negotiate that hill where the trail descends from the top of the reservoir next to the road. The slope spits you out at an intersection where cars approaching at a hard angle on your right can't see you at the stop sign. You absolutely must be prepared to stop here before crossing and negotiating your way between the trail posts just beyond the intersection. Back at the Miwok museum, reward yourself for the rough pavement with another loop on the perfect asphalt in the small park.