Phoenix Lake, Yolanda Trail, Mt. Tamalpaias - California, United States

The Marin Municipal Water District manages all the land on the northeastern slope of Mount Tamalpaias. They created 5 reservoirs in this area (Phoenix Lake was built in 1905) to supply water to the people of Marin County, and at the same time preserved a large hunk of land for rugged recreation use.

Yolanda initially climbs through California bay, coast live oak, and madrone, alongside a creekbed. As early as January, look for some wildflowers in the grassy understory, including white milkmaids and purple hound\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s tongue. Yolanda is a perennial favorite for wildflowers; in late winter you might see the last of the shooting stars, plus bluedicks, larkspurs, popcorn flowers, and California poppies. In spring and summer delightful green knolls on the side of the trail are perfect for a sunny snooze, bird watching, or gazing to the profile of Mt. Tam. Look for the formation known as \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Lion Rock\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" looming off the right side of the hillside.

Lush wildflower scenery on this two hour outing with slight elevation changes. Parking lot is free of charge but quite small and fills up early in the day with resulting cars waiting in line to get a parking spot.