Marin's geography can be pretty astounding at times. Who would have thought that the San Anselmo neighborhood of Sleepy Hollow was just a stone's throw from the northern San Rafael enclave of Terra Linda? If you try to drive from one of these locations to another, it will take you a good half hour, minimum, but if you take a walk at the Terra Linda/Sleepy Hollow Divide Open Space Preserve, you can go from one to the other in just a few minutes!
This 1,100-acre preserve encompasses the ridge that separates these two areas. It's perfect for a family hike, and the views are spectacular. You really get the feeling that you're on top of the world. The path that connects Terra Linda and Sleepy Hollow was at one point destined to be a road, but community members fought to preserve the area and now the only vehicles traversing the ridge are the human-powered, two-wheeled kind.
Start at the Open Space District gate at the end of Freitas Parkway in Terra Linda and climb the paved Mission Pass Path to the top of the ridge. When you get to the top, you can continue on Mission Pass Path, which leads to San Anselmo's Fawn Drive, or turn right onto the Terra Linda Ridge Fire Road.
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