Membership Benefits

Your membership with the Ridge Trail ensures you remain an integral part of our Ridge Trail community. Your tax- deductible, gift of $49 (or more) renews your annual commitment to the Ridge Trail and not only brings nature a little closer to the Bay Area’s eight million residents, it also comes with perks!

 Member Perks

  • Invitations to members-only outings, presentations, and events (virtual and in-person)
  • Early registration for sell-out events like our popular annual hike and ride, Ridge to Bridge
  • Ridge Lines, our biannual printed newsletter
  • Bay Nature magazine offers a special introductory rate to our members, 15% off a one-year print subscription! Discount code good for print, digital, or print+digital. Use code RIDGETRAIL24 at baynature.org.
  • Cottage Grove Inn in Calistoga offers a year-round 10% discount to Ridge Trail members. Use code RIDGE TRAIL at cottagegrove.com

How else can you get involved?

Volunteer

We welcome volunteers to help us in many ways, from work in the office, to building and maintaining trails. Learn what’s available with our park partners and signup for future opportunities.

Circumnavigation

If you’ve already completed the entire Ridge Trail, you’re currently in progress, or just pondering the idea, we want to connect with you. Find tools, resources, and maps to help with your journey, and connect with others to share stories, ask questions and get advice.

TAG-you're it!

Trail Advocacy Groups (TAGs) are local groups who meet regularly to lead Ridge Trail outings, organize trail maintenance, and build support for new trails in their region. Sit in on the next TAG meeting to learn how you can help plan and promote the Ridge Trail in your area. If interested, email advocacy@ridgetrail.org.

Group of hikers from 2023's Super Stroll and Roll Event, posing at a vista.

Super Stroll and Roll

Have a ball with our community and hike or ride the Ridge Trail in the heart of San Francisco in the morning on Superbowl Sunday. Huddle up to one 4 distances offered for this free event!

Runner on the trail

North Marin Ridge Run

Organized by Friends of the Ridge Trail, sign up for a 10K, 25K, 20mile, or 50K in Marin County. Entry fees support the Ridge Trail. Register on UltraSignup.

Three people smiling at Ridge to Bridge event

Ridge to Bridge

Every year, hikers, bikers, and equestrians gather in the Marin Headlands to celebrate what the Ridge Trail does best: connecting people to places. Registrants get a fully supported day with a shuttle, route guides, goodie bags, aid stations, and a delicious, catered lunch. More at RidgeTrail.org/rtb

rider with horse on trail

East Bay Hills Benefit Hike & Ride

Our 5-day hike is held annually in conjunction with our concurrent 6-day equestrian ride. Hikers and riders are mostly on different trails during the day, but share campsites, meals, stories & camaraderie, and enjoy entertainment each evening. This event is co- sponsored by and benefits the Bay Area Ridge Trail, Volunteers for Outdoor California, and the Metropolitan Horsemen’s Association. Registration launches in the summer.

Trail steward with tool

Ridge Trail Service Day

Our largest annual stewardship event. We partner with local land managers to host volunteer trail work parties around the Bay Area to build and improve the Ridge Trail. Registration launches in late summer!

Very Important Trail (VIT) outings

VIT hikes and rides are your passport to visit 60 miles of restricted trails through Ridge Trail guided outings. Members receive special invitations to VITs scheduled throughout the year and can also access the VITs below on a more flexible schedule.

View of trail at the SFPUC watershed at the Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail

Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail

Join us for a VIT hike along the Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail in San Mateo County! Access to the Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail, in the SF Watershed, is available only with a docent and we would love for you to be part of the adventure!

Group at trailhead

Máyyan ‘Ooyákma–Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve

Máyyan ‘Ooyákma–Coyote Ridge Open Space Reserve connects over 1 million acres ofimportant habitat in the Santa Cruz Mountains and Diablo Range. Comprised of rare, sensitive serpentine grasslands, this landscape is a biodiversity hotspot for endangered plants and animals. Get your free Butterfly Pass from the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority for a self-guided hike, bike ride, or horse ride on Ridge Trail located inside the Habitat Protection area.

Stay informed

Most event, trail updates, and members-only invitations are sent via email in our monthly E-News. If we don’t already have your email address and you'd like to receive these opportunities, sign up here:

Stay in the Loop!

Join the Ridge Trail eNews, for all the latest events and trail news.

Occasionally the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council shares our member names with other worthy nonprofit organizations we think you would be interested in knowing about. Sharing lists with other nonprofit organizations helps both organizations to strengthen their donor bases. However, as we respect your privacy, please contact membership@ridgetrail.org to have your name excluded from future list shares or to customize your communications preferences. We never share email addresses.