First-ever rainwater catchment system for Sonoma County Regional Parks.
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Thanks to funding from the Parks Foundation, Measure M-Parks for All Sales tax, and the Sonoma County Resilience Fund, two large water tanks for a rainwater catchment system are being installed at Helen Putnam Regional Park. This is the first of its kind at a Sonoma County Regional Park! These tanks will help the park adapt to drought and climate change by storing rainwater and reducing reliance on trucked-in water for operations.
Putnam Park challenge grant improvements
Thanks to generous support from the Measure M-Parks for All sales tax, donors and grants, Sonoma County Regional Parks has invested over $700,000 in improvements for Helen Putnam Regional Park! Inspired by a $50,000 Challenge Grant, 206 donors like you contributed more than $50,000 to enhance this beloved local park.
Visitors can take a self-guided tour of Helen Putnam using this map, which illustrates the latest improvements to the park! Below is a summary of recent enhancements:
- We partnered with the Sonoma County Trails Council to manage five volunteer workdays at Filaree Trail, realigning hundreds of feet of trail to improve trail access during the wet winter months. We were pleased to partner with the Petaluma cycling teams from Casa Grande and Petaluma High Schools, giving youth a worthwhile community service project, new skills, and team-building experiences.
- We hired grazing sheep! The sheep reduce fuels, improve plant diversity (giving us more wild flowers to enjoy), and consume poison oak and foxtails, making the trails more attractive and safer for park visitors and their dogs.
- We built a new custom rock retaining wall at the overlook above the pond and installed two new picnic tables. This is the first in a series of improvements to the pond area.
- Improved accessibility, a new parking lot layout and surfacing, and expanded equestrian parking at the Chileno Valley Trailhead
- Realignment of popular trails like Ridge Trail, Savannah Trail,South Loop Trail and the path around Cattail Pond to reduce erosion and improve drainage
- Construction of the new West Wind Trail to increase park access, providing an entry point closer to the city center and additional parking in a new lot on Windsor Drive
- Addition of the “Stairway to Helen” steps for an environmentally sensitive redesign of Panorama Trail that still challenges hikers seeking a cardio workout
- Enhanced directional and interpretive signage throughout Putnam Park so visitors can more easily find their way and learn about special features of this popular park.
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