CreeksWatershed

Creeks and Bike Trails of Rohnert Park and Cotati, California
Resources for exploring, preserving, and enhancing this urban wilderness.
What we normally see in daily life from a car or on foot is only a small part of reality.
Wherever you go, there you are.

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Creeks Watershed

Sonoma Mountain and Taylor Mountain Watershed for Crane, Copeland, Five, Hinebaugh and various smaller creeks
Creeks begin on Sonoma Mountain, gathering rain and fog from the Pacific Ocean. They wind down the mountain through wild and farmed land, then are channelized as they flow through the city.
West of Rohnert Park, the creeks flow into the Laguna de Santa Rosa, which flows into the Russian River, thence to the Pacific Ocean. Old Sonoma Mountain farmers tell of catching salmon and steelhead in these creeks as they returned from the Pacific Ocean to spawn.
Although they all start on Sonoma Mountain, Copeland Creek, Crane Creek, and Five Creek flow north to the Russian River, while Lichau Creek and Adobe Creek flow south to the San Francisco Bay.
In the cities, creek flows are dominated by the urban watershed, storm water runoff from increasingly large impervious (paved) areas.

1. Satellite Photo of Sonoma Mountain, Taylor Mountain, and the Santa Rosa Plain
Rohnert Park and Cotati at center left, with Highway 101 running vertically south from Santa Rosa to Petaluma, and 116 going west to Sebastopol.
Creeks start on Taylor Mountain and Sonoma Mountain to the right.
At Highway 101 in Rohnert Park, the creeks are only 100 feet above sea level, so creek water meanders slowly northward across the flat Santa Rosa plain through the Laguna de Santa Rosa, which empties into the Russian River. (Salmon and steelhead have to make this very long journey from the ocean to spawn in the creeks.)
Matanzas Creek, at top right, flows north through Bennett Valley into Santa Rosa.

3. Topographic Map of Creeks Watershed on Sonoma Mountain and Santa Rosa Plain
From top - Five Creek, Crane Creek, Hinebaugh Creek and Copeland Creek flow from Sonoma Mountain watershed to the Laguna de Santa Rosa and Russian River.
Lichau Creek, Willow Brook, and Adobe Creek flow from Sonoma Mountain Watershed to the Petaluma River and San Francisco Bay. The Five branches of Five Creek
Crane Creek
Hinebaugh Creek (starts near Petaluma Hill Rd)
Copeland Creek (bottom)
Petaluma Hill Road runs from top to bottom (north to south). Sonoma State University is the rectangle surrounded with green at bottom left.
Crane Creek starts at a spring which forms a lake on the mountain heights. It runs all year. Crane Creek Regional Park, just off Roberts Road (East of SSU) has picnic tables, wheelchair access, restrooms, and hiking trails, and allows dogs.

4. Satellite Photo of Creeks Watershed on Sonoma Mountain
From top - Five Creek, Crane Creek, Hinebaugh Creek and Copeland Creek flow from the Northwest face of Sonoma Mountain.
1. The Five branches of Five Creek
Crane Creek
2. Hinebaugh Creek (starts just East of Petaluma Hill Rd)
3. Copeland Creek (bottom)
4. Petaluma Hill Road runs from top to bottom (north to south). Sonoma State University is the rectangle surrounded with green at bottom left.
Crane Creek starts at a spring which forms a lake on the mountain heights. It runs all year. Crane Creek Regional Park, just off Roberts Road (East of SSU) has picnic tables, wheelchair access, restrooms, and hiking trails, and allows dogs.

5. Topographic Map of Mountain Watersheds and Valley Creeks

6. Laguna de Santa Rosa Watershed
All 12 creeks in the Rohnert Park and Cotati municipal area flow into the Laguna de Santa Rosa in the Russian River watershed.

Source of Crane Creek on Sonoma Mountain.

7-9 Topographic Maps of Creeks

10. Sunset on the Creek and Mountain
View toward the east of Sonoma Mountain from Highway 101 in Bear Park on Crane/Hinebaugh Creek.

>"Rohnert Park�s creeks are one of the city�s most treasured natural resources. The creeks, notably Five, Crane, Hinebaugh, and Copeland creeks, have been characterized as areas of high potential for wetlands, vernal pool, and rare plant habitat. In addition, creeks provide the opportunity for community members to enjoy their aesthetic qualities through use of the pedestrian and bike paths located along existing creeks in the city...The Laguna de Santa Rosa Flood Control Channel southwest of the city, contains thicker native riparian vegetation including various willow and alder trees. The creek corridors in the eastside have a high potential to sustain biological resources and for providing habitat for wildlife as they include several species of riparian vegetation. In addition to willows and alder trees, these corridors may also contain native vegetation such as California blackberry, wild grape, wild rose, and non-native species such as fennel and hemlock. Riparian vegetation helps stabilize banks, decreasing erosion and siltation, and filters sediment, improving water quality." - from Rohnert Park General Plan