What Ring Mountain Really Has to Offer

What Ring Mountain Really Has to Offer, Marin Magazine

Glance at a Marin map and seemingly all roads lead to Tiburon’s Ring Mountain: Reed Ranch Road from Tiburon Boulevard; Taylor Road off Paradise Drive; Shepherd Way off Trestle Glen. The mountain likewise attracts all kinds of outdoorsy people: hikers, horseback riders, dog walkers (leash only), mountain bikers, rock climbers; even anthropologists. These two latter groups are often attracted by the massive granite boulder at the base of Ring Mountain: The anthro-types, looking for markings left by Miwok Indians, call it Petroglyph Rock; the climbers, who practice bouldering here while catching views, call it Turtle Rock. So where did the name Ring Mountain come from? Turns out a New Hampshire dairyman, George E. Ring, once owned much of the surrounding land, along the Tiburon Peninsula and down to San Pablo Bay. From 1895 to 1903 he was a Marin County supervisor; after he died in 1913, his heirs commemorated him by giving the 602-foot-tall mountain his name. Sixty years later, the Nature Conservancy, aided by ardent Tiburon residents, acquired Ring’s land and it is now part of the Marin County Open Space District. With its spectacular vistas, rolling terrain and close-in location, Ring Mountain’s 367 acres are often said to be one of the most valuable parcels of real estate on earth.

Turtle Rock