Bald Hill Summit; courtesy of Kevin Knowles
Is There an SLT in Your Neighborhood?
Stone Walk, Town of San Anselmo Public Path;
photo by Ken Husband
Chances are there is. What’s an SLT? It’s a generic term for stairs, lanes, and trails. These are not easements on private property, but properties already owned by the town. Many of these were created in the original subdivision maps to give homeowners pedestrian access to the train stations. They linked the neighborhoods together. Over the decades since the trains stopped, many SLTs have been lost, either built over or simply overgrown and forgotten. But many remain, serving as car-free walking paths between the hills and downtown, as safe routes to school for our kids, or simply as pleasant walks through our neighborhoods. But none were marked, many were hard to find, and people might have been reluctant to use them, not knowing if they were private property.
Many other communities around Marin County, San Francisco, and the East Bay have already initiated projects to identify, improve, and sign their SLTs and publish maps to help people find these hidden paths. The resulting networks of paths have become an attraction for visitors and a pleasure for residents, especially in Belvedere and Mill Valley. Some years ago, your San Anselmo Open Space Committee (OSC) determined to do the same for our town.
We proposed to the Town Council that the OSC oversee the project and share costs with the Town. On May 1, 2023, the Council unanimously approved the project. We worked with the Department of Public Works to identify nearly eighty SLTs, then visited each site to evaluate their possibilities. Some were already built over; others were simply too steep to be practical and safe. But about half were either in current use or could be developed into usable paths.
Once we compiled a list of 38 candidate SLTs, we rated each as to whether it was possible and desirable to open it up and develop it. The criteria included Safe Routes to Schools, possible escape routes in case streets are blocked in an emergency, and access to shopping areas, public transit, and open space. Working with the Historical Commission, we researched the history of each SLT and designed signs identifying and naming the SLT, giving a few sentences of its history. Public Works had the signs made, and we started putting them up around town.
The first pilot project was to sign the downtown bridges—each has its own unique history. Since then, we have installed signs on nineteen SLTs and have signs prepared for six more. These signs help people find the paths, clearly state the Town’s ownership, and prevent more from being built over. We have also created a flyer with a list of the Town’s usable SLTs and a map showing their locations. We’ve been handing out the flyer at our booth at Live on the Avenue, and it is available on the OSC’s website.
Your OSC is working to protect these historic routes and ensure that residents know about them. Check out the new SLT page and explore your old neighborhood in a new light. —Brian Crawford
The 33rd Annual Benefit for San Anselmo Open Space
Photo by Kathy Sanders
In the late 1880’s, Marin County hikers, loggers, and hunters enjoyed beverages, homemade bites, and outdoor tales at the disreputable Pink Saloon, now known as the upscale and private Lagunitas Country Club in Ross.
Almost 150 years later, just down the road from the scandalous saloon, over 100 open space supporters of a different era enjoyed beverages, homemade bites, and splendid stories of Marin at the 33rd Annual San Anselmo Open Space Benefit held at St. John’s Church.
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Historian, writer, and Open Space Committee Member Brian Crawford shared vivid anecdotes from his informative and entertaining book, “The Bolinas Fairfax Road: A History of One of Marin’s Most Scenic Roads.” Brian kept the standing-room-only crowd highly engaged with vivid stories of the San Rafael-Bolinas Road Construction, the Old Marin Stagecoach, trailside robberies, and all its colorful characters. Familiar locations around Mount Tamalpais and the Ross Valley served as the main characters.
The entertaining storytelling likely inspired many open space supporters and volunteers to view the watershed from a different perspective, maybe visiting the old water trough on Bolinas-Fairfax Road, the Stagecoach Road Monument in San Rafael, or the faint remains of the once-popular Larsen’s Summit House at the top of Bolinas Ridge.
The Benefit was a huge success. Marin Supervisor Brian Colbert and San Anselmo town staff members attended, as well as Tamra Peters and William Carney, the couple who were instrumental in preserving a long section of the 1879 San Rafael-Bolinas Photo by Kathy Sanders Road from private development. This Open Space is now commemorated by a plaque placed at the end of Greenwood Road in San Rafael.
While great food, Marin history, and fabulous companionship delighted the guests, some were rewarded with prizes from the familiar raffle donated by our generous merchants! A romantic dinner at Insalata’s, a night on the town at Cucina, and a foursome lunch at Creekside Pizza and Taproom were just a few of the rewards handed out. Be sure not to miss our next benefit in Spring of 2026! —Ken Husband
photo by Christopher Tonry
FIVE MILLION DOLLARS AND 160 ACRES LATER
As 2025 draws to a close, the San Anselmo Open Space Committee can now boast that it has helped to preserve over 160 acres in the Ross Valley, 260 acres if you include the Wall Property in Fairfax! With your generous donations over the years, the committee has been able to leverage approximately 1.5 million dollars into well over $5 million worth of permanent open space, utilizing matching grants, Measure A funds, and, most importantly, our partnership with Marin Open Space Trust (MOST). However, our work is not done. We still have parcels to preserve on the Bald Hill Ridgeline, as well as land on the north side of our valley. If you feel overwhelmed, as I do, by the constant requests for donations online and by mail, please know that our committee is an all-volunteer group, and you can be confifident that your contribution will protect lands for habitat preservation and that they will remain free for all to enjoy.
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A final note: The San Anselmo Open Space Fund is now officially part of the non-profit 501c3 group “Friends of San Anselmo Parks.” Just as before, all donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Contributions to our Fund will be used exclusively to purchase designated priority hillsides and ridgelines in the Ross Valley. Please be sure to make out your checks to “Friends of San Anselmo Parks,” writing “Open Space” on the memo line. While donations made online will reference “Friends of San Anselmo Parks,” they will automatically be directed to the Open Space Fund. (See page 3 for our donor form or use the enclosed remit envelope—thank you!) Thank you again for all your support. —Kathy Sanders
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