POST Council Circle Trail

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Features Fall Colors · Historical Significance · Views

As this trail follows an old farm road, it is free of obstacles. When combined with the Mindego Hill Trail, this makes for a good 4+ mile run.

The POST Council Circle Trail follows an old farm road to a monument dedicated the work that POST did to acquire the ranch lands at Mindego Hill and add them to the Russian Ridge Preserve. To access the trail, follow the Mindego Hill Trail from the parking lot and through the first cattle gate, RR12. At this point, the remnants of an old, gravel road break off to the right and climb uphill slightly before descending toward Mindego Lake.

The trail is a double wide, old farm road that is slowly decaying. In some areas, you are running on gravel, in other areas cement, and finally on dirt and grass as nature slowly reclaims the area. The area is lined with oak trees and other shrubs. At various points along the road, views of Russian Ridge open up on the right hand side of the trail, although many are at least partly obscured.

The fence line of farm on the left keeps the cattle out and follows the trail down to the edge of the preserve. After 0.3 miles, the Post Council Circle Trail breaks off to the right and leads out to the circle. After a short 0.1 miles, you arrive at the circle, where there are markers identifying various landscape features. You can see Mindego Lake, Langley Hill, Russian Ridge, and on a clear day, the Pacific Ocean.

There are also marking on the circle noting the Vernal Equinox, Autumnal Equinox, and Summer Solstice. After you have enjoyed the view and a short break, your only option is to retrace your steps back to where the trail cut off from the Mindego Hill Trail. From here, you can choose where your next adventure will take you in Russian Ridge OSP.

If you miss the cutoff to the POST Council Circle, you'll quickly end up at the boundary of the preserve where a set of gates inform you the the areas beyond them are closed. Simply turn around at this point and retrace your steps back to the cutoff.