Welcome to Spring Lake Regional Park in beautiful Santa Rosa!

Today we offer three courses:

• A White course that is fairly short and stays on trails or roads. This course is designed for people trying orienteering for the first time.
• A Yellow course, longer than White with some controls off-trail, but near very distinct landmarks. This is a great course for advanced beginners, or those looking for a "hike" with a challenge.
• One "advanced" course, which I have called the "Adventure" course, that veers off-trail and through some of the most complex terrain on the map. The Adventure course will challenge your navigation skills, as well as your ability to select the best route between controls. Keep in mind that on many of the legs, the direct route is not the best way to go!

The one thing all the courses lack is climb! By BAOC standards, all three courses are as flat as a slightly rumpled pancake!

Here are the course statistics:

Course       Length    Climb  Controls
White        2.2 km     30 m      7  
Yellow       2.8 km     60 m     11
Adventure    4.4 km    125 m     14

There are water faucets throughout the park, indicated by blue circles on the map, which is one reason why there will be no water stops on the courses.

Wildflowers are out in force, even though the grass is turning brown and drying out.

Hazards include other park attendees, who may be walking, jogging, driving, or riding bicycles. Please be courteous to the people you might encounter on your courses. Poison oak (PO) is present in places, though all the controls can be reached without having to go through any PO. Just keep an eye out for it, and make slight detours if you see some.

There are two major out-of-bounds areas on the map.

• First is the campground in the southwest portion of the map. All participants must not go through the campground. If your route takes you near the campground, stay on the main road until you get past it (this should affect only the White and Yellow courses).
• The other out-of-bounds area is the Lake! Swimming is not allowed in Spring Lake itself, so those thinking of taking a damp shortcut, should plan otherwise.

The weather should be warm but not too hot, with partial cloudy skies to keep things cool. Flush toilets and running water are available, along with plenty of picnic tables, so plan on hanging around after your course(s) and enjoy the beautiful park that is Spring Lake!

Driving Directions ↑

There's a map here that shows the location of the event. The approximate coordinates of the assembly area are 38.4483,-122.6509.

Take Highway 101 north toward Santa Rosa. Once in Santa Rosa, exit onto Highway 12 going east. Follow Highway 12 for 1.5 miles to where Highway 12 makes a left turn at Farmer's Lane. Do not take this turn, but instead, continue onto Hoen Avenue. Go 1.5 miles to the traffic light at Hoen and Summerfield. Continue straight on Hoen, then take an immediate left onto Newanga Avenue. Newanga leads into Spring Lake County Park. Pay your park fee at the ranger's kiosk, make a right turn, and go up the hill to the Oak Knolls Picnic Area.

(Note that there are two entrances to the park, and they are not connected inside the park. If you go in the "wrong" entrance, you'll have to walk farther to the registration area.)

Public Transit ↑

The closest bus route to this entrance of Spring Lake Park is Santa Rosa City Bus #8 (Bennett Valley), which has an hourly stop at the intersection of Summerfield and Hoen. Please check Transit.511.org for details.