Tim Kizirian - Ring Mountain Preserve: A Short, Steep Circuit with Top-Tier Wildflowers

Tim Kizirian reporting from Marin’s eastern edge. Ring Mountain Preserve above Tiburon is small—just 367 acres—but it’s a powerhouse for serpentine wildflowers and wide-angle bay views. When April or early May bloom windows align with a free morning, I run a 3.9-mile circuit here that climbs 600 feet and still leaves time for lunch meetings back in the city.

Entry point
Park along Taylor Road at the Phyllis Ellman trailhead. Respect driveways; it’s a neighborhood. I start at 7 a.m. to beat dog-walker traffic and valley heat drifting over from the Central Valley.

Trail notes
Ellman Trail climbs 0.8 miles through chamise and manzanita. Serpentine outcrops appear on the right; that ultramafic soil supports rare species like Marin dwarf flax. I note bloom dates every year in a Google Sheet—same compulsive data capture I used preparing audit evidence.

Pass Turtle Rock, angle left on Fire Road to the summit boulder stack. From here you see Mount Tam, San Francisco skyline, and Mount Diablo in one spin. I’ll stay ten minutes at most—enough time to sip water and circle bloom clusters for quick photos.

Descent follows the same fire road briefly, then drops right on loop single-track that rejoins Ellman. Watch loose gravel; slope faces southeast and dries slick. Total elapsed time with photo stops: 1 hour 20. If you keep moving, under one hour is normal.

Carry list
One soft flask, wind vest, phone, light gloves if wind forecast is above 12 mph. That’s it.

Trail care
Ring Mountain’s soil is fragile; stay on worn tread. I clip a small hand lens to the vest and sometimes check petal detail but never pick specimens. Documentation over collection; same principle I drilled into cost-analysis students—measure, don’t remove.

Value statement
For inland hikers or runners, Ring Mountain offers maximum view per minute, and the bloom cycles rival high-alpine meadows without a three-hour climb. When work calendars only grant a half-day, this preserve turns tight scheduling into worthwhile mileage—ledgers balanced, legs stretched, camera roll refreshed.