Lake Herman Event Poster
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Lake Herman Recreation Area
Date: (Sat.) Feb. 28, 2026
Location: Benicia, CA
Event Director: 
- 415.456.8118
Course Setter: Petra Sundstrom
Type: B; Event for beginners through advanced; beginners and non-members are welcome; free beginner instruction will be available
Related Event Information
Event Results Course Setter’s Notes Attackpoint Event Page (http://www.attackpoint.org/eventdetail.jsp/event_60247) Last Year’s Event
Comments from the Event Director
- Hello, I hope to see lots of you at the Lake Herman event.
- This is a great time to visit this locale, as the grass is green and mostly short, helped by a herd of hungry goats who have been voraciously munching down all the grass they can as fire prevention for the summer.
- Please note that this event is on a Saturday!!! (Early in my orienteering career, I got used to events held always on Sundays, and so did not look carefully at the schedule, and went on a Sunday to an event that happened the day before. Don't let this happen to you!)
- While this event is fairly small-scale and easier to run than many, we can use some more volunteers. Help with beginner clinics, a second start crew, and control pick up are still needed.
- Please contact me if you can help!
- Thanks so much, see you next Saturday at Lake Herman.
- – , Event Director
- (Saturday, February 21, 2026)
Lake Herman Recreation Area is in the grassy hills above the Carquinez Strait. This will be BAOC's fifth event at this venue. With its fairly open terrain and modest hills by Bay Area standards, Lake Herman is a lot less intimidating than many of our locations. So, if you have been thinking of moving up to a more advanced level, or if you have been trying to get your kids or neighbors or co-workers to try our sport, this is a great place to do that.
Registration for the event will be in Benicia Community Park. (Driving directions are below.)
Veteran course setter Petra Sundstrom is designing some fun, challenging courses, taking advantage of the terrain, and no doubt throwing in a wrinkle or two to ensure there will be a fun mix for both beginners and advance orienteers. The course details are below.
We also invite (i.e., urge) you to volunteer! Choose from setup, registration, beginner clinics, starts, or control pickup. Most of these tasks require little or no experience (and training is provided). More information is below. The Event Director will look forward to hearing from many of you. 😉
What is Orienteering?
An adventure: Discover the outdoors and discover yourself! Teams of 1 to 5 find checkpoints in parks and wilderness areas using specially-produced maps. All are welcome at our events: runners, joggers, hikers, and walkers; beginners and experienced; club membership is not required.
Schedule
The following standard BAOC event schedule will be followed for this Saturday event:
- 9:00 AM – 11:59 AM: Registration is open
- 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM: Beginner instruction is available (free)
- 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM: Starts are open for all the courses
- 2:00 PM: Everyone must have returned to the Finish
- Note: At registration, all juniors under age 18 must be accompanied by parents or legal guardians, or bring with them a waiver signed by their parent or legal guardian. (The registration form is available here [12KB PDF].)
Note that you can register and start on the courses anytime during the open times above. Thus, for example, you do not need to be "punctual" at 9:00. (You can if you want, but please don't show up earlier and expect to be served.)
Beginner instruction is 15–20 minute, repeating sessions ("clinics") that introduce the sport of orienteering, and provide enough instruction to be able to complete the beginner (White) course.
- Note: Beginners are given their White or Yellow course maps at registration. You should get your map before joining a beginner clinic.
Everyone must return to the Finish by 2:00 PM, and then promptly go to the download tent, even if they have not completed their course. Please do not leave without checking in! If there are unaccounted people after 2:00, we must initiate a search for them.
Activity for Juniors
We will have another activity for youth at this Saturday event. If your kids (or you, if you’re a junior yourself) will participate, please RSVP "yes" here (https://forms.gle/4vBpSQMuja5e3mz89) — it's not required, but helps to give us an expected count.
At this event, we will be offering a short course for youth before the regular course start window. This will be a mass start course that requires being able to complete a White course unassisted. The course is ~1.6 km in length and fairly flat.
Here are the details:
- 9:30 AM: Meet at the Junior Hub table at the event assembly area. Bring a compass and e-punch.
- We will go over course logistics, head over to the Start, and hand out maps.
- 9:45 AM: Mass start!
- After completing the mass-start course: Juniors can run their standard event courses (regular Junior course fees apply).
- After completing the standard event course: Come visit the Junior table for course review and snacks.
The mass-start course will have forked legs, which means there will be several legs where you have a control that is slightly different than someone else's. This makes it so you can't just follow someone else, as they might be heading to a control that is not on your course. This is a great opportunity to practice running with other people while doing your own navigation!
Email (Petra and Julia) with any questions.
Costs & Registration
- Optional online registration (and payment) is available before the event as described below.
The following fees apply for this event:
- $3 for each junior on a Beginner (White or Yellow) course
- $8 for each adult on a Beginner course
- $5 for each junior on the Intermediate (Orange) or an Advanced (Brown through Blue) course
- $15 for each adult member on the Intermediate or an Advanced course
- $20 for each adult non-member on the Intermediate or an Advanced course
- $1 for a compass rental (optional)
- $5 for an E-punch fingerstick rental (if you don't own one; each group will need one to complete their course)
- $15 for the lowest-cost individual one-year BAOC membership (optional)
- Notes:
- Juniors are age 8 through 20 (under age 8 is free).
- You can register at the event or online before the event (see below).
- At the event, we can accept payment by cash, check, or credit/debit card (but no electronic payments — e.g., PayPal, Venmo).
- There is no charge for a second course (but you must end up paying for the more expensive course — e.g., the Orange course after the Beginner course).
- Members of other orienteering clubs can pay the "member" fee. (We hope your club would do the same for our members. 🙂)
More information about event pricing is available in the club FAQ. All the prices are also shown on the standard entry form (PDF/12KB), which you can print and fill out in advance to save some time at the event. (You will need one entry form for each group of people going on a course together.)
Optional Online Registration
Online registration has closed, but you can still register at the event.
- Notes:
- Online registration is not required—you can register at the event.
- You can see who is registered here (https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/reglist/home/lakeherman2026) (but keep in mind that others will register at the event).
What to Bring
You might want to consider the (remote?) possibility of rain ... and bring warm clothes for after you complete your course(s). Actually, you might want to bring warm clothes to wear while you complete your course(s), since the temperature might be chilly because of wind.
For the Beginner courses (White and Yellow), comfortable outdoors attire and shoes are fine.
For the Intermediate (Orange) and Advanced (Brown through Blue) courses, leg cover or gaiters are recommended, as well shoes with some extra grip on the sole.
A compass is not necessary, but can be helpful. We have compasses available for a $1 rental fee.
We time the courses with the SPORTident system, so each entry/team needs to have a SPORTident E-punch fingerstick. If you don't have your own, you can rent one at registration for $5. (Use of the "E-punch" system is easy. You can learn how at the event, or read about it here.)
Location in the Park
The assembly area is in Benicia Community Park, which is adjacent to Lake Herman Recreation Area. We have reserved a portion of the picnic area.
Please be aware that we will have minimal signage out as you approach the park.
We'll be using a location near where we were last year, just west of the middle of the main area — between the eastern and western lots, down towards the ball fields from the parking lot.
Venue Facilities
The park offers ample free parking, restrooms, picnic tables and barbecues, and a children's playground. Feel free to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy after you finish your course.
Dogs are not allowed in Benicia Community Park, other than in the enclosed dog area.
Terrain and Courses
The park consists of about 2.3 sq km of rolling hills sloping down to Lake Herman, a small reservoir that is the source of drinking water for the city of Benicia. The base map, produced by Bob Cooley in 2012, was a high-resolution aerial photograph overlaid on 2.5-meter LIDAR contours. The map was then drawn in OCAD by Benicia teenager Emily Radtke as a Girl Scout Silver Award project. There are some wooded areas on the outskirts of the park and in streambeds, but over most of the area, mapped vegetation consists of bushes and small trees.
Because of the relatively open terrain and gentle climb in most of the park, this is a good opportunity for anyone considering moving up a level to do so.
Courses
The final course details are below:
Technical Physical
Course Length Climb Controls Difficulty Difficulty
Short White 1.6 km 35 m 12 Easy Easy
Long White 2.9 km 190 m 14 Easy Easy
Yellow 2.6 km 80 m 14 Easy Easy
Orange 3.4 km 125 m 16 Moderate Moderate
Brown 3.5 km 130 m 19 Advanced Moderate
Green 4.4 km 190 m 18 Advanced Hardish
Red 6.0 km 250 m 25 Advanced Hard
Blue 7.7 km 335 m 25 Advanced Harder
- Beginners should be aware that the lengths shown are the cumulative straight-line distances between controls. The climb numbers represent the amount of ascending that would be done on the "optimum route" (i.e., in the Course Setter's opinion), without regard for any descending. Because you won't travel in straight lines, and might not follow the optimum routes, your actual distance and climb will be somewhat more than what is shown above, and will depend on your route choices (and any errors you make).
- There will be not be a Silver (Short Brown) course, because the Course Setter thinks the Brown course is not too demanding.
Be sure to read the Course Setter's Notes for more information about the courses.
Hazards
Poison oak on the courses is minimal and easily avoided. There are ticks.
See the comments above about water on the courses.
There are baseball/soccer/volleyball fields on the courses. Please do not cut through ongoing games.
We Need Volunteers!!!
- Note: As of Feb. 21, we still need help with beginner clinics, a second start crew, and control pick up.
As always, we need volunteers for this event. Specifically, it will be very helpful if you volunteer to help with E-punch, starts, beginner clinics, or control pickup.
E-punch is not as difficult as you might think, and adequate instruction will be given.
Managing starts is a nice activity that anyone can do, regardless of orienteering experience, so I encourage new members who are looking for a way to help the club to step up. We will have shifts working on the Start line, so you will be able to run a course.
And imagine the newcomers that you can inspire as their beginner-clinic guru. Marriages have even resulted from our beginner clinics!
Driving Directions
The assembly area will be in Benicia Community Park. Its official address is 540 Rose Dr, Benicia, which will get you close enough to find us. Alternatively, the approximate coordinates of the assembly area are 38.0862,-122.1586. Or you can follow the directions below.
- Note: Do not follow Google Maps (or Apple Maps) directions to "Lake Herman Recreation Area". That would put you on the opposite side of the park.
From the South Bay, most of the East Bay, and the southern half of the Peninsula:
- Take I-680 North across the Benicia-Martinez Bridge (toll crossing). Stay in the left lanes on the bridge to merge onto I-780 West. Take the second exit (#5) from I-780, E 2nd St. Go straight-ish (uphill) on E 2nd St, and continue 1.3 miles. At the traffic light, turn left onto Rose Dr. Continue 1.1 miles, and then turn into Benicia Community Park (Dempsey Dr) on your right.
From Sacramento:
- Take I-80 West to I-680 South. Take exit #61 for Lake Herman Road, and turn right. At the stop sign (almost immediately), turn left onto E 2nd St. After 2.1 miles, turn right at the traffic light onto Rose Dr. Continue 1.1 miles, and then turn into Benicia Community Park (Dempsey Dr) on your right.
From San Francisco, Oakland and surrounding communities, and from the North Bay:
- Go to I-80, and take it to Vallejo (toll bridge). Take exit #30A onto I-780 East. After about 5 miles, take exit #5 for E 2nd St, turn right and continue 1.4 miles. At the traffic light, turn left onto Rose Dr. Continue 1.1 miles, and then turn into Benicia Community Park (Dempsey Dr) on your right.