Pacifica Cattle Hill Name Change Survey Chose Indigenous Name “Ahni” or Rock

The new name for a previously unnamed mile-long section of the path at Cattle Hill will be “Ahni Trail,” with a trailhead at the Jean Fassler parking lot.

“Ahni” means “rock” in the Ramaytush language, said Jim Sullivan of the Open Space and Parkland Advisory Committee.

Ahni Trail connects to Golden Gate National Recreation Area’s Baquiano Trail within Sweeney Ridge, said Associate Planner Bonny O’Connor. The city has owned the land since 1989.

The open space committee wanted to recognize and honor the historic use of the area by indigenous people and contacted and coordinated with surviving descendants of the Ramaytush Ohlone to consider acceptable trail names, said Sullivan.

The city’s advisory committee coordinated with GGNRA and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservatory to assist with directional signage for the new trail name, said O’Connor.

The open space committee released a short survey in February looking for public input on a narrow list of potential trail names. The survey received 417 responses; 81 percent were Pacifica residents, said Sullivan.

The trail name “ahni” received the most votes, reflected on 256 of the surveys, followed by “colo” or “foot,”“erek” or “stone” and, in last place, “cawi” meaning “cold.”