[3] In May 1987, the Greenbelt Alliance held a meeting to strategize how to approach the San Francisco Water Department and convince them to open their watershed lands to the public; Mark Evanoff convened the meeting and Brian O'Neill, Superintendent of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, proposed a potential strategy to pursue the goals outlined in the report by the President's Commission on Americans Outdoors.

[1][4] Later that year, a planning committee was formed with memberships from nearly forty public agencies, recreation groups, and individuals.

Large sections of the trail running through San Mateo,[9] Marin, Contra Costa, and Alameda counties have been completed.

Starting at the Golden Gate Bridge and proceeding clockwise, the route goes through every Bay Area county: Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, and San Francisco.

The planned alignment of the Ridge Trail extends as far north as Calistoga and Angwin, and as far south as Gilroy.

BARTC initially was supported by the Greenbelt Alliance, but it was incorporated in 1991 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit under co-chairs Brian O'Neill and Marcia McNally.