2018's Top 10 Adventures in SoCal

Who says LA's all about the stars? You reach for way more than the stars by heading outdoors. From mountain peaks and canyon scrambles, to soaking your bones in rivers and hot springs, these are the Top 10 Outdoor Adventures from 2018. Here's to more outdoors in 2019!

Week: 12.27.2018
Regions: Southern CA

You Call This a Hellhole?

A Hike Into Anza-Borrego's Hellhole Canyon and Maidenhair Falls

One person’s hellhole is another’s heavenly desert oasis. Hellhole Canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is definitely the latter. Its name comes from cattleman Wid Helm, who said it was “one hell of a hole to get cattle out of.” For you, it’s a moderate to challenging 5.5-mile (round-trip) out-and-back hike.
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Hot, Wet, and Wild!

Hike and Soak at Wild Willy's Hot Springs Near Mammoth

At Wild Willy’s Hot Springs, you can soak up a primeval landscape that’s amazingly close to Mammoth Lakes and Highway 395—it just feels a few geological epochs away. The springs are in the middle of the Long Valley Caldera, where two large primitive pools steam in the middle of a
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Yosemite Discounted Winter Stay

Yosemite Discounted Winter Stay

1) Stay More, Save More Holiday season, weekend escape, a place to take your Valentine: Enjoy a winter getaway to Yosemite Valley Lodge, complete with spectacular views and delightfully good rates. Save up to 40% on the “Stay More, Save More” promotion. 2) Thunder Wonder The tall
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Downtown’s Views and Brews

Walking Los Angeles State Historic Park and Beer Tasting at Highland Park Brewery

Take a sizable public park and a craft brewery, put them near one another, and what do you have? Well, in this case, a walk through LA’s back pages at Los Angeles State Historic Park and a refreshing beverage afterward at the Highland Park Brewery.
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Woof of the Inland Empire

Hiking Skyline Trail in Box Springs Mountain Park

Box Springs is one of the hidden treasures of the Inland Empire, and, no, we’re not talking about the one beneath your mattress. Box Springs Mountain Park between Moreno Valley and Riverside is home to several awesome low-traffic hiking trails just minutes from the bustle of civi
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An Orange Shade of Red

Hiking to Red Rock Canyon in Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park

Which is closer: Zion or Orange County? For a quick red-rock fix, we vote for the OC. Namely, Red Rock Canyon in Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park—a 4.2-mile (round-trip) out-and-back trek that gently gains 420 feet along Borrego Trail and Red Rock Canyon Trail. The trailhead for thi
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Gulls Getaway

Wildlife Trip to Anacapa Island in Channel Islands National Park

The Anacapa wildlife spectacle begins almost as soon as you pull away from Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard. First up are playful common dolphins, and if you’re lucky, humpback and migrating gray whales. As you approach, you’ll see (and hear) noisy California sea lions and harbor seals.
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No Rapids in This Whitewater

Cooling Off at Whitewater Preserve

Here’s a little desert hideaway that’s a surprisingly cool escape, even when the weather’s hot! Whitewater Preserve in Sand to Snow National Monument is an oasis in a rugged stretch of land just northwest of Palm Springs. The former trout hatchery was recently renovated into a tr
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Ride Open Spaces

Mountain Biking the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve

This five-mile fat-tire cruise in the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve is what mountain bikers call a middle-chainring ride—no extremes, nothing technical, but rather a gentle climb into the Simi Hills and a gentle descent on the return through an oak-studded landsca
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Bell of the High Desert

A Hike Up Bell Mountain in the High Mojave Desert

The payoff for the thigh-burning hike up Bell Mountain is a majestic view with a patriotic flair. Unfolding beneath you is a panorama of the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains and a vast expanse of the high Mojave Desert, while Old Glory flaps in the breeze above you. It’s
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San Gabriels Sojourn

Hike to an Overnight Cabin at Sturtevant Camp

To overnight at Sturtevant Camp is to relive Southern California’s “Great Hiking Era”—the 1880s to late 1930s—when millions flocked to the San Gabriel Mountains to hike, fish, and picnic. Of the era’s several hostelries, only Sturtevant remains. This hike-in cabin cluster tucked
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Trending Stories NorCal

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  1. Field of Light at Sensorio in Paso Robles

    Light This Way

    Hidden in the bucolic hills of Paso Robles lies one of the greatest light shows on earth. The lighted art exhibition, Sensorio, is as if the rainbow magic of the aurora borealis was plucked from the sky and planted in the fields.

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  2. Bikers and walkers on the Bay Area Ridge Trail with the Golden Gate Bridge behind them

    National Park City Walk

    See San Francisco the way locals do by hiking the Presidio, a national park right in the city! Wooded trails, secluded beaches, and epic views of the Golden Gate Bridge feature on this 5.5-mile out-and-back on the Bay Area Ridge Trail. It’s a lovely slice of the City by the Bay.

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  3. Bucks Up!

    Come on in, the water is beautiful. Whether you like swimming, kayaking, stand-up paddling, or heading out on a bigger boat, Bucks Lake is a high mountain haven that’s easy to access, blissfully uncrowded, and surrounded by sandy beaches, picnic areas, pines, and aspens.

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  4. Surfboards and tents for shade are set up on the beach at Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area in the Swim Lagoon Area

    Switchbacks and Swimming Holes

    Hike hard, play hard! This 7-mile out-and-back in Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area is a great workout with payoff vistas and a relaxing post-hike picnic and dip in the water.

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Trending Stories SoCal

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  1. Bear Hug

    This 5.5-mile loop through Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch County Park explores one of the newest segments of the acclaimed Bay Area Ridge Trail, one redolent with trees ranging from madrone and manzanita to buckeye and blue elderberry (with a bubbly post-hike bonus).

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  2. Two kayakers on Upper Klamath Basin on tour with Sky Lakes Wilderness Adventures

    Zen & the Art of Kayaking

    It’s the most meditative and relaxing experience you’ll ever have on a kayak. Yes, you read that right, a Zen experience on a kayak. It all happens in beautiful Klamath County when you head out on a guided tour with Sky Lakes Wilderness Adventures.

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  3. A Rose in the Pines

    A crackling fire, a bottle of wine, a bubbling Jacuzzi tub with a waterfall … now the big question: Marvin Gaye tunes or not? In the morning (ahem) it's breakfast in bed and a leis

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  4. Alex Villicana, Villicana Winery and Re:Find Distillery

    Locals' Feature: Alex Villicana

    Tech booms, AI revolutions, okay that’s all fine, but you wanna know what else is really cool? Being a pioneer in a world-famous industry that—in Paso Robles—remains solidly down to earth. When Alex Villicana established Villicana Winery in 1993, he clearly had grape expectations...

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