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.
Read the full storyHot, 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.
Read the full storyYosemite 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
Visit our sponsor Yosemite Valley LodgeDowntown’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.
Read the full storyWoof 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
Read the full storyAn 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
Read the full storyGulls 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.
Read the full storyNo 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
Read the full storyRide 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
Read the full storyBell 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
Read the full storySan 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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