Spring into Summer: Your Outdoors Plan

Cool weather be damned, summer's knocking. From camping and hike-in beaches, to classic bike rides and waterfalls, spring into summer with these outdoor adventures!

Week: 05.23.2019
Regions: Northern CA

Hello, Sunol

Hike Sunol Regional Park for Wildflowers

It's one of the grandest hikes of them all: Sunol Regional Park positively beams in spring. Take the grand tour and see major landmarks in the park on a 6-mile (round-trip) hike featuring babbling brooks, beautiful peaks, and burgeoning wildflowers.
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Hike the Dunes to the Beach

Hike Bodega Bay Sand Dunes to Salmon Creek Beach

Bodega Head is popular for its impressive cliff-hugging hiking trails, but few people follow the path north to a less-trodden hiking trail winding along the bluff and down to spectacular South Salmon Creek Beach. To make this 4-mile (round-trip) journey from the Bodega Head parki
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Valley Rock 'n' Roll

Rent a Bike and Pedal Around Yosemite Valley

Imagine if there was a bike-friendly paved trail that circled Yosemite Valley’s floor, hitting all the highlights … including the tallest waterfall in North America. Well, in fact, there is! Rent your wheels and grab a map from the Yosemite Valley Lodge or Half Dome Village and forget about the buses.
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Four-Legged Falls

Waterfall Hike in Novatos Indian Valley Open Space

waterfall at Indian Valley Open Space in Marin
Love your dog? Love waterfalls? Get the best of both on this easygoing hike hidden in Novato. Indian Valley Open Space Preserve is tucked behind the College of Marin campus, and those who discover it are in for a treat.
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Trending Stories NorCal

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  1. Aloha from California

    Say Aloha without leaving California with a 7-mile out-and-back hiking adventure to Lake Aloha in El Dorado National Forest. You can also camp here, a premier place for stargazing.

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  2. Sequoia Re-opens Crystal Cave

    Step inside Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park's hidden world by visiting the newly re-opened Crystal Cave—the only cave in the parks open to the public. Closed for four years, this rare marble karst cavern is welcoming visitors once again, but only through the summer season!

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  3. Easiest Best Hike in the World

    Choose the easiest and most view-rewarding hike in Yosemite. Okay, we’ll go first: the combination of hiking to Sentinel Dome and Taft Point. Both of these lookouts are within a couple miles of each other on Glacier Point Road

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  4. Hiker in the forest at Mount Sutro in San Francisco

    San Francisco's Middle Earth

    No need to travel to New Zealand to visit Middle Earth. San Francisco’s Mount Sutro Open Space is practically Hobbiton—a hidden “shire” in the middle of the city. Okay, maybe not quite as magical, but still an incredible place to take a hike in city limits.

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Trending Stories SoCal

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  1. Can't Top This

    San Francisco’s Presidio was already a fantastic place to hang out for the afternoon, a beautiful site within the largest urban national park in the United States (the Golden Gate National Recreation Area). And Presidio Tunnel Tops is like a cherry on top. Make that two cherries on top, with the newly opened (July 2025) Outpost Meadow, a 1.5-acre green space located at Old Mason Street across from the Crissy Field Marsh in the Presidio.

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  2. Underground Garden

    Looking to escape the summer heat? Head to Fresno and discover its cool secret: the Forestiere Underground Gardens–an enchanting garden and architecture oasis like no other.

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  3. Volcanic Activity

    Northern California is home to one of the most unique ecosystems in the country: Lassen Volcanic National Park. The region features geothermal areas, including the largest dome volcano in the world, Lassen Peak. Hike to the top of this active volcano on a 5-mile out-and-back.  

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  4. Oh Ryan

    Sure, it’s those whimsical trees that give Joshua Tree National Park its marquee billing; but this beautiful landscape also has surrounding mountains and its night sky—one of the darkest in Southern California and designated an International Dark Sky Park. Joshua Tree has four allowable stargazing parking lots, and a newly opened haven for spending the night nearby...

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