Go Long!

It's the middle of summer and we live in California... that's cause for celebration, right? Enjoy the sunny season on a long and beautiful hike in the Peninsula and South Bay. We have a few to get you going!

Week: 07.13.2017
Regions: Northern CA

Hike to a Swim Hole

Hike to China Hole Swim Hole in Henry Coe

Long hikes on a summer day call for a cooling-off period. Dip in! This 10-miler (round-trip) rewards with a mid-hike swimming hole. Located in the South Bay’s vast and scenic Henry W. Coe State Park east of Morgan Hill, China Hole loop is a challenging 10-mile journey through gra
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Trail Stories

San Francisco Bay Trail Audio Tours

In the Bay Area we love ambition. Whether it’s technology or nature, we think big. The San Francisco Bay Trail is one of our most ambitious ideas: 500 miles, 47 cities, 9 counties, all connected by one trail. The Bay Trail already boasts 354 miles, and more are added every year.
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Seaside Summit in a State Park

Hiking Montara Mountain in McNee Ranch State Park

With tangled trails and unmarked spurs lawlessly winding up the rugged 1,898-foot Montara Mountain, McNee Ranch State Park feels like the Wild West Coast. Even wilder? Its endless combinations of long coastal climbs to the top. Cool off and take advantage of summer days on an 8-m
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Life Aquinas

Hiking El Sereno Open Space Preserve

Reach a new height and gain a round-the-compass panorama at El Sereno Open Space Preserve. Just off Highway 17 in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Los Gatos, the preserve’s 7.5-mile (round-trip) out-and-back Aquinas Trail offers a sky-scraping, sun-soaked ridge with striking panoram
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Trending Stories NorCal

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  1. Paint Brushy

    This time of year you’ll have good reason to head for the hills—the electric-green rolling hills of Brushy Peak Regional Preserve in Livermore. This 4.5-mile loop hike is like stepping into a plein air painting.

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  2. Woman hiker is climbing up the ladder in the Steep Ravine section of the Dipsea Loop Trail on Mount Tam

    Misty on Mount Tam

    Mount Tam’s 3.9-mile round-trip Steep Ravine and Dipsea Trail Loop weathers the wets and wilds with some confidence, sheltered in parts by redwoods, and wowing with a waterfall.

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  3. All right, Almaden!

    Take a trip through time on this 5-mile loop in Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Explore the ruins of an old cinnabar mine and enjoy the first hints of wildflower season.

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  4. Up and Umunhum

    Early risers can experience one of the Bay Area’s best morning glory hikes on this 7.4-mile out-and-back up beautiful Mount Umunhum. In early spring if you arrive at the parking area right before sunrise, you’ll get a beautiful eastern view of the sun coming up between Bald Mountain and the nearby Santa Cruz Mountains. On days when fog settles into the valley, the colorful view is nothing short of magical.

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  1. Sponsored

    Weekend in Reno Tahoe

    Weekend plans? Reno Tahoe! Just a few hours by car or a short flight away, Reno Tahoe springs to the moment with great ways to combine adventure and relaxation in its beautiful mountains-meets-desert setting.

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  2. Hiker walking along the North Bluff Trail on Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park

    Purely Wild

    Channel Islands National Park lives up to its nickname as “North America’s Galapagos.” This less-traveled national park is an undeveloped and isolated series of five dramatic and distinct islands reached by boat. Hike the largest of the islands, Santa Cruz.

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  3. Woman hiking the South Kaibab Trail in the Grand Canyon

    Truly Grand Day Hike

    One of the best spring day hikes in the Grand Canyon? See layer upon layer of the park’s grandeur—including the river—on this 3-mile (one-way) journey to Skeleton Point via the South Kaibab Trail.

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  4. A woman stands amid an array of yellow and purple flowers at Descanso Gardens in Los Angeles

    Petal Paradise

    Tulips, lilacs, and daffodils—flower power is in full bloom at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge. Sprawling across 150 acres surrounded by mountains, the gardens are putting on their best show right now.

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