Lake Wanders

Give summer a peaceful sendoff with a simple wander where trails are quieter and lakes take center stage.

Week: 09.20.2018
Regions: Northern CA

BonAnza!

Visit Lake Anza in the Berkeley Hills

With an ever-changing shoreline, Lake Anza in the Berkeley Hills can make you feel like you’re hiking around a lake in the Sierra: narrow paths, giant boulders, and dense forest. Quaint and quieter in the shoulder season, the Lake Anza Trail offers hikers a short loop (0.7 mile).
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Fall for Lake Tahoe

Water Adventures on Lake Tahoe

Get Up, Stand-up! Rent a stand-up paddleboard at Kings Beach Recreational Area, a lively enclave surrounded by cool shops, restaurants, and plenty of places to rent kayaks and paddleboards. Even for beginners, stand-up paddleboarding is a fun way to explore Lake Tahoe. Stick clos
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Loch In!

Hiking at Loch Lomond in the Santa Cruz Mountains

Tucked in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Loch Lomond Recreation Area is known for its gorgeous reservoir, less known for its charming Clar Innis Island (reached only by kayak or canoe) and almost entirely overlooked for its fantastic 4-mile (round-trip) hike through majestic redwoods
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Go for Moore

Hike a loop at Moore Creek Park in Napa

It’s just 20 miles north of Napa, but Moore Creek Park feels like a world of its own. This quiet park just past Lake Hennessey has a nice 4-mile loop hike combining Moore Creek Trail and Valentine Vista Trail (a section of the Bay Area Ridge Trail). With sweeping ridgetop views o
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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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