Love in the Great Outdoors

Some of the best dates happen in the outdoors. Whale watching, wine tasting, walking among murals or down to a restored lighthouse … whatever your outdoor loves may be, you’ve got options! Sending a few to you this Valentine’s Day long weekend.

Week: 02.13.2020
Regions: Northern CA

Bright Point of View

Point Reyes Lighthouse

Head to Point Reyes’s historic lighthouse. Originally constructed in 1870 to help warn mariners of the navigational hazard that we now call Point Reyes, the lighthouse was handed over to the National Park Service.
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Oakland Beat & Beer Garden

Go on an Urban Hike to see Murals and Enjoy a Beer Garden in Oakland

Oakland walks to the beat of its own drum with a super vibrant arts scene. One of the easiest places to check some of it out is in the Northgate neighborhood—home of the “Art Murmur.” The Murmur began a few years ago as an art walk with participating galleries and mixed-use art s
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Hidden Botanical Garden

Hike & Picnic at Sonoma Botanical Garden in Sonoma Valley

Forget a dozen roses. Give your love a botanical garden (where rare magnolias in peak bloom for the next two weeks!) Hidden on the western slope of Sonoma Valley’s Mayacamas Mountains, Sonoma Botanical Garden has one of the Bay Area’s best displays of Asian flora—and it’s a brilliant place for a quiet picnic.
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That's the Point!

Whale Watch at Mori Point in Pacifica

Mori Point, an exposed promontory in Pacifica with stunning ocean views, is fantastic for winter whale watching.
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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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