Hikes to Holy Sites

Nature itself is soothing and healing. Adding a visit to a beautifully situated spiritual shrine makes for a hike that will calm the most jangled nerves. Ring a peace bell. Admire the country’s largest Buddhist pagoda. Chant a quiet om in an oak-filled canyon. Here are three outings that are quiet counters to the prevailing noise. Namaste.

Week: 07.27.2017
Regions: Southern CA

Fo Guang Shan Columbarium

Hiking to Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Columbarium in Whittier

Improbably perched above a steep oak-filled canyon in the Puente Hills above Whittier is the nation’s largest Buddhist pagoda, and you can see it on a 2.5-mile partial loop trail in Hellman Park. The street-to-ridgeline climb reveals the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Memorial Columbariu
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All Roads Lead to Adventure

Nevada's 6 Best Road Trips

It’s the most mountainous region in the Lower 48, and a road-tripper’s dream. Nevada is home to the West’s best and most uncrowded scenic highways. With six different road trips to choose from or combine, your pit-stops go beyond gas stations. We’re talking routes filled with sta
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Ramakrishna Monastery

Hiking to Ramakrishna Monastery in Trabuco Canyon

The Ramakrishna Monastery, perched on a foothill above Trabuco Canyon, accepts all religions as divinely inspired. For this reason, monks created the Shrine Trail, a mile-long loop around the monastery (open to the public) along which are erected altars honoring the world’s major
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Tae Go Sah Temple

Hiking to Tae Go Sah Temple in Tehachapi

A startling vision greets you deep in Sand Canyon outside Tehachapi. Like an ancient Oriental woodblock print come to life, a Buddhist temple sits at the confluence of two narrow washes, backed by pine-studded mountains and jagged rock towers. Its winged eaves and façade are ador
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