Peak-a-View!

Who's ready for a fresh perspective? There’s a peak hike for that. Make that three peak hikes. Test your mettle on the Bay Area’s toughest hike (any guesses?), enjoy a more moderate Diablo adventure, or relax with a sunset hike on Tam.

Week: 01.19.2022
Regions: Northern CA

Challenge of a Big Sizer!

Hike Mount Sizer, the toughest mountain in the Bay Area

If ever there was a "Beauty and the Beast" hike, this is it! The 15-mile (round-trip) Mount Sizer loop hike in Henry W. Coe State Park is considered the toughest in the Bay Area. And cooler months are the best time to tackle it. The reward? One of the most beautiful panoramas in the region ... all the way out to the Sierras on clear days.
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Your Winter Wellness Retreat: La Quinta

Winter Wellness Retreat in La Quinta

boy riding bike in La Quinta
woman riding bike in La Quinta
mountain bikers in La Quinta
La Quinta is one of SoCal’s best-kept secrets, a land of wild open spaces, deep history, beautiful art, and all kinds of ways to relax and soak in the healing power of nature.
La Quinta's Amazing Outdoors

Sunsational Mount Tam

Hike to the East Peak of Mount Tam in the San Francisco Bay Area

Hike to Mount Tam
Hike to Mount Tam
Hike to Mount Tam
The East Peak of Mount Tam is easily reached via a short hike, and gives visitors one of the best views in the Bay Area, and sensational sunsets.
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Summit Up

Hike the Summit Trail for Beautiful Views at Mount Diablo in the East Bay

Mount Diablo Visitor Center in the East Bay
Summit Trail rolling hill views on Mount Diablo in the East Bay
Group of hikers taking a photo at the observation deck at Mount Diablo Sate Park
Green rolling hills view of Summit Trail at Mount Diablo State Park
This 5-mile out-and-back hike on Mount Diablo's Summit Trail is an ideal choice for hikers who want to pack good views into a moderate hike.
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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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