Flower Power

Wildflower superblooms have gotten super publicity—and super mobbed. But there are ways to enjoy our flower displays a bit more quietly. Here’s a bouquet of three super sites for flower power where you can go on a quiet hike without big crowds. Have a bloomiful time!

Week: 04.11.2019
Regions: Southern CA

Wildflower Dreamscape

A Wildflower Walk on Tejon Ranch

Sprawling Tejon Ranch is on 270,000 acres north of Santa Clarita and south of Bakersfield, incorporating parts of the San Joaquin and Antelope Valleys, and the Tehachapi Mountains. It is private land, but the Tejon Ranch Conservancy holds guided wildflower viewings (limited in size), and other interesting events throughout the year.
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Epic Winter Means Epic Spring in Reno Tahoe

Epic Winter Means Epic Spring in Reno Tahoe

1) Ride the Rapids! This year’s snowmelt means river rapids galore. Connecting Lake Tahoe and Pyramid Lake, the Truckee River cuts through downtown Reno, and when it’s this good you’ve gotta get your thrills whitewater rafting or kayaking along some of its most scenic stretches (
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Lupine Around Chino Hills

A Wildflower Hike in Chino Hills State Park

All of the flowers without any of the mayhem! That’s the 3.4-mile, lightly trafficked Sidewinder/Upper Aliso Canyon Loop Trail in Chino Hills State Park.
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Nuclear Option

Hiking PG&E's Point Buchon Trail Near Montaña de Oro State Park

A private stretch of the glorious Central Coast with poppy-studded hills and wild coastal bluffs is ours for the hiking, and you’ll never guess who the willing-to-share landlord is: none other than PG&E’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. Point Buchon Trail makes a grand tour of
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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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