Welcome to the New Weekend Sherpa

Set on the coast between Oxnard and Malibu, Point Mugu State Park is dressed to impress. Make a date with its namesake peak on a 5-mile (round-trip) summit-bagging hike.

 

Joshua Tree National Park is wild in more ways than its gnarly trees. Hike the park's west side for a big-picture vantage of the desertscape. The 6.7-mile Lost Horse Mine loop is both eerie and beautiful.

 

Crystal Cove State Park in Orange County is prized for its glistening beaches, but there's also 2,400 acres of backcountry, including a 9-mile hike (or mountain bike) to a high point that rewards with gorgeous coastal scenery.

 

Urban hiking has a wild side, and the proof is just northeast of downtown LA. This 4-mile loop traverses Mount Washington and includes a cardio climb up a mountain with stunning views.

 

From afar, Stoney Point Park in Simi Valley looks like a real-life drip sandcastle. Get right into it though and find a park filled with hidden caves and alcoves only nature could design.

 

Sometimes the skyline's the limit, and that's a good thing if you're visiting Ascot Hills Park, an 83-acre LA respite that offers a winter sunset to remember.

 

Mojave National Preserve's got more than a few ways to get your adrenaline pumping, so go with the flow—or rather, go where the lava once flowed.

Week: 02.25.2016
Regions: Southern CA

Mugu Magic

Set on the coast between Oxnard and Malibu, Point Mugu State Park is dressed to impress. Make a date with its namesake peak on a 5-mile (round-trip) summit-bagging hike.

point_mugu41-image-jpeg

 

Joshua's Wild Side

Joshua Tree National Park is wild in more ways than its gnarly trees. Hike the park's west side for a big-picture vantage of the desertscape. The 6.7-mile Lost Horse Mine loop is both eerie and beautiful.

losthorsemineorig_lrg-image-jpeg

 

Crystal Ball

Crystal Cove State Park in Orange County is prized for its glistening beaches, but there's also 2,400 acres of backcountry, including a 9-mile hike (or mountain bike) to a high point that rewards with gorgeous coastal scenery.

Crystal Cove hike

 

LA Stairway

Urban hiking has a wild side, and the proof is just northeast of downtown LA. This 4-mile loop traverses Mount Washington and includes a cardio climb up a mountain with stunning views.

img_4478-image-jpeg

 

Bigger and Boulder

From afar, Stoney Point Park in Simi Valley looks like a real-life drip sandcastle. Get right into it though and find a park filled with hidden caves and alcoves only nature could design.

stoneypoint4-image-jpeg

 

The Great Ascot!

Sometimes the skyline's the limit, and that's a good thing if you're visiting Ascot Hills Park, an 83-acre LA respite that offers a winter sunset to remember.

los-angeles-sunset-hikes-image-jpeg

 

Lava & Java

Mojave National Preserve's got more than a few ways to get your adrenaline pumping, so go with the flow—or rather, go where the lava once flowed.

mojave-national-preserve-hike-image-jpeg

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. A man takes a break at a temple spot on a hike at Dragon Mountain in Milptas

    Dragon Quest

    The newly reopened, 4-mile out-and-back hike at Dragon Mountain in Milpitas mixes the physical with the spiritual for a serene hiking experience.

    View
  2. Keough's Hot Springs

    Soaking Up History

    When you slide into the soothing water of Keough’s Hot Springs, you’re bathing in a piece of Owens Valley history.

    View
  3. woman hiking Buck Gulch Falls Novato

    Buck Wild!

    Tucked back beyond the residential ranch-style homes and golf courses of Novato in the North Bay is a wild and wondrous 30-foot waterfall that springs to life in the rainy season. Buck Gulch Falls in Novato’s Ignacio Valley Preserve is in peak flow right now, and it’s a short and Middle-earthy hike to reach it.

    View
  4. Grover Hot Springs

    State Park Soaker

    Set in an alpine meadow at 6,000 feet and surrounded by the 10,000-foot granite peaks of the Sierra, Grover Hot Springs State Park—just outside the town of Markleeville—has its very own hot springs.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories
  1. A woman stands at Dante's View in Death Valley, looking out to Telescope Peak and Manly Lake, Badwater Basin below.

    Sunset Hike at Dante's View

    It’s one of the world’s best places to watch a sunset. Dante’s View is a 5,476-foot vantage of the whole southern basin of Death Valley from the top of the Black Mountains. Right now there's a banner and bonus view of a rare lake formation that appears only after big rains.

    View
  2. Hot, Wet, and Wild!

    At Wild Willy’s Hot Springs, you can soak up a primeval landscape that’s amazingly close to Mammoth Lakes and Highway 395—it just feels a few geological epochs away.

    View
  3. It's a Waterfall Life

    Tahquitz Canyon’s crystalline stream and lush stands of desert lavender, honey mesquite, and leafy sycamores is home to an easy day hike with a big bonus: a 60-foot waterfall that runs with remarkable gusto after winter rains.

    View
  4. Oh Snow Nice

    Live in California long enough, and you’ll come to know the rite of passage called “going to the snow”–when we ditch our fair-weather cities and towns in search of winter weather. Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks deliver a winter wonderland worth a visit if there’s been a good dose of snow.

    View