Wetland Walks

What’s not to like about post-rain hikes? With all the lush greenery and busy birds, these wetland walks (with rain-scrubbed views of the bay) are short and sweet for this wild weather. No need for any rain dances!

Week: 03.07.2019
Regions: Northern CA

Feather Mix

See Beautiful Birds on the Bay Trail at Stevens Creek Preserve

Nestled between a Silicon Valley tech giant and Moffett Airfield there’s a pool party where feathers are flying! At 55 acres, Stevens Creek Shoreline Nature Study Area has a recent addition: the Moffett Field Bay Trail. To get to the preserve, take the gravel path at the Kite Fly
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Go Big!

Three Must Do Adventures in Humboldt County

Humboldt redwoods
1) Redwoods National Park & Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park Roosevelt elk, canyons covered in bright green ferns and glistening with small waterfalls—oh yeah—and the tallest trees on the planet! Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park (which is part of Redwoods National Park) has it
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Winter Rush

Hike Rush Creek Open Space Novato

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Where do the wild things go? Well, if you're a bird, you might head to Rush Creek Open Space in Novato. This 522-acre preserve just east of Highway 101 has one of the densest bird populations in the North Bay outside of Point Reyes. And the beautiful thing? Not very many people k
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Wetlands & Works of Art!

Hiking Palo Alto's Baylands Nature Preserve

If the only bird you pay any attention to is the one you see on Twitter, then Palo Alto has an outdoor surprise for you. Baylands Nature Preserve is considered one of the best birding spots on the West Coast and gets bragging rights as one of the largest tracts of undisturbed mar
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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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