All "Dog Friendly" Stories in Northern CA
Briones Bountiful!
With over 6,000 acres teeming with trails, Briones Regional Park has plenty of room, big views, and a classic 7-mile circuit passing the two highest points in the park, Mott’s Peak and Briones Peak.
ViewHeart of the Matter
With very few tourists in town, San Francisco’s Presidio gets to bask mostly in local love. Do the classic Heart of the Park hike, which includes the historic and poignant National Cemetery Overlook.
ViewThornewood In Your Pocket
Hints of wildflowers, a ravine of redwoods, and vistas over the San Francisco Bay and Diablo Range. Thornewood Preserve in Woodside packs a lot into its tiny space. An early morning start has perks.
ViewShort Hike, Sweet View!
Steady as you go ... all the way up to a sweeping Bay vista at Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve. This 208-acre haven has a 4.3-mile loop to one of the best views in the East Bay.
ViewGone With the Windy
You don’t have to trek far to enjoy a hiker’s high at Windy Hill Preserve on the Peninsula. Its panoramic attraction is easily accessed via the 0.7-mile Anniversary Trail, and it’s magnificent at sunset.
ViewSanta Cruz Epic Views
Redwoods, wildflowers, and ocean vistas offer the best of the Bay Area at Upper La Honda Creek Preserve in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Take a 3.75-mile loop through the preserve's highlights.
ViewFind Your Flow
Far back in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Uvas Canyon County Park is a compact, tree-filled delight with hiking trails and several waterfalls bunched into a loop along Swanson Creek and amid lush forest.
View- Sponsored
Ready When You Are: Reno Tahoe
With outdoors being essential for health and wellness, and new protocols in place, Reno Tahoe welcomes visitors! It's wide open with snowshoe trails, fire pits by the river, skating, and hot springs.
View Winter Castle
All you need is a clear day and a pair of sturdy snowshoes for the 2.25-mile (one-way) hike up to Castle Pass near Donner Summit in Tahoe National Forest. The views from the pass are royally good!
ViewShell of a Good Hike!
Head to the East Bay’s Shell Ridge Open Space near Walnut Creek to find 1,400 acres of rolling hills. This 7-mile ridge rambling loop showcases all that the foothills of Mount Diablo have to offer.
ViewSerenity at Sunrise
El Sereno Preserve's namesake mountain rises to majestic views spanning the Diablo Range, Santa Cruz Mountains, and Santa Lucia Mountains. Do a sunrise hike to a new bench on the Aquinas Trail.
ViewBig Wave Hiking
Pillar Point Bluff's amazing trail system is a coastal haven most popular for being the best spot to watch the famed Mavericks surf break in winter. But this place is beautiful year round for hiking.
ViewWatershed Moment
The Presidio in San Francisco offers some of the best urban hiking in the country! And the new marsh bridges under Presidio Parkway offer more habitat for plants, fish, and bird life... and trails for us!
ViewSkyline's the Limit
The brand-new Saratoga to the Skyline Trail connects Saratoga to the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Thru-hike the first 5.1 miles for beautiful Santa Clara Valley vistas.
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2021 Hiking Calendar!
Ready to kick off 2021? (Like we have to ask.) Literally kick it off, with a hike! Download the 2021 POST Hiking Calendar (complimentary)—with recommended trails for every month of the year.
View Tamtastical Hike
This 6.8-mile loop through the woods and ridges that make up the northern foothills of Tam offer the best of both worlds: solitude and grandeur. Enjoy quiet trails, tranquil forest, and big views.
ViewHawk-Eyed Sunset
It's one of the best sunset spots in the Bay Area. Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands is magical, with a sweeping panorama 923 feet above the Pacific.
ViewHiking Forecast: Windy
Fall colors on your mind? Put Windy Hill Preserve in the South Bay on your hiking list. We recommend a 6.2-mile loop that starts and finishes at its namesake summit, where sunsets dazzle.
ViewWander Among the Mistletoe
This 2.7-mile loop through the East Bay’s Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park is brimming with a holiday staple: mistletoe.
ViewThrough the Grapevine
Cycle California’s most famous wine valley on the car-free Vine Trail, an ambitious project going through the heart of Napa Valley. Park your car and ride 6 miles from Napa to Yountville for lunch.
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The 2025 Hiking Calendar Is Here!
Ready to make hiking part of your New Year’s wellness plan? Get the all-new 2025 Hiking Calendar courtesy of Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST).
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