All "Hikes" Stories in Northern CA

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  Leapin' Lupine!

  Seasonal wildflowers and evergreen vistas make this a locals’ favorite hike in Sonoma Valley Regional Park. Go soon to see popping lupine and buttercups on this scenic 2-mile (round-trip) route with beautiful picnic spots.

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  Tunnel Vision

  Don’t expect logic from oddball desert hermits! At Burro Schmidt Tunnel, that’s to our great benefit. It took 32 years for William “Burro” Schmidt to dig through a mountain in a re

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  Red, White, and Hoodoos

  “Don’t stay on the trail” sounds like an odd suggestion, but it’s the best way to explore the crimson sandstone cliffs and hoodoos that crosscut Red Rock Canyon State Park in the n

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  The Tortoise In Its Lair

  The Mojave Desert’s most extraordinary creatures are rarely seen, but at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area, you’ll have your best chance. Tortoises live in higher density i

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  Tempe Temptations

  Wildflowers, wildlife, and a wildly great view of Mount Tam as the backdrop … get your wows at Bon Tempe Reservoir, one of the five lakes on Mount Tam’s northern flank, and a water

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  Pleasanton Pursuit

  The rolling green hills of Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park are bringing an extra burst of color this spring—wildflowers hidden in the emerald grasses are popping up and should soon

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  Call of the Coyote

  Wild and scenic Coyote Hills Regional Park is probably best known for its birdlife—from hawks to herons, kestrels to kingfishers. But its 978 acres of marshland and grassy hills is

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  Diablo's Back Way

  A hike with sweeping East Bay vistas, rushing creeks, and colorful wildflowers—Mount Diablo’s got your back! As in Mitchell Canyon Back Creek Loop, a 7-mile (round-trip) hike with

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  Pine City Blooms

  Where do you find the most condensed and diverse display of wildflowers of any hike in Joshua Tree National Park? Plus pine trees and a powerful sense of solitude? Why, in Pine City—which isn't a city at all. It's a 4-mile out-and-back trek.

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  Willow Hole in Wonderland

  All of Joshua Tree National Park might seem like a rocky wonderland, but this hike takes you into the Wonderland—the Wonderland of Rocks—home to a secluded watering hole. Lace up!

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  Unoccupied Wall Street

  Going wild on Wall Street doesn’t have to mean buying and selling stocks. It can be about hiking and exploring a quiet trail in Joshua Tree National Park. One that leads to the int

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  Secret Stairway Hike

  Secret passageways aren’t just found in the movies. The East Bay has over 400 of them winding unseen through the hillsides. Explore Oakland’s hidden passages on a 6-mile urban loop

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  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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  Old as the Hills & Spring Fresh!

  Sprawling in the distance beyond Peninsula’s Skyline Boulevard are acres of open space and hills that in spring are absolutely superb for fresh scenery (and wildflowers!). Thanks t

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  You Go Pogo!

  Skirting the campus of the University of California Santa Cruz is a higher education in going green (vast rolling meadows), being serene (hidden koi pond), and seeing red (redwoods

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  Grant You This

  High up in the foothills overlooking Santa Clara Valley, Joseph D. Grant County Park is a vast landscape of hiking and biking terrain where the grass colors often run in hues of br

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  The Irish Hills Are Smiling

  Everyone loves San Luis Obispo, and the Irish Hills rank high among reasons why. Inches from civilization, you enter a world laced with oak-shaded creeks, green grassy hillsides, a

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  Cog Wild

  Quickly escape the rush of car traffic to find tranquility on a 2.75-mile (round-trip) wander around Cogswell Marsh in the East Bay's Hayward Regional Shoreline .

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  The Carson Show

  Carson Falls is ready for primetime. This three-tiered, 100-foot stunner is hidden back in a canyon outside of Fairfax and reached on a 3.25-mile (round-trip) hike.

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  From Town to Falls

  Mount Tam’s Cascade Falls is a bit under the radar, tucked back off a residential area in Mill Valley. Some people drive up to the tiny parking lot nearest to the falls. Do an easy 3-mile (round-trip) hike right from downtown Mill Valley, weaving through quiet streets and secret trails.

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