All "Water" Stories in Northern CA

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  America's Best Urban Hike

  Many years ago we dubbed it the “Grand Walk” and said it was one of the most scenic and stunning trails in the West. We were wrong. This is the most scenic urban hike in America!

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  Fancy Camp

  Wanna go rugged on the coast, minus the whole pitching your own tent and sleeping on the ground bit? Mendocino Grove is spot-on for upgrading your roughing-it experience, with beautifully appointed tent-cabins set across the bluffs overlooking Mendocino Bay.

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  Head for the Headlands

  A stroll along Mendocino's marquee bluffs is pretty much mandatory when you visit, and Mendocino Headlands State Park, which surrounds the charming hamlet of Mendocino, offers your

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  Pirate of the Coast

  Mendocino’s wild and scenic Pacific waters are filled with dramatic coves and caves best explored by kayak. Push your paddling boundaries with the experienced guides of Kayak Mendo

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  Peak Pacifica

  Lingering wildflowers and sweeping Pacifica views … this 1,900-foot peak hike up Pacifica’s Montara Mountain has it all, including a beach ending! Start at the Gray Whale Cove trai

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  Pacific Views & Brews

  How do you make a beach-hopping coastal bike ride even more refreshing? Just add beer! This 8-mile out-and-back ride starting at Half Moon Bay State Beach rolls 4 miles up the coas

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  More Cowell Bell!

  Crashing waves, salty air, greenery, and enormous coastal views: Biking or hiking the 6.6-miles of the Cowell-Purisima bluffs will leave you feeling spring fresh! Just a few miles

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  Abbotts Bonanza

  Pure wilderness, Pacific views, lush greenery, and wildflowers galore … yep, Point Reyes National Seashore is pretty much spring loaded. For the best of landscape, sandscape, and s

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  A Splash of Whiskeytown

  Located just 8 miles west of Redding and surrounded by mountain peaks, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area is nearly 40,000 acres of all things outdoors: waterfalls, campgrounds, beaches, hiking trails, and a beautiful crystal-clear lake at the center of it all.

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  Romancing the Stow

  If you’re prone to poetry or singing “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore,” then you’re not going to be able to resist paddling the romantic waters of Go

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  Row With the Flow

  Gliding across the tranquil waters of Lake Natoma, you’ll quickly discover why this oasis is beloved by locals. The lake—actually part of the American River—is a paddler’s paradise

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  All in for Alamere

  If you’re crazy about the ocean, the beach, and waterfalls, Bolinas’s Coast Trail is bound to become one of your all-time favorite spring hikes. It’s got one killer cliffside view

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  Make Way for McWay

  Big Sur’s had some hard luck with fire damage and mudslides in the past few years, but that hasn’t put a stop to its wild natural beauty: epic Pacific views, iconic redwoods, and o

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  Stengel Beach Bliss

  One of the coolest things about Stengel Beach Waterfall is that you’ll probably have it to yourself. Few people head to this beach because the waterfall is like a ghost, appearing

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  Steps, Sand, Sea, Sunset

  Black Sands is a remote mile-long stretch of shore in the Marin Headlands. The secluded oasis has a lot to see. Rocky coastline, thrashing waves, nudists, fishermen, nudist fisherm

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  Mellow Mavericks

  This year’s famous Mavericks surfing competition may have been postponed due to weather, but even without the massive swells, Pillar Point still has plenty to get excited about. Th

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  Bodega Bay Gourmet

  Tiny Bodega Head in beautiful Bodega Bay has long lured visitors to its dramatic cliff-above-ocean setting and excellent vantages for spotting migrating gray whales. But visit on a

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  Dreamy Drake

  Drake’s Estero is smack in the middle of Point Reyes. Take a sweet hike with savory surroundings all the way out to Sunset Beach.

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  Point the Way

  Perched on a remote promontory 124 feet above the ocean, with its dramatic setting and expansive views, Point Bonita Lighthouse lures day-visitors throughout the year. But on full-

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  Sealed with a Kiss

  Where do seals and sea lions go when they’re not feeling well? They head to rehab in the Marin Headlands at the world-renowned nonprofit Marine Mammal Center. The amazing experts a

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