All Stories from Northern CA

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  Sonoma for Film, Food, Wine, Fun!

  Exquisite food events, extraordinary wine tastings, exceptional films, and super fun parties: Spring into Sonoma March 22 - 26 for the West’s best film, food, and wine extravaganza.

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  Big Foot in the Big Trees

  When dinosaurs roamed the earth they shared space with giant sequoias, the biggest trees in the world. Get up close to these bold beauties on a docent-led snowshoe trek in Calaveras Big Trees State Park.

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  Stay at Wuksachi Lodge in Sequoia National Park

  Stay in a modern yet rustic lodge with vaulted wood-beam ceilings, grand stone fireplaces, panoramic windows overlooking a snow-filled forest, and jagged mountain peaks all around. Wuksachi Lodge in Sequoia National Park has adventure trails leaving right from its lobby.

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  Feather in Your Cap!

  Sure, the main summit of Mount Diablo offers one of the best views in the state, but if you’d rather hike than drive to a summit, lace up your boots for the mountain’s spectacular—and less-traveled—Eagle Peak.

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  The Beauty of Black Mountain

  Rising 2,800 feet over the Peninsula’s Monte Bello Open Space Preserve, Black Mountain—the inspiration behind Mountain View’s name—quietly stands watch over the South Bay. It’s also one of the few local summits with its own backpacking camp.

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  Hidden Long Ridge

  After heavy rains, the rolling headwaters of Peters Creek in Long Ridge Open Space Preserve pulsate along the forest floor via a series of small waterfalls that cut grooves in sandstone boulders. See it on a 4.5-mile loop hike starting from the Grizzly Flat parking lot.

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  E-Hills

  Elephant Mountain and Ewing Hill are two of the Bay Area’s best-kept secrets. This 3.4-mile loop from Hidden Villa offers panoramic views alongside a hands-on farm experience.

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  Marvelous Mar Vista

  Demurely located on the southern Mendocino Coast, Mar Vista Farm and Cottages charms you from check-in. Roll up to 11 beautifully appointed private cottages, complete with kitchens and farmhouse decor. The sprawling u-pick veggie garden and outdoor redwood soaking tub are calling your name.

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  Hike Pelican Bluffs Preserve

  Tucked just south of Point Arena, the 73-acre Pelican Bluffs Preserve is an ideal blufftop hike with expansive views of the dramatic Mendocino coastline. A 2.2-mile trail starts in a bishop-pine forest before breaking out to wide-open coastal vistas.

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  Super Bowling

  Hidden along the Mendocino Coast, Bowling Ball Beach lives up to its name, and then some! Giant smoothly rounded boulders (some 12 feet across) are scattered along the beach, and it’s a phenomenal spectacle.

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  Waterfalls and Wine Pours

  Cooler temps, green hills, and the return of our magnificent waterfalls! This family-friendly 2-mile hike at Uvas Canyon County Park in Morgan Hill is a great way to get the most out of a short hike post-rain.

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  Diamonds of Diablo

  With its looming peak and devilish name, it’s hard to imagine Mount Diablo having a softer side. But winter’s rains bring an unexpected boon: four watery cascades spill off the mountain’s northern flank.

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  Rush and Tumble

  Mount Tam’s Cataract Falls is the bobsled course of waterfalls: over a mile of twisting, turning, tumbling water—gushing, rushing, and making a splash! The real joy is hiking right beside Cataract Creek as it’s chugging on all cylinders.

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  Waterfall Milestone

  Where can you find a nearly mile-long series of waterfalls right here in the Bay Area? The north flank of Mount Tam. Every winter, Cataract Falls transforms into a long stretch of fast-charging flows.

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  Best in Snow

  There’s snow better destination for outdoor fun and events. Plumas County is a northern Sierra Nevada dreamland, with vast outdoor spaces, places, and races! Snowshoe Lassen Volcanic National Park, downhill ski at charming Coppervale Resort, and have a blast at the quirky Longboard Races.

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  Sweet as Sugarloaf

  Right in the heart of wine country there’s plenty more than wine flowing right now, with an oft unheralded waterfall that surges to an exuberant spectacle from all the recent rain.

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  POST's 2023 Hiking Calendar

  Start the new year off right by heading outdoors for a hike. Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) curated a (complimentary) 2023 hiking calendar that provides all the inspiration you’ll need!

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  Loma Alta's Hidden Labyrinth

  Oak Manor Labyrinth in Marin’s Loma Alta Open Space is a hidden gem with huge views. The 2-mile out-and-back hike to reach it is a bit steep in parts, but the payoff is a 360-degree joy to the wild (with a bit of cityscape).

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  The Holiday Spirit of San Ramon

  From a holiday ice rink and mistletoe hikes to outdoor fire pits for cozy winter nights, here’s your San Ramon holiday getaway guide

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  Best of Shasta

  When you book just a two-night stay in Redding, you’ll get complimentary tickets to Lake Shasta Caverns National Natural Landmark

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