All Stories from Northern CA

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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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  The Original SF Giants

  Before the baseball team, came the original San Francisco Giants: coast redwoods, the tallest living things on earth! And Golden Gate Park’s Botanical Garden is home to the century-old Redwood Grove, splendored with these fog-loving beauties.

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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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  Rove the Cove

  Today’s San Francisco still has a few places where bits of interesting grit exist. Warm Water Cove is an urban waterfront blending serene bay views and relics of days past when thi

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  Full Moon Adventureland

  Located forty minutes from Redding in Northern California, iconic Lassen Volcanic National Park is home to famous Lassen Peak, the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade Range.

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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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  Forest of Stone Trees

  Tucked way up and away in the mountains of Calistoga's wine country there lies a forest where redwood trees once grew and grew … until they turned to stone! The backstory: Some 3.5

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  Get Lost Among Giants

  Humboldt County defies hyperbole. Here, you’ll encounter the tallest living trees, the biggest ferns, and stretches of the most dramatic coastline on earth. Venture to Prairie Cree

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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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  Meiss Around

  Escape the snow-loving crowds on a moderately challenging 6-mile (round-trip) ski near Carson Pass Summit. You’ll actually have bragging rights for doing part of the Pacific Crest

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  Secret Snow-white Beach

  Ready to hit the snow and the beach? An easy kick-and-glide from Emerald Bay Road to Kiva Beach leads through a snow-white postcard to the vast blue of Lake Tahoe. For novice cross

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  Winter Views of Big Blue

  When you’re ready to move up from gentle gliding to steeper climbs and descents, this 4-mile (round-trip) ski via High Meadows Road is an ideal place to practice your skills. This

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  Ain't It Waterfall?!

  2017 is the year of the waterfall. And in April, there’s only one place that’s “best in flow.” Redding and its surrounding areas pack a powerful punch of watery wonders—there are 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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  A Real Flockbuster

  Some real movers and shakers have swooped in on San Francisco's southern industrial-chic waterfront thanks to the creative work and advocacy of the Golden Gate Audubon Society and

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