All Stories from "Peninsula & South Bay"

All Stories from Peninsula & South Bay

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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Gilroy Glory
Rolling green hills punctuated by carpets buttercups and poppies: Coyote Lake Harvey Bear Ranch County Park in Gilroy seems positively sun-kissed in spring. It’s the best time of y
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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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Ridgetop Resolutions
It’s a guilty pleasure to bag a peak via a short hike. That’s why you should shamelessly steal some spectacular views on a 3.5-mile loop hike in Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve. Starting on the Ridge Trail, spectacular ocean views keep you company on a gentle 0.8-mile climb to the peak of Borel Hill.
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Climb of Champions
Here’s a hike that takes you high and burns your thighs! Yep, there’s nothing like climbing a mountain to start the New Year. Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve offers 24 miles
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Monumental Achievement
Want to kick off the New Year with a monumental accomplishment? Hike to Monument Peak in Milpitas. This 2,594-foot monument is a lightly trafficked, enjoyable, and challenging 7.7-
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Scene Stealer
The holiday season is filled with guilty pleasures: Spiked eggnog; buying yourself a gift; climbing to a panoramic high point via a short mountain bike ride or hike. Yep, you'll be practically stealing the sweeping view at Hunter’s Point in Cupertino's Fremont Older Preserve.
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Pulgas Pageant
Good things come in small packages! The peninsula’s Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve, quietly located off Highway 280, makes an easygoing 2.3-mile loop through oaks and up to big c
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Up to Umunhum
Clocking in at 3,486 feet, Mount Umunhum is one of the highest peaks in the Santa Cruz Mountains and has long been a South Bay landmark with the mysterious radar tower sitting atop
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Huddart Comfort
Just minutes west of the tony town of Woodside in San Mateo County, 900-acre Huddart Park has over 24 miles of trails that put redwoods on parade. For a moderate out-and-back featu
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There's Something About Henry
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains: magnificent. And popular! Escape the crowds by hiking the lesser-known trails starting at the campground entrance off
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Meet you in Montalvo
Before Hearst Castle there was Villa Montalvo, a 175-acre estate tucked in the hills outside Saratoga and built for one of the Bay Area’s wealthiest and most prominent bachelors, U
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Mystery Walls
Mythical crop circles, Stonehenge, California’s Mystery Walls … You don’t have to travel the world to see enigmas, including these stone walls within the South Bay's Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve.
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Pillar Paddle
Looking for some bragging rights? Tell your friends that you kayaked Mavericks. OK, so you may not have kayaked the actual surf spot, but you’ll have come within a few miles of it.
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Stately in the Santa Cruz Mountains
Rolling hills, mountain panoramas, and towering redwoods said to be the largest in the Santa Cruz Mountains—Sam McDonald County Park just can’t seem to get any better … until you f
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Life Aquinas
Reach a new height and gain a round-the-compass panorama at El Sereno Open Space Preserve. Just off Highway 17 in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Los Gatos, the preserve’s 7.5-mile (
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Hike to a Swim Hole
Long hikes on a summer day call for a cooling-off period. Dip in! This 10-miler (round-trip) rewards with a mid-hike swimming hole. Located in the South Bay’s vast and scenic Henry
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Seaside Summit in a State Park
With tangled trails and unmarked spurs lawlessly winding up the rugged 1,898-foot Montara Mountain, McNee Ranch State Park feels like the Wild West Coast. Even wilder? Its endless
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