All Stories from Southern CA

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  Signal Hill Thrill

  High above Long Beach, Signal Hill gets the green light for a hike that delivers rich history, epic views, unique art, more epic views, and one of the best sunsets in Southern California.

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  Great Ascot!

  Sometimes the skyline’s the limit, and that’s a good thing if you’re visiting Ascot Hills Park, an 83-acre urban respite that offers autumn and winter sunsets to remember. A 1-mile

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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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  Sea-to-Sea View

  It’s a bit of a leg buster, but this 5.6-mile out-and-back hike up 6,512-foot Cuyamaca Peak in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park gets you bragging rights for reaching the second-highest point in San Diego County. Better, it rewards you with sweeping views that extend from sea to sea...

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  Find Placerita Gold

  Head to Placerita Canyon Natural Area and tackle the Firebreak Trail loop, which gains 1,700 feet in 7 miles. It’s a workout hike with payoff views at the height of the loop.

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  Best the Crest

  A walk along the spine of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in Malibu is especially good when the days are cool and the skies so clear. Add a jaunt down into Mali

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  California's Serengeti

  When people talk about our great golden state, rarely included in that conversation is the Central Valley’s Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, or, as we call it: California’s Serengeti. It’s home to some of the most spectacular concentrations of waterfowl in the entire continent, and fall and winter are prime times for viewing action.

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  Garden of the Gods

  A 1-mile out-and-back trail in 23-acre Garden of the Gods threads through sandstone boulders that were natural icons of Hollywood’s Golden Age, back when this site was known as the Iverson Movie Ranch.

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  Go West(world)!

  If your idea of visiting a film location is more Westworld than Universal Studios, then we know just the place. Paramount Ranch has been a film backdrop since 1923 and is home to a

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  Urban Ranch Land

  Though the Woolsey fire came close, Orcutt Ranch in West Hills was not touched, thankfully. The ranch is a 24-acre LA city park filled with vibrant citrus trees and lavish flowers—

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  Notch One for Baldy

  In a great winter, Mount Baldy’s lower slopes become one of SoCal’s most accessible snow playgrounds—skiing and boarding up top, sledding and building snowpersons at the bottom. In

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  Big Snowshoes to Fill

  When snow blasts the San Bernardino Mountains, you know it’s time to head for the hills! And by this we mean Big Bear’s backcountry, currently basking in a winter landscape worthy

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  Lykken Good!

  A hike followed by brunch? Always a good idea! Palm Springs’ go-to hike for gaining wild views and getting back to the city in time for brunch is North Lykken Trail.

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  It's a Waterfall Life

  Tahquitz Canyon’s crystalline stream and lush stands of desert lavender, honey mesquite, and leafy sycamores will change how you think about the desert. You might grumble at the $1

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  Murray Up!

  Palm Springs’ highest summit, Murray Hill, is unfairly named. It’s not a hill: It’s a pyramid-shaped peak poking into the sky above the Coachella Valley. And it’s a demanding 2,200

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  Millard Time

  Lace up the waterproof boots for this short hike to one sweet waterfall! The 1.5-mile out-and-back trek to roaring Millard Canyon Falls also makes a splash with stunning panoramas of the San Gabriel Valley.

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  Trail to the Falls

  Named for the trail of gold dust that once dominated this area, Trail Canyon Falls just outside of Burbank is now rich with a liquid asset: a gorgeous 30-foot waterfall. Reach it on a 5.2-mile (round-trip) hike.

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  Find the Hermit

  Plenty of hikers in Big Santa Anita Canyon make the trek to Sturtevant Falls, but fewer head to the area's Hermit Falls in Angeles National Forest. This 3-mile (round-trip) hike be

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