State Park Stunner

Wildflower Hike in Chino Hills State Park

Stunning blankets of wildflowers are blooming in Chino Hills State Park, adding brilliant splashes of color to the most vividly green rolling hills in Southern California. You’ll hike amid brilliant displays of California poppies, lupines, and Canterbury bells on a 2.5-mile out-and-back trek on the Bane Ridge Trail, which climbs gently and surrounds you with thick grass accentuated with yellow flurries of nonnative wild mustard blooms.

Continue ascending the ridge and indulge in the genuine seclusion, as the peaceful knolls provide a natural enclosure from the bustling urban world. Keep an eye out for resident rattlers and gopher snakes hiding from the soaring raptors. You’ll be rewarded with patches of orange and purple on nearby slopes, but the real prize is down a half-mile spur trail on the right that leads into a mesmerizing sea of poppies and lupines.

Head back to the main path and continue just over a mile to the junction with the Pomona Trail, which takes a hard right under some power lines to the sycamore-lined canyon floor below. The hilltop just past this intersection is a good final viewpoint. On the way back, be sure to make another stop at the bloom blanket to take one last look at one of the most magical displays our bright orange state flower and its pretty purple partner have ever staged.

To get to the Horse Camp parking lot and Bane Ridge trailhead, take CA-71 to the Soquel Canyon Pkwy. exit. Go west for 1 mile and turn left onto Elinvar Dr., which veers left and becomes Sapphire Rd. The park entrance, and Bane Canyon Rd., will be on your immediate right. Take this for 2.5 miles (paying $5 at the ranger station along the way) and make a sharp right on the Horse Camp dirt road, which leads to the dirt lot. Look for the narrow singletrack trail marked at the north end of the lot. No dogs.

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. Field of Light at Sensorio in Paso Robles

    Light This Way

    Hidden in the bucolic hills of Paso Robles lies one of the greatest light shows on earth. The lighted art exhibition, Sensorio, is as if the rainbow magic of the aurora borealis was plucked from the sky and planted in the fields.

    View
  2. Surfboards and tents for shade are set up on the beach at Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area in the Swim Lagoon Area

    Switchbacks and Swimming Holes

    Hike hard, play hard! This 7-mile out-and-back in Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area is a great workout with payoff vistas and a relaxing post-hike picnic and dip in the water.

    View
  3. Hike the Rainbow

    Catch all the colors of a rainbow at Calero County Park on this 10-mile hike currently showcasing the season’s best blooms.

    View
  4. Hike Purisima Creek Open Space Preserve

    Purisima Charisma

    Hundred-foot redwoods, a shaded canyon, and views overlooking Half Moon Bay. This 10-mile loop hike in Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve is a roller-coaster of uphill and downhill along with easygoing stretches through some of the Bay Area’s most beautiful landscape.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories
  1. People on a guided horseback tour with Central Coast Trailrides at Santa Margarita Ranch near Paso Robles

    Saddle Up with Central Coast Trailrides

    Untouched and sweeping, the mountainous scenery and deep valleys of Santa Margarita near Paso Robles are just begging to be explored. So saddle up for a scenic adventure with Central Coast Trailrides (CCT) at the 14,000-acre Santa Margarita Ranch.

    View
  2. A woman on a hiking trail with huge open space and yellow flowers around her at Wildwood Park in Thousand Oaks

    Going Wildwood

    Consider this your invitation to get a little untamed. In just one walk through Wildwood Park in Thousand Oaks, you can chase the sound of a cascading waterfall, duck into a shadowy cave, and soak in big hillside vistas. The mostly flat 4.25-mile loop makes wild feel wonderfully accessible.

    View
  3. Two people fly fishing on the Truckee River with guides from Reno Fly Shop

    Zen and the Art of Fly Fishing

    Learning to fly fish is one of the most fun and beautiful ways to connect with nature, family, friends, and yourself. It’s also a great way to truly experience the magic of a place. Make that place Reno Tahoe, where a fly fishing adventure with Reno Fly Shop is like being planted in a plein air painting of dreamy outdoors.

    View
  4. A woman on the overlook deck overlooking the Truckee River at Oxbow Nature Study Area in Reno

    This Way to Oxbow and Dickerson Road

    Just west of downtown Reno—tucked right alongside the Truckee River—is a nature haven for wildlife spotting and waterside relaxing. The 22-acre Oxbow Nature Study Area is ideal for those seeking solitude and a short hike. Afterwards, explore the creative hub of Dickerson Road.

    View