Rise to the East

The next few weeks are some of the best of times to visit one of California’s best kept secrets. Ancient, rugged, and remote, Owens Valley and the adjacent Eastern Escarpment are the otherworldy flipside to the well-trodden Western Sierras … a visual passage of ancient volcanic and glacial occurrences, a place of cinematic history, a land where superlatives properly apply as you adventure among the oldest trees in the world and the highest peak in California. Go before the snow and snag some great camping, too!

Week: 09.22.2016
Regions: Southern CA

Alabama Backdrop

Hiking among rare formations at Alabama Hills in Owens Valley California

Despite being named for a Confederate warship, the CSS Alabama, there’s nothing Southern about the Alabama Hills. This range of rocky hills between the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada and the town of Lone Pine in the Owens Valley is Californian to the core, embodying a mythic
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Redding-Made Getaway

Early Fall Getaway to Redding

Vacations are like a pizza: Everyone loves it. But the question is, what kind of pizza? Pepperoni? Cheese only? Extra olives? Redding is the pizza pleaser of weekend getaways! It’s got so much outdoor variety in such close proximity, all you have to do is choose your adventures!
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Old and Gnarly

Hiking the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest of the White Mountains in California

Few places will magnify your sense of time and space quite like the rugged White Mountains. A part of Inyo National Forest, this remote, seldom-visited range along the upper Owens Valley features epic vistas of the Sierra Escarpment, ultra-dark night skies, exposed metamorphic ro
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Lone Oasis

Hiking a section of Mount Whitney Trail in California

Every summer, thousands travel to Whitney Portal in the Eastern Sierra to summit Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States. But thousands more are denied the required permit to enter the “Whitney Zone” due to the Forest Service’s strict quota system. The goo
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    Why hike at Pinnacles National Park? Spring's a beautiful time of year here. And you might spy the magnificent California condor soaring while you gain soaring views from the High Peaks Trail.

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    There’s one thing that’s pretty much mandatory when you visit Mendocino and that’s a hike along the famous bluffs. The trail system at Mendocino Headlands State Park is vast, surrounding the village and meandering for miles, with sweeping sea panoramas.

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Trending Stories SoCal

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  1. Caves in Mojave

    No one expects to see caves when they visit the desert, and that’s part of what makes Mitchell Caverns in the Mojave Desert such an interesting place. Go on a two-hour guided adventure tour through Mitchell Caverns in Providence Mountains State Recreation Area.

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    Spring Up to These Amazing Events

    Shake it up, shake it all the way up to this sunniest city in the state for the most unique and fun-fueled events. Redding is true Northern California, surrounded by famous mountains, nearby national parks and recreation areas, and the sparkling Sacramento River.

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  3. Hikers by the reservoir at Triunfo Creek Park near Thousand Oaks

    Triumphant in Triunfo

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    Secret Blooms

    See wildflowers on the Palos Verdes Peninsula via a 2-mile hike through the hidden 51-acre oasis of George F. Canyon Preserve, and a 1.25-mile hike in neighboring Linden H. Chandler Preserve. 

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