All Stories from Greater California

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  The Tortoise In Its Lair

  The Mojave Desert’s most extraordinary creatures are rarely seen, but at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area, you’ll have your best chance. Tortoises live in higher density i

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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 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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  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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  Lighthouse ZZZs

  It’s the closest point of land to the Hawaiian Islands in the continental United States and it might well be the best view on the coast. The historic 115-foot lighthouse tower at P

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  Fall-filling Yosemite

  A cool thing is happening in Yosemite National Park right now. The summer crowds are gone and the valley is alive with waterfalls ... and the colors of fall. Time to get out of you

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  River of Bicycle Dreams

  Cycling without having to worry about cars? Hooray! Cycling beside a gently flowing river through fall foliage? Double hooray! The Sacramento River Trail in Redding lives up to its

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  Three Falling

  Three waterfalls, and fewer people. McCloud Falls might be the best waterfall hike in Northern California. There are bigger waterfalls in the state, but it’s the whole package that makes this 4-mile (round-trip) hike truly memorable.

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  A Shot of Whiskey

  Whiskeytown Falls is a relative newcomer. While a few locals knew of its existence, it wasn’t largely shared, and there wasn’t a trail—until 2004. That’s when park biologist Russ W

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  Burney Man!

  Upon first seeing Burney Falls, President Theodore Roosevelt called it one of the wonders of the world: a 129-foot waterfall gushing 100 million gallons every single day. This baby

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  Alabama Backdrop

  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

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  Lone Oasis

  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

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  Old and Gnarly

  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

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  Inspiration Point, Indeed

  Sideways might be the best way to experience Santa Barbara’s abundant wine culture, but the best way to experience its beautiful natural landscape? Upwards! Inspiration Point is a

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  Lizard Like

  As a coastal enclave where beaches meet mountains, Santa Barbara County is one of those places that run the risk of having too much of a good thing. But fortunately we know a spot

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