Haunting Hikes

It’s the Halloween season. From mystery walls to haunted woods and hidden tombstones, we’ve scared up some Bay Area hikes to put you in the spirit. Who ghosts there?!

Week: 10.12.2017
Regions: Northern CA

Mystery Walls

Exploring California's Mystery Walls at Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve

Hike Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve 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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Cave Country

Cave Adventures in Lake Shasta and Lava Beds

Take your explorations to new heights … or, rather, new depths, by visiting some of California’s coolest cave country. Get all Indiana Jones at Lake Shasta Caverns National Landmark, where your adventure begins with a boat ride across Shasta Lake, and ends on a mountain with a gu
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The Joaquin Dead

Haunted Hike at Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland

Hike Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland
Hike Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland
Named after the poet, Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland belongs in a sonnet about small wonders. But it also may belong in a classic ghost story! This unassuming park is said to be haunted....
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Grave Expectations

Walk Buena Vista Park in San Francisco

San Francisco's Buena Vista Park has big views and a mosaic of trails, including some with marble detailing along the path's edge: those are unclaimed Gold Rush–era tombstones recycled from cemeteries.
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  1. Serene Las Gallinas

    A serene stroll alongside marshland, passing ponds and grasses frilled in seasonal wildflowers, with Mount Tam a beacon in the background … how nice. As part of the esteemed Bay Trail, San Rafael’s Las Gallinas Valley Birding Loop and Wildlife Ponds comprises about 3.5 miles of wide-open trail.

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  2. Paint Brushy

    This time of year you’ll have good reason to head for the hills—the electric-green rolling hills of Brushy Peak Regional Preserve in Livermore. This 4.5-mile loop hike is like stepping into a plein air painting.

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  3. Sponsored

    2025 POST Wildflower Walks

    Get flower empowered! POST’s complimentary 2025 Wildflower Walks guide blooms with the best places to see a variety of florals across the Peninsula and South Bay this spring.

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  4. All right, Almaden!

    Take a trip through time on this 5-mile loop in Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Explore the ruins of an old cinnabar mine and enjoy the first hints of wildflower season.

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  1. Sponsored

    Weekend in Reno Tahoe

    Weekend plans? Reno Tahoe! Just a few hours by car or a short flight away, Reno Tahoe springs to the moment with great ways to combine adventure and relaxation in its beautiful mountains-meets-desert setting.

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  2. Hiker walking along the North Bluff Trail on Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park

    Purely Wild

    Channel Islands National Park lives up to its nickname as “North America’s Galapagos.” This less-traveled national park is an undeveloped and isolated series of five dramatic and distinct islands reached by boat. Hike the largest of the islands, Santa Cruz.

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  3. Woman hiking the South Kaibab Trail in the Grand Canyon

    Truly Grand Day Hike

    One of the best spring day hikes in the Grand Canyon? See layer upon layer of the park’s grandeur—including the river—on this 3-mile (one-way) journey to Skeleton Point via the South Kaibab Trail.

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  4. A woman stands amid an array of yellow and purple flowers at Descanso Gardens in Los Angeles

    Petal Paradise

    Tulips, lilacs, and daffodils—flower power is in full bloom at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge. Sprawling across 150 acres surrounded by mountains, the gardens are putting on their best show right now.

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