Let the Adventures Begin!

The Weekend Sherpa Adventure Challenge is back for its sixth year! Don’t let the name intimidate you: it’s free and easy to participate. Just get outdoors over the next few months and take a photo of yourself in action! And we’re excited to be teaming up with Line 39—their wines are the perfect partner to weekend adventures.

Week: 05.18.2017
Regions: Northern & Southern CA

Sunol Salutations

Hiking a less-traveled trail in Sunol Regional Park

Ahh … Sunol in the spring could make John Steinbeck wax poetic about the land of milk and honey. This East Bay Regional Park is a rolling green open space of giant oak trees, wildflowers, hidden canyons, seasonal streams, and winding hiking trails. While most visitors head to Lit
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Tempe Temptations

Hiking at Bon Tempe Lake in Marin

Wildflowers, wildlife, and a wildly great view of Mount Tam as the backdrop … get your wows at Bon Tempe Reservoir, one of the five lakes on Mount Tam’s northern flank, and a water supply for many Marin homes. Ospreys soar overhead and evergreens tower all around as you hike the
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Bite-Size Torrey Pines

Three Short Hikes in Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve

Sometimes bite-size hikes deliver gourmet-size rewards! These coastal trails in Torrey Pines deliver astounding scenery in a park that is home to the rarest pine species in the country… yet they get overlooked by hikers looking for a longer trek. Don’t worry—you’ll still get a wo
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Diablo's Back Way

Hiking Mitchell Canyon Back Creek Loop at Mount Diablo State Park

A hike with sweeping East Bay vistas, rushing creeks, and colorful wildflowers—Mount Diablo’s got your back! As in Mitchell Canyon Back Creek Loop, a 7-mile (round-trip) hike with a bunch of spring’s best (and brightest!) features. You’ll have to work a bit—the hike ascends 1,700
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A Thousand Steps to Paradise

Staircase Hike in Laguna Beach

A picture is worth a thousand words, but is a gorgeous beach in Laguna worth a thousand steps? The answer is yes, though the question is moot, because it’s only 223 steep steps down to the 400-yard stretch of sand known as 1000 Steps Beach. Why the exaggeration? Originally, maybe
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Trending Stories NorCal

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  1. Man hiking up a trail at Montara Mountain, with a view of the Pacific and Grey Whale sand beach in the background

    From Beach to Summit

    No need to decide between a beach and a mountaintop—this hike includes both! Explore the stunning coastal scenery on this 6-mile out-and-back up Montara Mountain and into Rancho Corral de Tierra.

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  2. Picnic and a Pedal

    West Marin has all the right stuff for an afternoon getaway: bike paths, babbling brooks, canopy forests, and secluded picnic spots. Combine a picnic and a pedal at Samuel P. Taylor State Park by biking the easygoing Cross Marin Trail.

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  3. Most Peaceful Hike of All

    Is this the most peaceful one-hour hike in the Bay Area? It's got our vote! Lake Lagunitas is the smallest lake in a series of five found on the north side of Mount Tam, so it’s got that tiny but mighty charm. Do a 1.5-mile loop around the lake's shore-hugging trail.

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  4. Sebastopol Food & Wine Roll

    One apple farm, three charming towns, multiple wineries, and infinite natural beauty. Savor a perfect autumn day in Sonoma County by biking the West County Regional Trail from Sebastopol to Forestville via Graton. It’s a 17-mile (round-trip) adventure. 

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Trending Stories SoCal

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  1. Woman walking in the Venice Canals of Los Angeles County

    Canal Contemplations

    With its incense-scented boardwalk, bohemian shops, skateparks, and abundance of body builders, Venice is happily eccentric, and artistic. Exhibit A: Its network of European-style canals with charming bridges, offering a tranquil tour of the town’s history.

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  2. Wine Down, Dine Out in Lake Chelan

    The fertile soil around Washington State's Lake Chelan is ripe for more than just the amazing apples. Vineyards here yield high quality grapes, and some of the country’s best less-discovered wineries. Locals know it, and you will too when you start choosing from the more than 30 wineries in the region.

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  3. What's Up, Winthrop!

    It’s not just its location close to Washington State’s spectacular and less visited national park (North Cascades) that makes Winthrop such a winsome mountain town. This lively enclave in the Methow Valley bristles with a whimsical blend of Wild West charms, contemporary culture, and a mosaic of outdoor adventures—from river to lake to waterfalls, and beyond.

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  4. Hike San Diego Volcan Mountain Wilderness

    Planet of the Oaks

    Let us count the number of oak tree species in the Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve near Julian: coast, scrub, canyon, black, and Engelmann. Five! The preserve’s Five Oaks Trail is a 3.2-mile hike that boasts all five.

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