Redwoods Rambles

The Santa Cruz Mountains are home to some of the most beautiful redwoods on earth. With wildflowers newly blooming and the region's signature banana slugs making an appearance, spring's a good time to hike among the big reds.

Week: 03.18.2015
Regions: Northern CA

Going to See Madonna

Hike the Redwoods in Mount Madonna Park

Mount Madonna Yurts
If you're going to see Madonna we're guaranteeing the venue is going to be amazing: high up in the Santa Cruz Mountains and dominated by redwood trees. Okay, we’re not talking "Like a Virgin" Madonna; we're talking like "Second-Growth Redwoods" Mount Madonna.
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Spring for a Road Trip!

Spring 2015 Road Trip to Monterey

Monterey just might be the perfect weekend road trip: it's close enough that it won't kill your "We're going on a road trip!" buzz; it's got one of the most spectacular coastlines on the continent; and there is a world adventure to be found once you get there! Go with the flow an
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Purisima Charisma

Purisima Creek Redwoods HIke

Beautiful old-growth redwoods have been at Purisima Creek for a long time, but the purple, pink, white, and yellow blossoms popping right now are spring fresh. Combine a canopy of redwoods and newly blooming wildflowers on a 5.4-mile loop in this Half Moon Bay haven. The hike wil
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Happy in Huddart

Huddart Park Hike in Woodside

Just off I-280 in the tony burg of Woodside is Huddart Park, a 972-acre respite with quiet trails curving through canyons and among stately second-growth redwoods. Picnic spots, grassy meadows, and a playground are all part of the attraction. For a good 4.5-mile hike with modest
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Trending Stories NorCal

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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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Trending Stories SoCal

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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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