Social Distance Hikes and Bike Rides

Social Distance Hikes and Bike Rides

(UPDATE: Since the time of this particular issue’s publication, on 3/18/20, many parks and beaches have closed. Our recommendation is that if you want a breath of fresh air, stay local in your community, and stay in accordance with the Shelter-in-Place guidelines from the state.) From what we understand going on a hike is okay as long as it's not busy and you can maintain six feet of distance from others. And staying local in your county. We’ve rounded up a few favorite easy hikes and bike rides around the Bay Area. Please follow all updates and advice from health and government authorities. We’ll get through this—be safe, healthy, and kind!

Week: 03.18.2020
Regions: Northern CA

(UPDATE: Since the time of this particular issue’s publication, on 3/18/20, many parks and beaches have closed. Our recommendation is that if you want a breath of fresh air, stay local in your community, and stay in accordance with the Shelter-in-Place guidelines from the state.) From what we understand going on a hike is okay as long as it's not busy and you can maintain six feet of distance from others. And staying local in your county. We’ve rounded up a few favorite easy hikes and bike rides around the Bay Area. Please follow all updates and advice from health and government authorities. We’ll get through this—be safe, healthy, and kind!

(UPDATE: Since the time of this issue’s publication on 3/18/20, many parks and beaches have closed. Our recommendation is that if you want a breath of fresh air, stay local in your community, and stay in accordance with the Shelter-in-Place guidelines from the state.)

1) A Message from Weekend Sherpa’s Founder

2) Sunol Salutations (CLOSED)

(UPDATE: Due to COVID-19, Sunol Regional Wilderness is closed starting 3/27/20. This is a dynamic situation. Please check East Bay Regional Parks for updates.) Well-known Sunol Regional Wilderness has 6,800 acres of bountiful terrain, yet few hikers actually experience the best views the park offers. Those are found along this 4-mile loop in Sunol’s northern boundary.

Hike Sunol Regional Wilderness

3) San Francisco’s Middle Earth

No need to travel to New Zealand to visit Middle Earth. San Francisco’s Mount Sutro Open Space is practically Hobbiton—a hidden “shire” in the middle of the city. Okay, maybe not quite as magical, but still an incredible place to take a hike in city limits.

Hike San Francisco

4) Maria Is Magical (CLOSED)

(UPDATE:As of 3/22/20, the access road to reach this trailhead in Point Reyes is closed. The following areas and/or roads closed until further notice include: Limantour Beach, Drakes Beach, Drakes Estero, Mt. Vision Road.) Ready to find a beach to call your own? Make a visit to Santa Maria Beach in Point Reyes. It’s often overlooked for nearby Limantour Beach. What makes Santa Maria so quiet and peaceful? The 3-mile bike (or hike) in!

Bike to Santa Maria Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore

5) Sensational Sempervirens (PARKING LOT CLOSED)

The redwoods aren’t the only “big” things at Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Right now the waterfalls are big, too Sempervirens Falls is a quick 3.4-mile (round-trip) out-and-back hike that rambles through an old-growth forest to a plunging waterfall.

Sempervirens Falls in Big Basin Redwoods State Park

6) Mellow in the Marsh (PARKING LOT CLOSED)

(UPDATE:Due to COVID-19, the parking lot for Pescadero State Beach is closed. The trails remain open. This is a dynamic situation. Please checkCalifornia State Parksfor updates.) Beach, birds, ice plant popping purple flowers: That’s a hiking slam dunk! Hike about 2 miles at Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve using their fully reopened and well-signed Sequoia Audubon Trail. Great blue herons, red-tailed hawks, great egrets, even turtles use the habitats here, which include a tidal estuary, woodlands, and water marshes.

Hike Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve

7) Strolling with Sam (PARKING LOT CLOSED)

(UPDATE:Due to COVID-19, the parking lot for Samuel P. Taylor State Park is closed. The trails remain open. This is a dynamic situation. Please check California State Parks for updates.) No offense to Muir Woods (currently closed), but one of the best parks in the Bay Area to hang out with some big old redwood trees, and hardly any people, is Samuel P. Taylor State Park. Most people come here for the beautiful creekside campground. But the hiking here is pleasantly peaceful.

Hiking at Samuel P. Taylor State Park

8) Hike the Dunes to the Beach (PARKING LOT CLOSED)

(UPDATE:Due to COVID-19, the parking lots for Sonoma Coast State Beaches are closed. The trails remain open. This is a dynamic situation. Please check California State Parks for updates.) Bodega Head is popular for its impressive cliff-hugging hiking trails, but few people follow the path north to a less-trodden hiking trail winding along the bluff and down to spectacular South Salmon Creek Beach.

Sonoma Coast State Beach. Hike to South Salmon Creek Beach.

9) To Do: Tilden for Wildflowers

Ingredients for a lush and lovely hike in Berkeley’s backyard: Just add water. And wildflowers! It all comes together in Tilden Regional Park. Hike in a landscape of greenery and wildflower scenery on a quick 2.5-mile loop.

Hike Tilden Regional Park in the East Bay

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  1. 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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  2. Hike the Oursan Trail alongside Briones Reservoir in the East Bay

    Opt for Oursan

    Hike the trail less traveled in the East Bay's Briones Regional Park. The Oursan Trail is pure serenity on a wide hiking path skirting the northern shores of Briones Reservoir.

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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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  1. 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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  2. Lace Up for Lacy

    Lacy Park in San Marino is a hidden gem that may very well be the most pristine green space in greater Los Angeles, and a concealed pair of nearby stairways makes it all the more appealing.

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  3. Hiker amid trees at Oak Glen Preserve in Yucaipa Southern California

    Apple of Your Eye

    That fall feeling is definitely in the air and on display at the Oak Glen Preserve. Apple orchards and colorful leaves are a bonus, as are the apple cider donuts and slushies you can enjoy post-hike.

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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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