Small Parks, Big Views

These Bay Area parks are not super-sized yet bring super-size scenery including iconic views, barbecues, and beautiful scenery—from lush gardens to the Golden Gate, and an artfully designed mini-golf course!

Week: 05.10.2023
Regions: Northern CA

Can't Top This

Visit Presidio Tunnel Tops park in San Francisco

San Francisco’s Presidio was already a fantastic place to hang out for the afternoon, a beautiful site within the largest urban national park in the United States (the Golden Gate National Recreation Area). And the new Presidio Tunnel Tops is like a cherry on top. Tunnel Tops is just as it sounds: a park on top of tunnels! Presidio Parkway tunnels to be precise.
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Sea It All This Spring!

Visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium this Spring

Go deeper on your next adventure! Monterey Bay Aquarium allows you to go Into the Deep. Be mesmerized by the flashy, iridescent, and adorable creatures in the ever-evolving, fully bilingual exhibit
Visit Monterey Bay Aquarium

Make It McInnis

Hike, Pickleball, and Mini Golf at McInnis Park in San Rafael

The old adage that good things come in small packages fits well when you visit San Rafael’s 450-acre McInnis Park. Mini-golf, tennis courts (for pickleball, of course!), and a stellar skate park all feature into the activities here.
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Nice Ring to It

Hike Ring Mountain in Marin County

Hike Ring Mountain Tiburon Peninsula Marin
This tiny but mighty open space preserve on the Tiburon Peninsula can often exhibit a wide range of wildflowers late into the season, not to mention one of the most jaw-dropping views of the bay.
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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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