Cool Canyon Hikes

Sure, nabbing a SoCal summit earns you bragging rights, but sometimes the real action is in our canyons! Think secret swimming holes, squeeze-through sandstone clefts, and verdant shady places filled with birdsong. These three canyon hikes deliver those and other surprising pleasures, plus some astounding views along the way. Go peak-bagging another day—this week, think deep thoughts. Think canyons!

Week: 07.13.2017
Regions: Southern CA

The Secret of Bear Canyon

Hiking Bear Canyon in the Angeles National Forest

Here's a cool secret: The best water holes on the Arroyo Seco River are past ever-popular Switzer Falls. To end at the 50-foot plunge is to miss the best of Bear Canyon. In other words, keep going!
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Reno Tahoe Trifecta

Reno Tahoe Trifecta of Summer Adventures

When it comes to spending a weekend adventuring outdoors, you want the whole enchilada—an epic weekend taking you from mountaintops to lakefronts to the desert. Make it happen in Reno Tahoe, where a trifecta of classic adventures is basically in your backyard. Part 1: Bike one of
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Thanks, Annie!

Hiking Annie's Canyon in Encinitas

Weekend Sherpa writer Matt Pawlik descending into a slot canyon at Annie's Canyon in San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve in Solana Beach
Annie’s Canyon Trail in the 1,000-acre San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve in Solana Beach includes the most unique quarter-mile you’ve ever maneuvered—through a sandstone slot canyon!
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The Soul of Upper Solstice

Hiking the Backbone Trail in Upper Solstice Canyon

The lush beauty and hushed tranquility of Upper Solstice Canyon is one reason why the Backbone Trail is such a local treasure. Heck, it’s a national treasure! This segment, a 7-mile out-and-back (round-trip), drops into thick chaparral and groves of California oaks. It crosses se
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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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