SoCal's Top 10 Outdoor Adventures of 2022

It's not easy choosing the year's best outdoor adventures for our annual year-end Top 10 issue. Like a band choosing their greatest hits album, there's just so much good stuff.  As we bid adieu to 2022, cheers to you, and the great outdoors.

Week: 12.28.2022
Regions: Southern CA

Constant Condor

Hike to Condor Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains

Hiker celebrating with raised arms after reaching Condor Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains
Hiker and dog on the trail enroute to Condor Peak in the San Gabriel mountains
Hiker standing at Condor Peak overlooking the scenery and San Gabriel Mountains
Trail to Condor Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains
Condor Peak is one of the less traveled hikes in the San Gabriel Mountains, probably because it’s 16 miles (round-trip)! Get an early start for this challenging adventure, best done during the cooler months.
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POST's 2023 Hiking Calendar

Find the Best Hike for Every Month of the Year

POST 2023 hiking calendar hiking couple
POST 2023 hiking calendar trail
POST 2023 hiking calendar hikers
POST 2023 hiking calendar beach at sunset
Start the new year off right by heading outdoors for a hike. Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) curated a (complimentary) 2023 hiking calendar that provides all the inspiration you’ll need!
Get the 2023 POST Hiking Calendar

Purely Wild

Hike Channel Islands Santa Cruz Island to Potato Harbor and Cavern Point

Hiker walking along the North Bluff Trail on Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park
Campground sign and Cavern Point sign at Santa Cruz Islands, Channel Islands National Park
Two hikers at Santa Cruz Island Channel Islands National Park
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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Simply Boutiful!

Stroll Lake Vista Trail around a hidden reservoir at Malibou in Malibu

We know you’ve heard of Malibu, but have you heard of Malibou? Yes, that’s right, Malibou … located in … Malibu! It’s a private reservoir created by two dams in a small residential community. See it on the scenic 2.25-mile Lake Vista Trail.
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Beauty and the Beach

Visit Garrapata State Park for bluffside hiking and a beautiful beach in Monterey

Sweeping, romantic, and vast, Garrapata State Park has all the stuff of swoon-worthy scenery. There’s a magical beach backed by hulking cliffs with a hiking trail we like best in the later afternoon, when the beach can be blissfully deserted.
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Get Hetched!

Backpack to Rancheria Falls in Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy Valley

Backpacking to Rancheria Falls in Hetch Hetchy Valley Yosemite
Backpacker in Yosemite Hetch Hetchy
Waterfall on trail in Hetch Hetchy Yosemite
Hetch Hetchy oasis in Yosemite
Enjoy top-notch valley views on this 13-mile moderately strenuous backpacking trip highlighting some of Yosemite's best scenery. A bonus: This part of the park attracts fewer visitors than the much more famous valley
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Triumphant in Triunfo

Hike Among Wildflowers at Triunfo Creek Park near Thousand Oaks

Hikers by the reservoir at Triunfo Creek Park near Thousand Oaks
Hikers on a trail at Triunfo Creek Park near Thousand Oaks
A hiker takes pictures of California Poppy at Triunfo Creek Park near Thousand Oaks
A hiker smiling at the camera on a trail with mountains in the background at Triunfo Creek Park in Southern California
Go on a hike with a peaceful reservoir, charming meadows, and beautiful spring blooms at Triunfo Creek Park near Thousand Oaks.
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Strawberry on Top

Hike to Strawberry Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains

Hiker holding up Strawberry Peak sign at the summit of Strawberry Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains
Hiker going up the trail to reach Strawberry Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains Southern California
Hiker on the trail at Strawberry Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains
Hiker going down from Strawberry Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains
There's no question that Strawberry Peak is a most challenging and rewarding peak in the front range of the San Gabriels. It’s a 7.75-mile out-and-back hike climbing 1,800 feet to unparalleled 360-degree views.
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Perris Is Always a Good Idea

Bike Around Lake Perris in the Inland Empire

Two bikers looking at the lake at Lake Perris State Recreational Area
Two people on bikes stopping to look at the lake scenery at Lake Perris in Riverside
Two bikers on the paved bike path at Lake Perris State Recreational Area in the Inland Empire
Two people at a picnic table overlooking a beach at Lake Perris State Recreational Area in the Inland Empire
Beaches and oases in the Inland Empire? Just say Perris! Bike around the Lake Perris State Recreational Area and make beach stops along the way. Then enjoy some Casey's Cupcakes.
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Big Sky SoCal

Hike Big Sky in Simi Valley Southern California

Hiker at Big Sky Trail in Simi Valley
Hiker on trail at Big Sky Trail in Simi Valley
Hiker on a trail at sunset at Big Sky Trail in Simi Valley
Hiker walking a wide open hiking trail at sunset with huge sky and mountain views in Simi Valley
When does hiking through a neighborhood feel like you’re worlds away from civilization? When you’re in SoCal's Big Sky territory! Big Sky Trail is a 4-mile loop over rolling hills, all with incredible vistas of the surrounding valley and, of course, that big blue beautiful sky.
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Bald Statement

Hike to the Summit of Bald Mountain in Sun Valley Idaho

Hiker on Bald Mountain Summit Trail in Sun Valley Idaho
Hiker at Bald Mountain Summit in Sun Valley Idaho
Hiker at the Scenic Overlook on Bald Mountain in Sun Valley Idaho
Hiker at summit of Bald Mountain overlooking the ski area in Sun Valley Idaho
If you’re going to have a rite of passage hiking in Sun Valley, the hike to the summit of Bald Mountain is one to check off your list. This 5-mile (one-way) trek requires some stamina, yet richly rewards with a variety of views and vantages, abundant wildflowers, and the chance to combine a free chairlift and gondola ride back down.
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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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