After heavy rains, the rolling headwaters of Peters Creek in Long Ridge Open Space Preserve pulsate along the forest floor via a series of small waterfalls that cut grooves in sandstone boulders. See it on a 4.5-mile loop hike starting…

Wild and scenic Coyote Hills Regional Park is probably best known for its birdlife—from hawks to herons, kestrels to kingfishers. But its 978 acres of marshland and grassy hills is also fringed with flowers now—wildflowers! Enjoy it all on a…

Ahh … Sunol in the spring could make John Steinbeck wax poetic about the land of milk and honey. This East Bay Regional Park is a rolling green open space of giant oak trees, wildflowers, hidden canyons, seasonal streams, and…

Green marks the spot. A green gate, that is. Hidden off Highway 1, just north of Pacifica's Devil's Slide Tunnel, this unassuming entrance leads to a 2.2-mile (round-trip) hike with spectacular views of the rugged Peninsula shoreline at Pedro Point.…

Mount Tam’s Cataract Falls is the bobsled course of waterfalls: over a mile of twisting, turning, tumbling water—gushing, rushing, and making a splash! The real joy is hiking right beside Cataract Creek as it’s chugging on all cylinders, where the…

Tucked in the eastern foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Calero County Park has a surprise side. Its 4,455 acres are home to a well-known reservoir that’s a central attraction for water activities. But venture into its “back country” in…

If you’re crazy about the ocean, the beach, and waterfalls, Bolinas’s Coast Trail is bound to become one of your all-time favorite spring hikes. It’s got one killer cliffside view after another and a classic climax: Alamere Falls, a 50-foot…