Wild Wanders

Looking to go wild before summer runs out? Take a hike! From coastal peaks to Sierra hot springs and foggy redwoods, you'll be wildin' all right!

Week: 08.30.2018
Regions: Southern CA

Malibu Rooftop View

Hiking to Mesa Peak in the Santa Monica Mountains

Mesa Peak isn’t your standard summit ascent. For one thing, the peak is 147 feet lower in elevation than the trailhead. But this is not just some downhill stroll. It’s a great up-and-down hike in Malibu that treats you to a Santa Monica Mountains specialty: big ocean views in one
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Great Is an Understatement!

Hiking and Exploring Nevada's Great Basin National Park

Tucked against the Utah border in eastern Nevada, Great Basin is a hiking wonderland of 13,000-foot peaks, ancient forests, sub-alpine lakes, and marble limestone caves.
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Five Ways to Elevate Your Summer in North Lake Tahoe

North Lake Tahoe's 5 Best Summer Adventures

1) Best Day Hikes in the State North Lake Tahoe has some of California’s best day hikes. The Five Lakes Trail rises to 7,400 feet in the Granite Chief Wilderness and connects to a series of lakes. Or opt for Shirley Canyon Falls, hiking alongside waterfalls and granite boulders w
North Lake Tahoe

Hidden Lake in the Dunes

Hiking to Oso Flaco Lake in the Oceano Dunes

It sounds preposterous: a lake in the dunes? That’s exactly why Oso Flaco Lake, in the Oceano Dunes south of Pismo Beach, is so cool. The 75-acre freshwater lake is surrounded by miles of dunes to the north and south, and a narrow barrier of dunes between the lake and the roaring
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Hot, Wet, and Wild!

Hike and Soak at Wild Willy's Hot Springs Near Mammoth

At Wild Willy’s Hot Springs, you can soak up a primeval landscape that’s amazingly close to Mammoth Lakes and Highway 395—it just feels a few geological epochs away. The springs are in the middle of the Long Valley Caldera, where two large primitive pools steam in the middle of a
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Don’t Hurry Murray

Murray Canyon Hike in Palm Springs

Don’t let the desert stereotype fool you: Palm Springs has a wet-and-wild side beyond hotel swimming pools. A 3.8-mile (round-trip) hike in Murray Canyon showcases Palm Springs as the Agua Caliente Indians knew it: stately fan palms, towering rock formations, and a spring-fed str
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Big Tree Bonanza

Giant Redwood hikes at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in Humboldt County

Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park hike
Roosevelt elk, canyons draped in ferns and dripping with small waterfalls, oh … and the tallest trees on the entire planet! Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park has all the fixings for world-class hiking.
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Trending Stories NorCal

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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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Trending Stories SoCal

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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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