Spring for Wildflowers and Waterfalls

Tahquitz Canyon’s crystalline stream and lush stands of desert lavender, honey mesquite, and leafy sycamores is home to an easy day hike with a big bonus: a 60-foot waterfall that runs with remarkable gusto after winter rains.

1) Rainbow Connection Hike to Rainbow Falls from the famous Devils Postpile National Monument. It’s a 2-mile walk to this 101-foot stunner that plunges over a sheer cliff and leaves a rainbow glow in its mist. 2) Let the Good Times Roll Jump on the gondola and get whisked to 11,0

In the heart of the Inland Empire is a portal to California’s past, where colossal Englemann oaks spread their gnarled branches, and rare native grasses still flourish on verdant hillsides. A hike through the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve near Murrieta is a visit to Calif

Some hikes are like a highlight reel: they feature all of the good stuff quickly. Turnbull Canyon near the town of Whittier in LA County is the centerpiece of the Puente Hills Preserve, and home to a 4.5-mile loop trail that rises to phenomenal views. The hike begins on Turnbull

The Coachella Valley Preserve protects some 20,000 acres of wild desert, where the San Andreas Fault has worked as chief landscape architect. Seismic action forced freshwater springs to pop up from underground, and the water nourishes groves of California fan palms—thousands of t

On this 2-mile loop hike in Mailibu's Point Dume Natural Preserve, you can find yourself walking through fields of brilliant yellow specimens—some of them chest high and taller—but also dip down to pristine beaches and tide pools, possibly crowning your visit with a gray-whale sighting.