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All Stories from North Bay

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    Go See Grandmother

    Grandmother’s calling, so you must go. The Grandmother Tree is the largest known coast live oak in Sonoma County, and she resides in quite the beautiful setting. Visit her via a 5-mile (round-trip) hike high in Hood Mountain Regional Park.

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    Freedom of Beach

    Nearly a mile of slate and black sand, expansive views of San Francisco, and just minutes from the Golden Gate Bridge, Marin's Black Sands Beach is the size of Baker Beach—without the crowds.

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    Magical McClures

    McClures Beach is a seductive little spot: small, beautiful, and quiet. It’s easy to while away an afternoon-turned-sunset at this pocket cove in Point Reyes.

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    Soul Cycle

    A bicycle is a fantastic way to take in the 360-degree panoramas you get on Angel Island. The straightforward Perimeter Road is a car-free route that circumnavigates the island. Stop along the way at a hidden beach.

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    Good Heavens

    The 4-mile hike to the top of Angel Island offers Bay-mazing scenery. Some people claim you get a five-bridge view: Richmond-San Rafael, Bay, Golden Gate, San Mateo-Hayward, and Dumbarton bridges.

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    Secret Beach

    A hidden beach and a killer view? Those are hard to come by, but that’s exactly what you’ll get at Perles Beach on Angel Island. This pocket cove is worth the 1.5-mile trek to get there.

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    Bull Yeah!

    Hit the bull’s eye of wide open space at Bull Point Trail in Point Reyes National Seashore. This 3.8-mile out-and-back hike along Drakes Estero’s Creamery Bay is easygoing and packs a visual punch.

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    Exclamation Point!

    Maybe it’s the constant ocean breeze, or the burly tule elk, or the chance to see spouting gray whales: There’s something about Tomales Point Trail. It’s a simple 4.5-mile hike to a promontory overlooking the Pacific. But what you encounter along the way … well that’s pure Point Reyes.

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    Tam Slam!

    This 8-mile (round-trip) hike is a pure classic, with redwoods, water-flows, and soaring views of the coastline. Oh yeah, and that ladder!

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    Nice Ring to It

    This tiny but mighty open space preserve on the Tiburon Peninsula can often exhibit a wide range of wildflowers late into the season, not to mention one of the most jaw-dropping views of the bay.

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    The Occidental Tourist

    The Grove of Old Trees is 33 hidden acres of towering redwoods and the only privately owned preserve in Sonoma County that's free to the public.

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    Ride the Redwoods to Wine

    Bike riding: fun. Wine tasting: fun. Combining both: really fun! Make it a 6-mile (round-trip) afternoon of biking and wine-tasting and redwood forests, starting in downtown Guerneville.

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    Hike the Islands in the Sky

    Redwoods and ridgelines and phenomenal views of the Pacific: Get to Duncans Mills and hike the Islands in the Sky Vista Loop, a 4-mile charmer in Sonoma Coast State Park.

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    Seat at the Top Table

    It just might be the best view in Napa. At 4.5 miles (round-trip) the hike to Table Rock overlook isn’t a walk in the park, but it’s well worth it, packing in plenty of highlights, especially the marquee destination: Table Rock.

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    Secret Stash of Redwoods

    Located in the tiny town of Angwin, Pacific Union College has 864 acres of forest that are now open to the public for hiking.

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    Owl Be there

    The Owl Trail, Marin’s swooping seashore tramp, offers the chance to spy migrating gray whales offshore, and sightings of the trail’s namesake, great horned owls.

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    Drive-In Whale Watching

    Just north of Point Reyes, Bodega Head sits high on the tip of a curving, thumb-like peninsula and offers excellent whale watching in winter.

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    Welcome Back Bartholomew

    A few miles east of Sonoma’s historic plaza, Bartholomew Park has a winery and newly reopened hiking trails with fabulous views.

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    Sunsational Mount Tam

    The East Peak of Mount Tam is easily reached via a short hike, and gives visitors one of the best views in the Bay Are, and sensational sunsets.

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    Light the Way

    Head to Point Reyes’s newly rejuvenated lighthouse. Originally constructed in 1870 to help warn mariners of the navigational hazard that we now call Point Reyes, the lighthouse was handed over to the National Park Service after serving for 105 years.

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