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All "Hikes" Stories in Northern CA

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    Briones Bountiful!

    With over 6,000 acres teeming with trails, Briones Regional Park has plenty of room, big views, and a classic 7-mile circuit passing the two highest points in the park, Mott’s Peak and Briones Peak.

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    New Golden Gate View

    People come from all over the world to get a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge. Get a dramatic and novel view of the bridge without all the people on this moderate 6-mile hike in the Marin Headlands.

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    Short Hike, Sweet View!

    Steady as you go ... all the way up to a sweeping Bay vista at Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve. This 208-acre haven has a 4.3-mile loop to one of the best views in the East Bay.

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    Thornewood In Your Pocket

    Hints of wildflowers, a ravine of redwoods, and vistas over the San Francisco Bay and Diablo Range. Thornewood Preserve in Woodside packs a lot into its tiny space. An early morning start has perks.

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    Heart of the Matter

    With very few tourists in town, San Francisco’s Presidio gets to bask mostly in local love. Do the classic Heart of the Park hike, which includes the historic and poignant National Cemetery Overlook.

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    Dune Swoon

    Of all the places to catch a sunset in Death Valley, we still think there’s none better than the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, inspiring many things, including log rolls, cartwheels, and sundown selfies.

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    Cataclysmic Galactic

    Death Valley has a Star Wars vibe going with its desolate landscape. So when you first arrive to hike at the incredible Ubehebe Crater you might expect to see the Millennium Falcon hunkered nearby.

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    Canyons Calling

    Canyon hikes come in all shapes and sizes in Death Valley, and we’ve got two gems. One requires more rigorous scrambling and navigation, and leads to a dryfall; the other takes you up to a brilliant vista.

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    Good as Golden

    Golden Canyon in Death Valley has a variety of hiking trails. We like this classic 5.5-mile loop exploring a labyrinth of marbled gold colored hills, badlands, narrow canyons, and tremendous vistas.

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    Gone With the Wind

    You don’t have to trek far to enjoy a hiker’s high at Windy Hill Preserve on the Peninsula. Its panoramic attraction is easily accessed via the 0.7-mile Anniversary Trail, and it’s magnificent at sunset.

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    Best Foot Forward

    Foothills Park has 15 miles of trail surrounded by misty valleys, tender oak trees, seasonal creeks, a peaceful lake, and beautiful Bay Area vistas. Plan ahead because it's new, and very popular.

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    Find Your Flow

    Far back in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Uvas Canyon County Park is a compact, tree-filled delight with hiking trails and several waterfalls bunched into a loop along Swanson Creek and amid lush forest.

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    Santa Cruz Epic Views

    Redwoods, wildflowers, and ocean vistas offer the best of the Bay Area at Upper La Honda Creek Preserve in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Take a 3.75-mile loop through the preserve's highlights.

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    Ready When You Are: Reno Tahoe

    With outdoors being essential for health and wellness, and new protocols in place, Reno Tahoe welcomes visitors! It's wide open with snowshoe trails, fire pits by the river, skating, and hot springs.

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    Shell of a Good Hike!

    Head to the East Bay’s Shell Ridge Open Space near Walnut Creek to find 1,400 acres of rolling hills. This 7-mile ridge rambling loop showcases all that the foothills of Mount Diablo have to offer.

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    Serenity at Sunrise

    El Sereno Preserve's namesake mountain rises to majestic views spanning the Diablo Range, Santa Cruz Mountains, and Santa Lucia Mountains. Do a sunrise hike to a new bench on the Aquinas Trail.

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    Winter Castle

    All you need is a clear day and a pair of sturdy snowshoes for the 2.25-mile (one-way) hike up to Castle Pass near Donner Summit in Tahoe National Forest. The views from the pass are royally good!

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    Winter Awakening

    Mavericks' surf break off the coast of Half Moon Bay has been drawing spectators and big-wave surfers for years. Watch the wave when it’s breaking by hiking Pillar Point Bluff's amazing trail system.

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    Spit Shine

    Limantour Beach in Point Reyes is wild and beautiful coastline. Walk the beach for a few miles and spy amazing wildlife along this narrow spit of sand flanked by the Pacific Ocean and Drakes Estero.

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    Watershed Moment

    The Presidio in San Francisco offers some of the best urban hiking in the country! And the new marsh bridges under Presidio Parkway offer more habitat for plants, fish, and bird life … and trails for us!

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