All "Hikes" Stories in Northern CA
Now and Zen
Feel like you need to enlighten up? Green Gulch Zen Center understands. For over 40 years, this Marin County staple of mindfulness has blazed a trail to ahhs (including, literally,
ViewSea You at the Ranch
Rough-and-tumble coastline, twisting Highway 1, open grasslands, hidden beaches, bluff trails, and a rustic lodge for storm watching from indoors —we’re not talking about Big Sur.
ViewIsland Tree Topper
The Christmas light atop Angel Island State Park’s Mount Livermore has long been a cheerful twinkle visible from many cities throughout the Bay Area on holiday season nights. Get i
ViewOh, Henry!
Hike through a verdant redwood forest less traveled and get a glimpse into Santa Cruz of old, when oxen, wagons, and miners populated the hills. The Fall Creek Unit in Henry Cowell
ViewNisene Quiet
The sublime Forest of Nisene Marks State Park is popular for good reason, but head to its far reaches and you’ll be awestruck by the solitude beneath the looming redwoods. The Loma
ViewDrake Awakening
Part salt water, part fresh water, Drake’s Estero is smack in the middle of Point Reyes, and one of only two marine wilderness areas in the entire nation. Yeah, it’s worth a look. Get the extended version by hiking right alongside it.
ViewHike to New Lights
One of the best holiday light displays doesn’t involve a plastic Santa or synchronized blinking icicles. It’s catching the San Francisco skyline at sunset from high atop Ring Mount
ViewMerry Colorful State Park
Red, green, and blue are just a few of the holiday hues. Get your Christmas colors and some solitude on a 5-mile (round-trip) hike in Butano State Park on the San Mateo Coast. The
ViewPeak Pondering
Some magical hikes begin like a magic trick: The start is filled with lots of people, and then, within minutes, it's quiet. All you have to do is find the entrance to Narnia—or, in this case, Laurel Canyon Trailhead in the East Bay’s Tilden Regional Park.
ViewHeadlands Happiness
One of the many reasons people love the Bay Area is that getting outdoors for a coastal adventure is always an option. And there’s probably no better example than hiking the Marin
ViewLands Zen
Find a little peace in San Francisco on an urban walk featuring a beautiful new stairway, panoramic views, a labyrinth, and plentiful coastal drama. Indeed, Lands End is a popular
ViewA Shot of Whiskey
Whiskeytown Falls is a relative newcomer. While a few locals knew of its existence, it wasn’t largely shared, and there wasn’t a trail—until 2004. That’s when park biologist Russ W
ViewBurney Man!
Upon first seeing Burney Falls, President Theodore Roosevelt called it one of the wonders of the world: a 129-foot waterfall gushing 100 million gallons every single day. This baby
ViewThree Falling
Three waterfalls, incredible autumn colors, and hardly any people. McCloud Falls might be the best waterfall hike in Northern California. There are bigger waterfalls in the state,
ViewAlabama Backdrop
Despite being named for a Confederate warship, the CSS Alabama, there’s nothing Southern about the Alabama Hills. This range of rocky hills between the eastern slopes of the Sierra
ViewGolden Guadalupe
You’re in the South Bay, you have time for only a short hike, and early fall colors are a bonus. Oak-ey dokey! Head to Guadalupe Oak Grove Park and circle it in a mile-long hike wi
ViewLone Oasis
Every summer, thousands travel to Whitney Portal in the Eastern Sierra to summit Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States. But thousands more are denied the
ViewFirst of Its Kind
First place, first to market, first in line. Firsts are good! And that includes hiking in Santa Clara County's first park: Stevens Creek County Park. It’s an ideal choice for a Sou
ViewQuest for Quicksilver
The new gold rush meets the old gold rush at Almaden Quicksilver County Park, named for the once-booming industry of mining mercury, which was essential for extracting gold. Today,
ViewOld and Gnarly
Few places will magnify your sense of time and space quite like the rugged White Mountains. A part of Inyo National Forest, this remote, seldom-visited range along the upper Owens
View
A Very Bavarian Spring
Ready to change up your spring scenery? Pack your bags for this alpine adventure in Washington State’s Cascade Mountains. The Bavarian-style hamlet of Leavenworth could be a stand-in for a mountain village in Europe.
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