All "Hikes" Stories in Northern CA

• 

  Vollmer Victory

  Inspiration's just the start of this 6.8-mile (round-trip) hike up the highest peak in the Berkeley Hills. Located at the southern end of Tilden Regional Park, Vollmer Peak rises 1

  View
• 

  Crown Jewel

  Glendale is known as the Jewel City, and why not? Its Deukmejian Wilderness Park—nestled in the San Gabriel foothills—is a gem. During the 2009 Station Fire, a back burn was starte

  View
• 

  Art Rocks!

  When you're on a hike, do you focus on the big picture or the small details? Here's a hike that lets you do both with ease. Ring Mountain Open Space Preserve next to Tiburon is fam

  View
• 

  Keeping It Real

  With San Andreas rocking the box office, there’s been a lot of conversation about the the destruction this faultline can cause… is it all just Hollywood? (Umm, yep.) Walk along the

  View
• 

  Hike & Camp Hendy

  Anderson Valley’s Hendy Woods State Park is an 845-acre beauty butting right up to the bank of the Navarro River. Its star attraction? Ancient redwood trees. And some stellar campsites and cabins.

  View
• 

  Half Moon Bay Beach Hop

  What's better than a beach paradise on a sunny spring day? Five of them! And they're yours to connect along Half Moon Bay's Coastside Trail—a bluff-top asphalt path with beach acce

  View
• 

  Vote for Pedro

  Green marks the spot. A green gate, that is. Hidden off Highway 1, just north of Pacifica's Devil's Slide Tunnel, this unassuming entrance leads to a 2.2-mile (round-trip) hike wit

  View
• 

  Still Milling After All These Years

  It's hard to imagine anything other than wine grapes being grown in the Napa Valley. But thanks to the State Parks' historic preservation of the Bale Grist Mill, we get to peek bac

  View
• 

  Down by the River

  Carmel might be one of the best-known enclaves in the Monterey area, but its nearby Carmel River State Beach is much more of a local’s secret—especially the southern end of it. On

  View
• 

  No Ordinary Beach

  Want a beach that will really get you away from it all? Fort Ord Dunes State Park is just the ticket. This relative newcomer to the state park system gives an impressive perspectiv

  View
• 

  Walk on the Wild Side

  Joshua Tree’s California Riding and Hiking Trail traverses 35 miles through the entire park, but you don't have to hike all of it to see the good stuff. Get up close and personal w

  View
• 

  Take the High Road

  You don't have to rock climb to reach a brilliant panorama of Joshua Tree. A 3-mile (round-trip) hike up Ryan Mountain takes you to one of the highest peaks in the park. The trail

  View
• 

  Sonoma High

  The Bay Area Ridge Trail will one day connect over 500 miles of trail along the hills and ridgelines to make one big Bay Area loop. So far, over 350 miles have been completed, and

  View
• 

  Ferry Trail

  Baseball isn't the only new season to happen this spring. Starting in April, the new, longer schedule begins for the Tiburon to Angel Island Ferry. Multiple ferries serve this hist

  View
• 

  Going to See Madonna

  If you're going to see Madonna we're guaranteeing the venue is going to be amazing: high up in the Santa Cruz Mountains and dominated by redwood trees. Okay, we’re not talking "Like a Virgin" Madonna; we're talking like "Second-Growth Redwoods" Mount Madonna.

  View
• 

  Purisima Charisma

  Beautiful old-growth redwoods have been at Purisima Creek for a long time, but the purple, pink, white, and yellow blossoms popping right now are spring fresh. Combine a canopy of

  View
• 

  Happy in Huddart

  Just off I-280 in the tony burg of Woodside is Huddart Park, a 972-acre respite with quiet trails curving through canyons and among stately second-growth redwoods. Picnic spots, gr

  View
• 

  Go the Extra Mile

  You can drive right up to a lot of incredible vista points in California and they make great excuses for getting out of the car to stretch the legs. But the Sonoma Coast State Beac

  View
• 

  Sister Act

  Nine sisters makes a big family, and it's even better when they're all good looking! San Luis Obispo is surrounded by nine ancient volcanoes known as morros, and affectionately cal

  View
• 

  Swinging Single

  San Luis Obispo's "serenity swing" earns honors for living up to its name and meeting high expectations! The swing hangs from a large, lone oak tree secluded on top of a hill high

  View