All "Relaxing" Stories in Northern CA

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  Fancy Camp

  Wanna go rugged on the coast, minus the whole pitching your own tent and sleeping on the ground bit? Mendocino Grove is spot-on for upgrading your roughing-it experience, with beautifully appointed tent-cabins set across the bluffs overlooking Mendocino Bay.

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  Peak Pacifica

  Lingering wildflowers and sweeping Pacifica views … this 1,900-foot peak hike up Pacifica’s Montara Mountain has it all, including a beach ending! Start at the Gray Whale Cove trai

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  Pacific Views & Brews

  How do you make a beach-hopping coastal bike ride even more refreshing? Just add beer! This 8-mile out-and-back ride starting at Half Moon Bay State Beach rolls 4 miles up the coas

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  More Cowell Bell!

  Crashing waves, salty air, greenery, and enormous coastal views: Biking or hiking the 6.6-miles of the Cowell-Purisima bluffs will leave you feeling spring fresh! Just a few miles

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  Simply Sunsational!

  Sometimes the best things are right under your nose—or in this case, right off Sonoma’s historic plaza. Enjoy a 2.5-mile (round-trip) sunset hike on Sonoma’s Overlook Trail. Locals

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  Abbotts Bonanza

  Pure wilderness, Pacific views, lush greenery, and wildflowers galore … yep, Point Reyes National Seashore is pretty much spring loaded. For the best of landscape, sandscape, and s

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  Cool Tees!

  There’s a golf course in Golden Gate Park where the relaxed attitude of the players (beers and flip-flops encouraged; plaid sweater vests need not make an appearance) sets the stan

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  Romancing the Stow

  If you’re prone to poetry or singing “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore,” then you’re not going to be able to resist paddling the romantic waters of Go

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  Bowl for It

  If the Big Lebowski switched from lane bowling to lawn bowling, Golden Gate Park would be his new hangout. Quirky fits right in at the San Francisco Lawn Bowling Club here, which h

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  Multiple Choice Hot Springs

  Travertine Hot Springs stands apart from other Eastern Sierra soaking sites for the astounding way that rock formations convey water to its primitive pools. Craggy ridges of traver

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  Hot, Wet, and Wild!

  At Wild Willy’s Hot Springs, you can soak up a primeval landscape that’s amazingly close to Mammoth Lakes and Highway 395—it just feels a few geological epochs away. The springs ar

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  Soaking Up History

  When you slide into the soothing water of Keough’s Hot Springs, you’re bathing in a piece of Owens Valley history. Although this rustic resort south of Bishop has changed hands a f

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  Make Way for McWay

  Big Sur’s had some hard luck with fire damage and mudslides in the past few years, but that hasn’t put a stop to its wild natural beauty: epic Pacific views, iconic redwoods, and o

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  Stengel Beach Bliss

  One of the coolest things about Stengel Beach Waterfall is that you’ll probably have it to yourself. Few people head to this beach because the waterfall is like a ghost, appearing

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  Billy Goat Beacon

  Located just above Noe Valley and below Diamond Heights, Billy Goat Hill is a neighborhood park with steep wooden stairs and the winding Beacon Trail connecting Billy Goat Hill wit

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  Steps, Sand, Sea, Sunset

  Black Sands is a remote mile-long stretch of shore in the Marin Headlands. The secluded oasis has a lot to see. Rocky coastline, thrashing waves, nudists, fishermen, nudist fisherm

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  BONUS: Redwoods on the House!

  In celebration of turning 100 this year, Save the Redwoods League is hosting a celebration week and also giving away complimentary day-use admission to more than 100 redwood parks

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  Sealed with a Kiss

  Where do seals and sea lions go when they’re not feeling well? They head to rehab in the Marin Headlands at the world-renowned nonprofit Marine Mammal Center. The amazing experts a

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  Carousel of Dreams

  When was the last time you got on a merry-go-round? That long ago, eh! Take a trip back in time on a truly historic carousel located in Golden Gate Park. Built in 1914, this colorf

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  Point Bonita Night Light

  Perched on a remote promontory 124 feet above the ocean, with its dramatic setting and expansive views, Point Bonita Lighthouse lures day-visitors throughout the year. But on full-

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