All Stories from Northern CA
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Bend Up to Oregon
Bend just might be the West’s best mountain town: Flanked by the glistening Cascade Mountains and with the famously flowing Deschutes River running right through downtown, this cen
View Drake 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
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Road Trip Less Traveled
Scrolling through your social media feed looking for quick-trip ideas, and it’s all same old, same old? Time to shake things up! Time for a road trip to the most mountainous state
View Steep Sleep
Perhaps the best deal in the Bay Area: an oceanfront cabin at Steep Ravine for $100. The challenge? Actually reserving one of these popular cabins! Don’t be dissuaded; the effort is well worth it.
ViewLighthouse ZZZs
It’s the closest point of land to the Hawaiian Islands in the continental United States and it might well be the best view on the coast. The historic 115-foot lighthouse tower at P
ViewHappy Ending
Everybody loves a happy ending. And one of the happiest endings in Northern California is where the Russian River empties into the Pacific. Get a front row seat to witness this won
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Coast the Holiday
When you need to break up the holiday routine, just take it SLO. San Luis Obispo is a Central Coast destination that has just about everything for a quick escape: uncrowded beaches
View Fall-filling Yosemite
A cool thing is happening in Yosemite National Park right now. The summer crowds are gone and the valley is alive with waterfalls ... and the colors of fall. Time to get out of you
ViewRiver of Bicycle Dreams
Cycling without having to worry about cars? Hooray! Cycling beside a gently flowing river through fall foliage? Double hooray! The Sacramento River Trail in Redding lives up to its
ViewPicnic and a Pedal
West Marin has all the right stuff for an afternoon getaway: bike paths, babbling brooks, canopy forests, and secluded picnic spots. Combine a picnic and a pedal at Samuel P. Taylo
ViewMiley Menagerie
You’ll need to go up the hill and through the trees to get to the hidden expanse of San Francisco’s Fort Miley. Tucked behind Lands End and with a picnic table and solo grill, the
ViewBattery Powered
Modern artwork discovered inside a gun battery? Voices coming from within an old military installation? It’s not Stranger Things. The Presidio’s historic military structures overlo
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Happy (Beer) Trails!
The perfect autumn trek: exploring a mountain town in the sunny high desert that also happens to be the craft beer capital of America. Get outta beer! Bend, Oregon’s legendary Ale
View A 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
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Spring Up to These Amazing Events
Shake it up, shake it all the way up to this sunniest city in the state for the most unique and fun-fueled events. Redding is true Northern California, surrounded by famous mountains, nearby national parks and recreation areas, and the sparkling Sacramento River.
See Spring's Most Unique EventsYour Inbox to the Outdoors
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