All "Relaxing" Stories in Southern CA
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All Roads Lead to Rogue
Idea for your next road trip: Go Rogue! The Rogue Valley in beautiful Southern Oregon has some of the state’s best hiking, swim holes, and wineries, and the charming historic towns of Ashland, Medford, and Jacksonville.
View Rock of Ages
Relaxing walks can be filled with wonders, and this one on a college campus should not be taken for granite. Follow the pun by wandering the campus of one of the world’s top scientific institutions, Caltech—home to a best-kept geological secret.
ViewSonoma Cinematic
A film festival in down-to-earth wine country: Yep, that’s the ticket to a good time. Spring is the perfect time of year to be in wine country, with wildflowers blooming. Walk to your movies!
ViewIdeas for Mother's Day
Create arrangements from what is already growing in your yard (or in between the cracks of your sidewalk). Make make beautiful bouquets from a variety of weeds, grasses, and plants.
ViewCave Culture
Cave Landing, a craggy headland between Avila Beach and Pismo Beach, is a storied stretch of the Central Coast that stirs potent reveries in the beholder.
ViewStone Cold Escondido
Escondido is Spanish for “hidden,” but its adventurous ales and tasty trails are right out in the open. It’s home to the not-so-secret Stone Brewing and a hike that’s just a stone’s throw away.
ViewGrin and Big Bear It!
Summer in Big Bear means only one thing: Get out on the lake! The best way, of course, is to rent a canoe, so you can paddle, sightsee, and rekindle summer camp memories all at the same time. If you pick up your canoe at Captain John’s Marina in Grout Bay, you’re near Stanfield…
ViewSplash Landing
The Splashing Eagle Waterpark at Lake Hemet proves waterparks aren’t just for kids. This action-packed floating waterpark, just offshore in the 470-acre lake nestled in the San Jacinto Mountains, presents plenty of adult-size challenges. Challenge 1: You have to swim through the…
ViewRight on Target!
Grip, aim, draw, release: That’s all there is to archery! Not really, but a visit to Orange County Archery in Mission Viejo before or after a nearby hike will put you in a zen-of-archery mood, and maybe recall some summer camp exploits. Your admission fee covers an hour and a…
ViewMidtown Magnificent
Stunning murals, outstanding craft beer, a lively industrial district, and farmers markets filled with tasty fare and artisan flair … it’s all happening in Sacramento! Take a stroll through the lively Midtown neighborhood and you can view some of the capital city’s best artwork…
ViewYou Up for Yorba?
Skip the overcrowded brunch joints and go al fresco with Mom at Orange County’s Yorba Regional Park. What’s on the menu? Picnic sites, bike trails, lake fun, and more, spread across 140 acres in Santa Ana Canyon. Pack up a picnic basket filled with your outdoorsy mom’s favorite…
ViewSlightly Fishy
Lakes are few and far between in the San Gabriel Mountains, especially natural ones like Jackson Lake, which makes this spot in the Angeles National Forest all the more special. Sitting at 6,100 feet, this mountain lake may be tiny, but it’s lovely and tranquil—a great spot for a…
View49 Palms and Counting
The hike to 49 Palms Oasis in Joshua Tree has pleasures great and small. Big: a genuine palm oasis and expansive views. Small: the possibility of spotting a desert tortoise or a chuckwalla lizard. It’s all in the course of a 3-mile out-and-back gem that is situated between Indian…
ViewWhen Disney met the Petroglyph: It's Complicated
An unlikely desert lake is generally the high point of a hike to Barker Dam, but there’s an even more unusual sight at the end of the loop trail that you might have missed even if you’ve hiked it a few times. We’re talking petroglyphs—but there’s more to this story. The flat,…
ViewHi, View!
Pop quiz: Closest Joshua Tree trail to the LA metro area? It’s Hi-View Nature Trail near Yucca Valley’s Black Rock entrance to the national park. Overlooked, but worth looking over. This 1.3-mile loop doesn’t require an entry fee, gains 325 feet in elevation, and offers a fresh…
ViewWaterfall, Wildflowers, and a Chumash Hike
Under the shadow of majestic Boney Mountain, Satwiwa Native American Indian Cultural Center in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is a fascinating place to explore, with gorgeous hiking paths like the Satwiwa Loop Trail and an optional side-trip into Point Mugu…
View10,000 Years in 1,000 Oaks
A hike at the Chumash Indian Museum in Oakbrook Regional Park is truly a step back in time. You walk through a garden of native plants and into classic Calfiornia landscape—rolling oak woodlands watered by the gentle flow of Conejo Creek. Built on the site of an old Chumash…
ViewMission Tranquility
Mission San Fernando Rey de España is both a tranquil retreat from modernity and the best place in the SFV to grasp the fascinating, if troubling, legacy of the Spanish missions in California. The grounds hold restored adobe buildings, including a convent with a colonnade of…
ViewHail the King of Calabasas!
A walk through the Leonis Adobe Museum and its grounds in Calabasas will give you a more invigorating, hands-on, and authentic taste of the San Fernando Valley’s ranching past than anywhere else in the 818. Here, nestled on roughly half an acre just south of the 101 Freeway, are…
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All Roads Lead to Rogue
We have an idea for your next road trip: Go Rogue! The Rogue Valley in beautiful Southern Oregon has some of the state’s best hiking, swim holes, and wineries, and the charming historic towns of Ashland, Medford, and Jacksonville. Get on the road to Rogue Valley! National…
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