All Stories from Southern CA

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  Nuclear Option

  A private stretch of the glorious Central Coast with poppy-studded hills and wild coastal bluffs is ours for the hiking, and you’ll never guess who the willing-to-share landlord is

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  Lush Life

  Etiwanda Falls Trail in Rancho Cucamonga packs a lot of bang for your buck: waterfall, wildflowers, panoramic views of the Inland Empire, and lush green surroundings as you walk. N

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  Little Cool Pool

  "Chiquito” means “little one,” and while Chiquito Falls is no Niagara, the waterfall was actually named for a ranger’s horse, and the 15-foot cascade that tumbles into a secluded w

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  Anonymous Source

  Hidden in the Cleveland National Forest near Los Pinos Springs is a waterfall so unknown it doesn’t have a name yet and neither does the 2.6-mile (round-trip) out-and-back trail to

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  Eagle Eye Surprise

  Granite peaks, a view of Lake Tahoe, and a waterfall—get it all on a 2-mile (round-trip) winter hike to Tahoe’s Eagle Lake. In summer, this trail is busy, but in spring, you can ge

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  49 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 ch

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  Hi, 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

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  When 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

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  The Lost Pictographs of Perris, Found!

  Long before there was a Lake Perris there were the Luiseño people, known in their own language as the Payomkawichum (“people of the west”). They lived here for thousands of years,

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  10,000 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

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  Waterfall, 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

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  I Got You, Bird

  The Sonny Bono National Wildlife Refuge doesn’t get many human visitors, but more than 30,000 birds make it a point to visit this hidden gem every year. It consists of 2,200 acres

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  Salton Sea 101

  Your best intro to the Salton Sea is via a 2.5-mile walk along the north shore in Salton Sea State Recreation Area. It’s not exactly paradise, but the surrounding geography is impr

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  Muchas Palmas

  No California desert trip is complete without a visit to an oasis, and on a Salton Sea sojourn, that means a 1-mile (round-trip) out-and-back walk to palm tree heaven: Dos Palmas P

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  Mission 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

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  Hail 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

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  Encino's Encinos

  Los Encinos State Historic Park captivates as an authentic vestige of the San Fernando Valley’s ranching past. The five-acre park, just off Ventura and Balboa Boulevards in Encino,

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  Whale Watching from Shore

  Gray-whale season is upon us. The best way to see our majestic Baja-bound friends is, of course, by boat, but sharp eyes can spot them from shore too. Get in a good hike while admiring this great migration.

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  Bald and Beautiful

  Who's ready to go bald? Head to Silverwood Lake in the San Bernardinos, one of the best bald-eagle-spotting spots in SoCal, for this breathtaking experience. In the winter months,

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  Winter’s Just a Tram Away

  Snowshoeing in Mount San Jacinto State Park atop the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is one of those quintessential SoCal experiences. One minute you’re basking in desert sunshine; 10

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