Spring Classics

If your idea of recharging means your smartphone, perhaps it's time to unplug in a different way. The Ojai Foundation Land Sanctuary in upper Ojai Valley is just 6 miles from town, but its 40 acres of semi-wilderness gets you off the grid, where the only tweeting is the sound of

Want to go on a camping trip minus the cars and RVs? The three first-come, first-served campgrounds along the Upper North Fork Matilija Creek Trail in Los Padres National Forest can be reached only by foot. And as a bonus you'll be pitching your tent along a creek that’s still go

A bike ride with birds, burgers, brews, and views: Eureka! Urban's gone green in the city of Hawthorne thanks to the Dominguez Enhancement and Engagement Project (D.E.E.P). It includes the newly paved Laguna Dominguez Bike Trail, a 2.8-mile stretch tracing the Dominguez Channel.

Some days you've just got to head for the hills. Just an hour east of San Diego, Julian is a popular apple pie hub, yet few people venture beyond to nearby Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve at Wynola. They're missing out on a hiker's haven. It's 5 miles (round-trip) to Volcan's

Never has an area downwind from a water treatment facility been so worth a visit for its utopian beauty. The Japanese Garden hidden within the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area is called Suiho-En, meaning "garden of water and fragrance." Japanese black pines dominate a verdant, sto

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 is uphill from the get-go. Begin by following stone steps constructed from nearby rock that lead to