SoCal's Top 10 Outdoor Adventures of 2022

It's not easy choosing the year's best outdoor adventures for our annual year-end Top 10 issue. Like a band choosing their greatest hits album, there's just so much good stuff.  As we bid adieu to 2022, cheers to you, and the great outdoors.

Week: 12.28.2022
Regions: Southern CA

Constant Condor

Hike to Condor Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains

Hiker celebrating with raised arms after reaching Condor Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains
Hiker and dog on the trail enroute to Condor Peak in the San Gabriel mountains
Hiker standing at Condor Peak overlooking the scenery and San Gabriel Mountains
Trail to Condor Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains
Condor Peak is one of the less traveled hikes in the San Gabriel Mountains, probably because it’s 16 miles (round-trip)! Get an early start for this challenging adventure, best done during the cooler months.
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POST's 2023 Hiking Calendar

Find the Best Hike for Every Month of the Year

POST 2023 hiking calendar hiking couple
POST 2023 hiking calendar trail
POST 2023 hiking calendar hikers
POST 2023 hiking calendar beach at sunset
Start the new year off right by heading outdoors for a hike. Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) curated a (complimentary) 2023 hiking calendar that provides all the inspiration you’ll need!
Get the 2023 POST Hiking Calendar

Purely Wild

Hike Channel Islands Santa Cruz Island to Potato Harbor and Cavern Point

Hiker walking along the North Bluff Trail on Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park
Campground sign and Cavern Point sign at Santa Cruz Islands, Channel Islands National Park
Two hikers at Santa Cruz Island Channel Islands National Park
Channel Islands National Park lives up to its nickname as “North America’s Galapagos.” This less-traveled national park is an undeveloped and isolated series of five dramatic and distinct islands reached by boat. Hike the largest of the islands, Santa Cruz.
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Simply Boutiful!

Stroll Lake Vista Trail around a hidden reservoir at Malibou in Malibu

We know you’ve heard of Malibu, but have you heard of Malibou? Yes, that’s right, Malibou … located in … Malibu! It’s a private reservoir created by two dams in a small residential community. See it on the scenic 2.25-mile Lake Vista Trail.
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Beauty and the Beach

Visit Garrapata State Park for bluffside hiking and a beautiful beach in Monterey

Sweeping, romantic, and vast, Garrapata State Park has all the stuff of swoon-worthy scenery. There’s a magical beach backed by hulking cliffs with a hiking trail we like best in the later afternoon, when the beach can be blissfully deserted.
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Get Hetched!

Backpack to Rancheria Falls in Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy Valley

Backpacking to Rancheria Falls in Hetch Hetchy Valley Yosemite
Backpacker in Yosemite Hetch Hetchy
Waterfall on trail in Hetch Hetchy Yosemite
Hetch Hetchy oasis in Yosemite
Enjoy top-notch valley views on this 13-mile moderately strenuous backpacking trip highlighting some of Yosemite's best scenery. A bonus: This part of the park attracts fewer visitors than the much more famous valley
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Triumphant in Triunfo

Hike Among Wildflowers at Triunfo Creek Park near Thousand Oaks

Hikers by the reservoir at Triunfo Creek Park near Thousand Oaks
Hikers on a trail at Triunfo Creek Park near Thousand Oaks
A hiker takes pictures of California Poppy at Triunfo Creek Park near Thousand Oaks
A hiker smiling at the camera on a trail with mountains in the background at Triunfo Creek Park in Southern California
Go on a hike with a peaceful reservoir, charming meadows, and beautiful spring blooms at Triunfo Creek Park near Thousand Oaks.
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Strawberry on Top

Hike to Strawberry Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains

Hiker holding up Strawberry Peak sign at the summit of Strawberry Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains
Hiker going up the trail to reach Strawberry Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains Southern California
Hiker on the trail at Strawberry Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains
Hiker going down from Strawberry Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains
There's no question that Strawberry Peak is a most challenging and rewarding peak in the front range of the San Gabriels. It’s a 7.75-mile out-and-back hike climbing 1,800 feet to unparalleled 360-degree views.
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Perris Is Always a Good Idea

Bike Around Lake Perris in the Inland Empire

Two bikers looking at the lake at Lake Perris State Recreational Area
Two people on bikes stopping to look at the lake scenery at Lake Perris in Riverside
Two bikers on the paved bike path at Lake Perris State Recreational Area in the Inland Empire
Two people at a picnic table overlooking a beach at Lake Perris State Recreational Area in the Inland Empire
Beaches and oases in the Inland Empire? Just say Perris! Bike around the Lake Perris State Recreational Area and make beach stops along the way. Then enjoy some Casey's Cupcakes.
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Big Sky SoCal

Hike Big Sky in Simi Valley Southern California

Hiker at Big Sky Trail in Simi Valley
Hiker on trail at Big Sky Trail in Simi Valley
Hiker on a trail at sunset at Big Sky Trail in Simi Valley
Hiker walking a wide open hiking trail at sunset with huge sky and mountain views in Simi Valley
When does hiking through a neighborhood feel like you’re worlds away from civilization? When you’re in SoCal's Big Sky territory! Big Sky Trail is a 4-mile loop over rolling hills, all with incredible vistas of the surrounding valley and, of course, that big blue beautiful sky.
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Bald Statement

Hike to the Summit of Bald Mountain in Sun Valley Idaho

Hiker on Bald Mountain Summit Trail in Sun Valley Idaho
Hiker at Bald Mountain Summit in Sun Valley Idaho
Hiker at the Scenic Overlook on Bald Mountain in Sun Valley Idaho
Hiker at summit of Bald Mountain overlooking the ski area in Sun Valley Idaho
If you’re going to have a rite of passage hiking in Sun Valley, the hike to the summit of Bald Mountain is one to check off your list. This 5-mile (one-way) trek requires some stamina, yet richly rewards with a variety of views and vantages, abundant wildflowers, and the chance to combine a free chairlift and gondola ride back down.
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Trending Stories NorCal

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  1. Sequoia Re-opens Crystal Cave

    Step inside Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park's hidden world by visiting the newly re-opened Crystal Cave—the only cave in the parks open to the public. Closed for four years, this rare marble karst cavern is welcoming visitors once again, but only through the summer season!

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  2. Afternoon on the Island

    What is it about tiny islands in the middle of lakes? There’s something that just draws you in. It’s even more fun when getting there is half the adventure because you have to reach it by canoe, kayak, paddleboat, or a ranger-guided boat tour!

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  3. Easiest Best Hike in the World

    Choose the easiest and most view-rewarding hike in Yosemite. Okay, we’ll go first: the combination of hiking to Sentinel Dome and Taft Point. Both of these lookouts are within a couple miles of each other on Glacier Point Road

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  4. Hiker in the forest at Mount Sutro in San Francisco

    San Francisco's Middle Earth

    No need to travel to New Zealand to visit Middle Earth. San Francisco’s Mount Sutro Open Space is practically Hobbiton—a hidden “shire” in the middle of the city. Okay, maybe not quite as magical, but still an incredible place to take a hike in city limits.

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Trending Stories SoCal

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  1. Locals' Feature: Jim Litchfield, Owner of Reno Fly Shop

    If there's a river, you're likely to find Jim Litchfield there. As the owner of Reno Fly Shop, Nevada's premier fly fishing outfitter and shop, Jim's passion for rivers knows no bounds: he's fished in places near and far, including Alaska, Bolivia and Christmas Island. But home is beautiful Reno, where he has been running Reno Fly Shop and leading tailored river float and fly fishing adventures (including beginner-friendly options) for over a decade.

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  2. Can't Top This

    San Francisco’s Presidio was already a fantastic place to hang out for the afternoon, a beautiful site within the largest urban national park in the United States (the Golden Gate National Recreation Area). And Presidio Tunnel Tops is like a cherry on top. Make that two cherries on top, with the newly opened (July 2025) Outpost Meadow, a 1.5-acre green space located at Old Mason Street across from the Crissy Field Marsh in the Presidio.

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  3. Volcanic Activity

    Northern California is home to one of the most unique ecosystems in the country: Lassen Volcanic National Park. The region features geothermal areas, including the largest dome volcano in the world, Lassen Peak. Hike to the top of this active volcano on a 5-mile out-and-back.  

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  4. Oh Ryan

    Sure, it’s those whimsical trees that give Joshua Tree National Park its marquee billing; but this beautiful landscape also has surrounding mountains and its night sky—one of the darkest in Southern California and designated an International Dark Sky Park. Joshua Tree has four allowable stargazing parking lots, and a newly opened haven for spending the night nearby...

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