Trails Less Traveled

With so many popular places to hike in Los Angeles, where do you go to escape the crowds? How about to those same popular places… Here are three ways to get off the beaten path in some of LA's busiest hiking hot spots.

Week: 02.04.2015
Regions: Southern CA

Solitary Solstice

Solstice Canyon Hike in Malibu

Malibu's Solstice Canyon often teems with visitors, and for good reason: its leafy ravine leads to a year-round waterfall and the captivating ruins of a home lost to a 1982 wildfire. See the sights but lose the crowds on a 3.2-mile out-and-back hike. Five hundred feet above the c
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New Year, New Zealand

2015 New Zealand Vacation

Question: What's a closer flight—Italy, Australia, or New Zealand? Answer: New Zealand! You're just an overnight flight away from waking up in Middle-earth, minus the Orcs. With so much diversity in one country, every day is a different journey in New Zealand. Size Matters: New Z
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Hero's Welcome

Hike Route C Runyon Canyon Park

If you're looking for solitude at Runyon Canyon Park, you're in the wrong place. With a central location, knock-out views of Los Angeles, off-leash hiking areas for dogs, and trails to tone the thighs, the park is popular. But if you're more into a workout and less into the crowd
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Undercover Wilacre

Wilacre Parks Less Traveled Trails

Wilacre Park's Betty B. Dearing Trail is almost always packed. But there's an unnamed path paralleling it that feels near empty in comparison. Instead of battling the masses at the Laurel Canyon trailhead, park for free at Tree People, an environmental nonprofit off Mulholland Dr
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  1. Napa Valley Paddle kayaker and paddle boarder on the Napa Valley river

    Napa's Wild Side

    It’s wine country’s Amazon. The gentle Napa River is an ecological—and recreational—delight. And Napa Valley Paddle sets you up for maximum enjoyment of this experience.

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  2. Been There, Dome That

    Surrounded by granite domes, craggy peaks, and miles of hiking trails, the High Sierra landscape of Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park is famous for good reason. For a truly grand view, take a short hike to bold—and bald (except for snow at times)—Lembert Dome.

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  3. Wapama Wows

    Hetch Hetchy can be overlooked in Yosemite National Park because of its more remote location and limited facilities. But this is where you’ll also find one of the best day hikes in the park: Wapama Falls.

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  4. Hike Mount Tamalpais into Muir Woods

    Muir Woods Through the Backdoor

    A backdoor entrance into Muir Woods? Hike a tranquil trail that starts in Mount Tamalpais State Park and quietly leads into Muir Woods, letting you avoid the busyness of the main parking area.

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  1. Inn-spiration Point!

    For more than a century, people have been hiking or mountain biking to West Point Inn for good reason. Perched at 1,785 feet on the southern slope of Mount Tamalpais, the historic inn has sweeping views from the Marin Headlands to the San Francisco skyline.

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  2. A Thousand Steps to Paradise

    A picture is worth a thousand words, but is a gorgeous beach in Laguna worth a thousand steps? The answer is yes, though the question is moot, because it’s only 223 steep steps down to the 400-yard stretch of sand known as 1000 Steps Beach.

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  3. Sponsored

    Take the Exit to the Best of the San Francisco Peninsula

    The San Francisco Peninsula is proof that some of Northern California’s greatest surprises are hiding just off Highway 101. All you have to do is take the exit.

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  4. Hike to the Sierra Buttes Fire Lookout in the Lakes Basin

    Lookout for This View!

    Sierra Buttes Lookout, at a lofty 8,591 feet, is a memory maker for its pucker-worthy stairway to the tower’s balcony. It's a 5-mile (round-trip) hike to reach it. And the reward? Epic!

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