All Stories from Peninsula & South Bay

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  Up to Umunhum

  Clocking in at 3,486 feet, Mount Umunhum is one of the highest peaks in the Santa Cruz Mountains and has long been a South Bay landmark with the mysterious radar tower sitting atop

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  Huddart Comfort

  Just minutes west of the tony town of Woodside in San Mateo County, 900-acre Huddart Park has over 24 miles of trails that put redwoods on parade. For a moderate out-and-back featu

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  There's Something About Henry

  Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains: magnificent. And popular! Escape the crowds by hiking the lesser-known trails starting at the campground entrance off

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  Meet you in Montalvo

  Before Hearst Castle there was Villa Montalvo, a 175-acre estate tucked in the hills outside Saratoga and built for one of the Bay Area’s wealthiest and most prominent bachelors, U

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  Mystery Walls

  Mythical crop circles, Stonehenge, California’s Mystery Walls … You don’t have to travel the world to see enigmas, including these stone walls within the South Bay's Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve.

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  Pillar Paddle

  Looking for some bragging rights? Tell your friends that you kayaked Mavericks. OK, so you may not have kayaked the actual surf spot, but you’ll have come within a few miles of it.

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  Stately in the Santa Cruz Mountains

  Rolling hills, mountain panoramas, and towering redwoods said to be the largest in the Santa Cruz Mountains—Sam McDonald County Park just can’t seem to get any better … until you f

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  Life Aquinas

  Reach a new height and gain a round-the-compass panorama at El Sereno Open Space Preserve. Just off Highway 17 in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Los Gatos, the preserve’s 7.5-mile (

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  Hike to a Swim Hole

  Long hikes on a summer day call for a cooling-off period. Dip in! This 10-miler (round-trip) rewards with a mid-hike swimming hole. Located in the South Bay’s vast and scenic Henry

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  Seaside Summit in a State Park

  With tangled trails and unmarked spurs lawlessly winding up the rugged 1,898-foot Montara Mountain, McNee Ranch State Park feels like the Wild West Coast. Even wilder? Its endless

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  Go Wilder

  Hot summer day? Ride on! Beat the South Bay heat and get some beautiful scenery on this beginner-friendly 10-mile (round-trip) seaside ride in Santa Cruz. You’ll roll from West Cli

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  Half Moon Highroller

  For an easy bike ride with enormous coastal views, head a few miles south of Half Moon Bay. The Cowell-Purisima Trail stretches for 3 sea-breezy miles along high coastal bluffs.

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  Loch In!

  Tucked in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Loch Lomond Recreation Area is known for its gorgeous reservoir, less known for its charming Clar Innis Island (reached only by kayak or canoe)

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  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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  Old as the Hills & Spring Fresh!

  Sprawling in the distance beyond Peninsula’s Skyline Boulevard are acres of open space and hills that in spring are absolutely superb for fresh scenery (and wildflowers!). Thanks t

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  You Go Pogo!

  Skirting the campus of the University of California Santa Cruz is a higher education in going green (vast rolling meadows), being serene (hidden koi pond), and seeing red (redwoods

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  Grant You This

  High up in the foothills overlooking Santa Clara Valley, Joseph D. Grant County Park is a vast landscape of hiking and biking terrain where the grass colors often run in hues of br

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  Sunset Gone Wilder

  So you’re sort of snobby about your sunsets? You like a brilliant technicolor all across the sky as the sun sets on the horizon? Great! Go Wilder! Wilder Ranch State Park’s Old Cov

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  Bello from the Hills

  Vast rolling hills, serene forest, breathtaking vistas, and hardly any people … it’s not hermit-ville, it’s hiker-ville! Monte Bello Open Space Preserve in the South Bay spans 3,43

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  Castle of Wonders

  A demure waterfall best after fresh rains, sandstone formations pockmarked by time, epic ridge vistas, and currently flowing seasonal streams … it all comes together at Castle Rock

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