All "Hikes" Stories in Southern CA
Red Rocks in California
Colorful badlands, towering buttes, and scenic desert cliffs form a hikers paradise. Red Rock Canyon State Park is a lightly visited desert wonderland where the southernmost tip of the Sierra Nevada converges with the El Paso range.
ViewThis Santa
In 1861 the Old Santa Susana Stagecoach Road was used by Wells Fargo & Company as a stagecoach route. These days the stagecoaches are long gone, leaving behind a historic hiking trail. Santa Susana Pass State Park is a fairly small park and most of the trails intersect, offering up lots of opportunities for exploration.
ViewSomething Silverwood
Most people think of Silverwood Lake State Recreation Area in the San Bernardino National Forest as a summer outing, but a hike along the 6.6-mile (round-trip) Cleghorn Bike Path proves this park might be even better in the fall.
ViewPath of History Walk (+ Food Bonuses)
Monterey’s 2-mile yellow tiled, multilingual Path of History is a do-it-yourself stroll among some of the area’s most interesting, beautiful, and culturally significant sites, including through the Old Town, past Mexican-era adobes, and to the beautiful Royal Presidio Chapel.
ViewHike Elkhorn Slough Reserve
Elkhorn Slough Reserve is one of California’s few remaining coastal wetlands. Go on a hike and marvel at one of the state's largest coastal salt marshes, a valued habitat for birds, plant life, sea otters, and marine mammals.
ViewDune It Right
Want a beach that will really get you away from it all? Monterey's Fort Ord Dunes State Park is just the ticket. And it often glows golden toward sunset.
ViewHiking in Hulda
Hiking the 2.5-mile Beaumont Ridge Trail loop is the perfect introduction to Hulda Crooks Regional Park in Loma Linda. It’s an easy lollipop loop that gains 354 feet in elevation over its course as it showcases everything the park has to offer.
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The Unexpected Wonders of Monterey
One of the world’s best teachers? Mother Nature. And one of the best destinations to learn from her? The Monterey Bay Aquarium. Spend a few hours at the Aquarium, then take your pick of self-guided walks...
View Starcrossed Stairway?
Built into the hillside next to the Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood Heights delights with historic homes, steep and narrow (mostly carless) streets, and enchanting city views. Best of all, it features a network of walkways and staircases that makes it super fun to wander and explore.
ViewHike, Pray, Love It!
For an urban hike with a slice of Zen, head to Mount Washington. This 3.5-miler through the hilltop neighborhood in eastside Los Angeles offers the ideal trifecta of tranquil views, inner reflection, and a good sweat. Pure bliss!
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Peace-fall in North Lake Tahoe
If you’re going to North Lake Tahoe during its secret season, you’re going to want to stay awhile. Fall in North Lake Tahoe equals quieter days, turning leaves, and more open space for you to relax, recharge, and reconnect.
View Hot As (Bumpass) Hell
So you like going to all the hot spots when you visit places? Well, in Lassen Volcanic National Park there’s a place so hot it gets downright steamy. Bumpass Hell is the largest hydrothermal area in the park, with sputtering mud pots, sulfur vents, and boiling pools. It’s California’s Yellowstone.
ViewLunch at the Lakes
Pack your own picnic and head for a lakeside lunch at Lassen Volcanic National Park. Then take your pick from a lovely trio of lakes accessed from the same trailhead. Follow it all up with a visit to Manzanita Lake on the other side of the park.
ViewMill About Lakeside
Bucks Lake Recreation Area near Quincy in Plumas County has plenty of beautiful hiking trails. For an easy hike with beautiful spots for sunning, swimming, and lounging on sand beaches or giant rock slabs, do the Mill Creek Trail.
ViewShore Thing
Called “America’s Most Beautiful Bikeway," the Tahoe East Shore Trail lives up to the hype with unparalleled views of Lake Tahoe on the Nevada shoreline, with access points to beach enclaves and coves.
ViewKeep on Truckee!
An easygoing ride along the paved Truckee River Bike Trail in Tahoe City rolls out a steady stream of good times, and scenery.
ViewFlume Shot
Skirting high above the east shore, Lake Tahoe’s famed Flume Trail is one of the most scenic trails in the West—an intermediate 13-mile high-mountain traverse with amazing views of that big blue lake.
ViewAdd A Little Icehouse
Escape the summer sizzle, bathe in the canyon streams, and explore under tall wooded forests in one of the most magical forested canyons in all of SoCal.
ViewViejas Valor
Pining for something short, sweet, and steep? Head to Viejas Mountain, just 3 miles north of Alpine in the Cleveland National Forest, for a 3.2-mile out-and-back that gains nearly 1,500 feet in elevation and rewards the sweetest of vistas.
ViewSecret Crestridge
It’s hard to call a 2,800-acre green space a hidden gem, but the Crestridge Ecological Reserve feels like a secret treasure, with a multitude of trails that traverse riparian, oak woodland, coastal sage scrub, and chaparral habitats.
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Coastal Hikes Guide for Fall
Ready to fill your fall walks with secluded beaches, towering redwoods, whale sightings, and fresh food? Get coasting! Peninsula Open Space Trust has just released their Coastal Hikes Guide.
POST's Complimentary Coastal Hikes Guide
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