Throughout much of San Francisco’s history, ships seeking to enter the Bay Area flirted with disaster: jagged rocks, shallow beds, dense fog, and nasty waves left hundreds of vessels in the 19th and 20th centuries capsized, torn apart, and buried at the ocean floor. As thousands of gold prospectors—from all over the world—flocked to San …
Continue reading Point Bonita Lighthouse Trail (Golden Gate National Recreation Area, CA)
The San Francisco Bay Area in northern California is a fantastic launching point for redwood hunters, with accessible groves of these mesmerizing trees within an hour and a half both north and south of the Golden Gate. While the largest groves lie further north, the Santa Cruz Mountains between the Bay Area and Santa Cruz …
Continue reading Purisima Creek Redwoods Loop (Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve, CA)
Unless you are a resident of Elko, Nevada—the nearest major town—chances are that you have not heard of the Ruby Mountains. Yet, at times, this spectacular range in northeast Nevada rivals the mountain scenery of the better-known Sierra Nevada or Colorado Rockies. From the jumping-off point at Lamoille Canyon, hiking trails take off in several …
Continue reading Ruby Crest Trail to Lamoille Lake (Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, NV)
While nearby Shoshone Falls gets all the attention, perhaps the most alluring waterfall in southwestern Idaho is Perrine Coulee Falls, literally a stone’s throw away from the city of Twin Falls. This free-falling chute, which drops nearly 200 feet into the Snake River Canyon, is notable not only for its beauty but its bizarre position: …
At 212 feet and more than 1,000 feet wide, Shoshone Falls is a behemoth of high-volume power in southwestern Idaho. Here the Snake River cuts through a deep and colorful canyon, famed as the site of Evil Knieval’s failed river jump in 1974. Viewing platforms at Shoshone Falls Park offer the best look and are …
Live and Let Hike 