Ridge Top – Indian Creek Trail Loop (Shell Ridge Open Space, CA)

Ridge Top Trail, Shell Ridge Open Space, February 2021 Winter and early spring is far and away the best time of year to hike in the East Bay, when temperatures are good and the rolling hillscapes—typically brown, dusty, and dry in summer—are lush and verdant. The jade-colored hues in springtime make the Diablo Foothills in …

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Miner’s Ridge – James Irvine Trail Loop, including Gold Bluffs Beach and Fern Canyon (Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, CA)

James Irvine Trail, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, January 2021 If ever there was a premier, unforgettable hike in northern California’s Redwood National Park, this is it. The Miner’s Ridge – James Irvine Trail Loop combines long stretches of spectacular redwood groves with a brief jaunt along the Pacific Ocean at Gold Bluffs Beach and …

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Indian Sands Loop (Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, OR)

Indian Sands Loop, Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, January 2021 The Indian Sands area, situated near the middle of Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, is a collection of crisp, windswept dunes, towering headlands, and thundering coves along the southern Oregon coast. Starting and ending at the Indian Sands Trailhead (mile marker 348.6 on …

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Boy Scout Tree Trail to Fern Falls (Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, CA)

Boy Scout Tree Trail, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, January 2021 Together with nearby Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, northern California’s Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park contains arguably the most spectacular groves of coast redwoods in the world. Nearly the entire park, bounded by the Smith River to the north and the town of Crescent …

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Mastodon Peak Loop Trail (Joshua Tree National Park, CA)

Mastodon Peak Loop Trail, Joshua Tree National Park, October 2020 Mastodon Peak is a rocky knob in the Cottonwood Mountains of southern Joshua Tree National Park, situated in the Colorado Desert of southern California. From the modest summit, hikers gain 360-panoramic views, with the Eagle Mountains unfolding to the east, Cottonwood Mountains to the west, …

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Top 10 Hikes in 2020

Crown Lake, Hoover Wilderness, July 2020 Well, what a strange year it has been. In the early days of 2020, it was hard to imagine that, by March, much of the world would be dealing with a global pandemic that would take the lives of millions and usher in lockdowns, mask mandates, and economic recessions. …

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