Lagoon Trail, Briones Regional Park, January 2020 Note: This is part of a multi-post series chronicling the many possible day hikes in the East Bay’s Briones Regional Park, a 1,600-acre tract nestled east of the Berkeley Hills, west of Mount Diablo, and south of Martinez and Carquinez Strait. I tackled these hikes over the course …
Continue reading Hikes in Briones Regional Park (Park Office & Briones Road Staging Area)
Black Oak Trail, Briones Regional Park, February 2020 Note: This is part of a multi-post series chronicling the many possible day hikes in the East Bay’s Briones Regional Park, a 1,600-acre tract nestled east of the Berkeley Hills, west of Mount Diablo, and south of Martinez and Carquinez Strait. I tackled these hikes over the …
Continue reading Hikes in Briones Regional Park (Bear Creek Staging Area)
Grinnell Glacier, Glacier National Park, August 2024 Well, better late than never? We are now halfway into 2025, but, alas, work and other priorities produced a heavy backlog of blog posts from hikes in 2024 that I was only able to complete in the past few months. Yet the tradition of looking back on the …
Natural Bridge, Maquoketa Caves State Park, August 2024 After nearly spending nearly three weeks out West, it was, alas, time to get on my way across the country to complete my move from the San Francisco area to Washington, DC. From South Dakota, I drove down to stay with a friend in Iowa City, Iowa …
Continue reading Maquoketa Caves Loop (Maquoketa Caves State Park, IA)
Notch Trail, Badlands National Park, August 2024 A more challenging alternative to the adjacent Door and Window Trails, the Notch Trail in eastern Badlands National Park features a fun slot and ladder section and a sweeping southward view across the White River Valley to Interior, South Dakota. The ladder is sturdy but not for the …
Door Trail, Badlands National Park, August 2024 One of a trio of short trails starting from the same parking lot in eastern Badlands National Park, the Door Trail veers gently through a break in the Badlands Wall. After a wheelchair-accessible overlook, a more rugged path continues onward amidst the wild ravines, hoodoos, and outcrops, culminating …
Deer Haven, Badlands National Park, August 2024 Hikers in South Dakota’s Badlands National Park with a knack for wayfinding and adventure should prioritize the out-and-back jaunt to Deer Haven, a juniper-studded amphitheater in the park’s lesser-visited Sage Creek Wilderness. Here the wily badlands give way to an evergreen oasis that is ideal for backcountry camping …
Saddle Pass Trail, Badlands National Park, August 2024 By now I was nearly three weeks into my cross-country trip, but I was savoring my last couple days out West before the relatively lackluster drive across the Great Plains to the East Coast. After making my way east from the Black Hills to Badlands National Park …
Continue reading Saddle Pass Trail to Castle – Medicine Root Trail Loop (Badlands National Park, SD)
Pinnacles Overlook, Badlands National Park, August 2024 After briefly skirting the South Unit, I spent much of an afternoon checking out the various overlooks along the Sage Creek Rim Road and Badlands Loop Road in Badlands National Park’s North Unit. This is where the bulk of the most scintillating sedimentary formations are located. Heading from …
Red Shirt Table Overlook, South Unit, Badlands National Park, August 2024 The South Unit of South Dakota’s Badlands National Park is far less visited than its northern counterpart but boasts hundreds of thousands of acres of grassy valleys and eroded sedimentary landscapes. Much less developed, options for visiting the South Unit (a.k.a. Stronghold Unit) are …
Live and Let Hike 