Hikes in Briones Regional Park (Bear Creek 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)

John Muir Trail Northbound Section 3 – Muir Trail Ranch to Red’s Meadow (John Muir Wilderness, CA)

Marie Lake, John Muir Trail, John Muir Wilderness, August 2021 Note: This is the fourth in a series of five posts describing the John Muir Trail (JMT), a scintillating, multi-week hike through California’s Sierra Nevada that extends more than 200 miles from Yosemite National Park in the north to Mount Whitney and Sequoia National Park …

Continue reading John Muir Trail Northbound Section 3 – Muir Trail Ranch to Red’s Meadow (John Muir Wilderness, CA)

Chalone Peak Trail (Pinnacles National Park, CA)

Rising to 3,304 feet, Chalone Peak is the highest point in California’s Pinnacles National Park and a worthy challenge for peak-baggers who seek to brave the exposed sun and 2,000 feet in elevation gain to reach the summit. The Chalone Peak Trail juts off from the end of Bear Gulch Cave in the eastern section …

Continue reading Chalone Peak Trail (Pinnacles National Park, CA)

Bruin Bluff Trail Loop (Lair o’ the Bear Park, CO)

Gaining 180 feet in elevation, the Bruin Bluff Trail is a slightly more difficult alternative to the Bear Creek Trail in Lair o’ the Bear Park, roughly five miles west of Morrison, Colorado. Climbing in and out of mostly spruce forests, the meandering path provides views of a sun-soaked valley in Colorado’s Front Range, including …

Continue reading Bruin Bluff Trail Loop (Lair o’ the Bear Park, CO)

Bear Creek Trail to Corwina Park (Lair o’ the Bear Park, CO)

One of the easiest mountain hikes in the Denver area, the Bear Creek Trail offers a family-friendly adventure through Lair o’ the Bear Park, which is roughly halfway between Morrison and Evergreen, Colorado. Heading west from the Lair o’ the Bear parking area, the hard-packed trail hugs a gently-flowing stream before entering shady Bear Creek …

Continue reading Bear Creek Trail to Corwina Park (Lair o’ the Bear Park, CO)