Lava tubes, cavities in the earth once filled with flowing lava, are the principal attraction of northern California’s Lava Beds National Monument, which boasts the greatest concentration of them in the United States. Reaching as wide as 60 feet in diameter, Skull Cave is one of the area’s largest lava tubes and offers one of …
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Once one of the area’s best kept secrets, Stout Grove in California’s Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park is now one of California’s most popular redwood groves. Even the crowds cannot ruin the beauty, however, of this cathedral-like forest, a dense cluster of towering sentinels that casts a dark shadow over a lush understory. In late …
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Although sans redwoods, the short Yurok Loop Trail in California’s Redwood National Park features terrific seaside vistas and an ecologically diverse environment along the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Named for the Native American tribe that once predominated in this area, this easy hike explores a dense coastal forest chock full of cypress trees, alders, …
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The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always. No one has ever successfully painted or photographed a redwood tree. The feeling they produce is not transferable. From them comes silence and awe. It's not only their unbelievable stature, nor the color which seems to shift and vary …
Continue reading Prairie Creek Trail – Foothill Trail Loop (Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, CA)
Fern Canyon—a short but exquisite passage between fern-strewn walls—is an otherworldly hike in California’s Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, a subset of Redwood National Park. Enveloped by overwhelming greenery, it’s no wonder that this jungle-like canyon was a shooting location in Jurassic Park: The Lost World. Pack your sandals or water shoes, as the hike …
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Plunging 129 feet over a moss-laden cliff, Burney Falls is arguably California’s most impressive waterfall north of Yosemite—so beautiful and picturesque that President Teddy Roosevelt reportedly dubbed it the “eighth wonder of the world.” The falls are now the centerpiece of 910-acre McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park—11 miles north of Burney, California—and can be accessed …
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The alluring McCloud Falls is a must-see destination along northern California’s Route 89, also known as the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway. Situated 20 miles east of the town of Mount Shasta, McCloud Falls includes three tumbles along the McCloud River, each separated by a short hike or drive. Lower Falls, a short walk from a …
Hedge Creek Falls is a popular destination in northern California’s Trinity Range, situated just off Interstate 5 between Redding and Mount Shasta. A short, well-worn trail in Dunsmuir, California offers access to this 35-foot waterfall, one of many in the region but definitely one of the most easily accessible. Beyond the falls, the trail continues …
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Situated just off Interstate 5 in northern California, Castle Crags State Park covers a scenic pocket of the Trinity Divide—a small but alluring mountain range that separates the Sacramento River and Trinity River watersheds. The star feature is a large outcrop of granite formations, technically situated outside the park, but visible from many of the …
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Northern California’s Castle Crags State Park hugs the eastern slopes of a cluster of dramatic granite formations that is reminiscent of Yosemite National Park. While the actual crags lie outside the park boundary, several trails run close to their base, including the family-friendly Root Creek Trail. Wheelchair-accessible for the first mile, this path offers an …
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