hiking

The Emma McCrary Trail Rocks

Mountain biker on Emma McCrary Trail in Pogonip in Santa Cruz, California. Hilltromper photo.

It sweeps and swoops along the hillside above Highway 9 and the river for 1.5 miles, and it's probably going to make you feel happy when you go there.

Some Upgrades for Loch Lomond (But Nothing Crazy)

Add kayaks and canoes to this pretty picture. Photo by Hilltromper.

Goldilocks-like, the Santa Cruz City Council has adopted the middle of three approaches to bringing back the lonely reservoir, eschewing both big-ticket items and do-nothingism.

Castle Rock SP

Castle Rock State Park, one of the Bay Area's favorite places to climb and boulder. Photo credit: Blase Iuliano.

A rock climbing playground near the summit.

Wilder Ranch

Mountain bikers on the Engelsman bypass. Photo credit: Hilltromper.

If you've got just one day, this is the place.

Pogonip

Lookout Trail skirts a meadow in the upper part of Pogonip. Photo credit: Gwyn Fisher.

The call of the wild inside city limits.

Pinnacles NP

Two hikers look up Condor Gulch Trail at Pinnacles National Park. Photo credit: Miguel Vieira/Creative Commons.

Dramatic volcanic spires and soaring California condors

Forest of Nisene Marks

Easy trails in Nisene Marks wend among some old-growth redwoods. Photo credit: Leor Pantilat.

Thirty miles of redwood-shaded trails.

Año Nuevo State Park

Elephant seal mothers and pups at Ano Nuevo. Photo credit: MonicaSP54 on Creative Commons.

World-class wildlife viewing.

Henry Cowell

A huge redwood at Henry Cowell with burls—dense knots of wood created when the tree undergoes stress. Creative Commons photo.

The easiest way to see some of the world's biggest trees.

Elkhorn Slough

A mass of terns (white seabirds) taking flight over a wetlands. Photo by VIcki and Chuck Rogers/Creative Commons.

A global birding destination on Monterey Bay.

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