hikespeak

If you are driving down Generals Highway to the Cedar Grove Area of Kings Canyon National Park, you should feel compelled to check out Grizzly Falls. The obscured view of the 80-foot waterfall from the road should be incentive enough for you to stop, and you can get to the base of Grizzly Falls via a super short and easy 0.1-mile round trip stroll. The anything-but-arduous trek begins... Read more.

Ed Davis Park in Towsley Canyon is an impressive segment of Santa Clarita Woodlands Park, located on the north side of the Santa Susana Mountains at the north end of Los Angeles County. The trailhead is located just off the 5 Freeway north of the San Fernando Valley, not far from Six Flags Magic Mountain. You don't need a ticket for an adventure in this park, which has its share of natural... Read more.

If one park is good, than two parks are better, and a trail between those parks brings out the best of both. Opened in the spring of 2013, the Connector Trail between Johnson Ranch Open Space and the Irish Hills Natural Reserve links two of San Luis Obispo County's great parks. The new trail also connects hikers with grassy slopes and oak-covered ridges with views across San Luis Obispo and... Read more.

Of all the Morros in San Luis Obispo County, Black Hill is the easiest to summit (even easier than Islay Hill. This 661-foot volcanic peak in Morro Bay State Park can be reached by hiking 0.6 miles round trip up a dirt single track with 190 feet of elevation gain and views over the city of Morro Bay. For those looking for more, there are longer hikes to the summit starting farther down Black... Read more.

Hollywood Reservoir (Lake Hollywood) is circled by a paved service road that walkers, joggers, and bikers can use to get lakeside exercise with Hollywood views. The reservoir is located in the hills west of Griffith Park below Cahuenga Peak and Mount Lee (whose summit is world famous for the large white letters that spell HOLLYWOOD). Numerous views of the Hollywood Sign appear on the... Read more.

If you are looking for a peaceful stroll in the peaceful Central Coast city of Montecito, examine Ennisbrook Trail. This 1.85-mile lollipop loop with 150 feet of elevation change explores an oak woodland in the 44-acre San Ysidro Creek Preserve. The easy trail is charmed by old stone bridges spanning San Ysidro Creek, which you will follow on this creekside hike. In the spring, there are... Read more.

Broadly speaking, the desert is where you go to find cacti. Speaking specifically, Cactus Loop Trail is where you go in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park to see lots of cacti. True you can spot these prickly plants throughout the park, but this self-guided nature trail explores a rocky ridge that is utterly blanketed with a variety of cacti. A state park provided trail guide pamphlet offers a... Read more.

Yaqui Well Trail is one of the free self-guided nature trails in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Pair a trail guide (that you can pick up at the trailhead) with numbered markers along the way to learn about the history and botany of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park as you enjoy the surrounding scenery. The 1.6-mile round trip trail with 100 feet of elevation gain ends at Yaqui Well, a vital... Read more.

Looks can be deceiving. Kenyon Overlook Trail doesn't impress at the start - a dirt single track leaving the most primitive campground in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The trail crosses pleasant but generic desert landscape at Yaqui Pass. Stick with this hike because the payoff is massive - a huge view across Mescal Bajada toward Sunset Mountain (which puts on a colorful display from the... Read more.

The Anza-Borrego Desert is a beautiful place to visit, but a tough place to live. The areas inhabitants usually built homes near water, trees, and roads, but not Marshal South, who traded utility for scenery when he built a homestead in the 1930s atop Ghost Mountain (Yaquitepec) near Blair Valley in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The trail to the ruins of the South's adobe cabin is 1.3... Read more.