California State Parks offer some of the best hiking the state has to offer: Torrey Pines, Malibu Creek, Point Lobos, Calaveras Big Trees, Humboldt Redwoods…
John McKinneyJune 9, 2023
Eaton Canyon Trail: From the Nature Center to Eaton Falls is 3 miles round trip with 200-foot gain Late one August afternoon in 1877, John…
John McKinneyJuly 4, 2016
You can’t get any higher than the 14,495-foot summit of Mt. Whitney, highest of all peaks in the continental U.S., and a once-in-a-lifetime (at least!)…
John McKinneyJuly 1, 2016
From Abbotts Lagoon to Point Reyes Beach is 3.2 miles round trip Something about Abbotts Lagoon personifies the word melancholy. Maybe it’s the lagoon itself,…
John McKinneyJuly 1, 2016
Rattlesnake Canyon Trail: From Skofield Park to Tin Can Meadow is 3.6 miles round trip with 1,000-foot elevation gain; to Gibraltar Road is 6 miles…
John McKinneyJuly 1, 2016
Congress Trail, Trail of the Sequoias: Congress Trail is 2-mile loop; Trail of the Sequoias is 5.1-mile loop with 500-foot elevation gain Many are the…
John McKinneyJuly 1, 2016
The San Gabriel Mountains Most of the San Gabriel Mountains lie just north of metro Los Angeles and within Angeles National Forest, one of the…
John McKinneyJuly 1, 2016
Valley Trails: 5.5-mile loop The tram tour of Yosemite Valley is fine, but to really appreciate the valley, hit the trail. On this heart of…
John McKinneyJune 7, 2016
From Tioga Road to Parsons Lodge and Soda Springs is 1.5 miles round trip Lush and lovely Tuolumne Meadows is likely the national park’s best…
John McKinneyJune 1, 2016
More Mesa offers more: a defacto nature preserve, great bird-watching, a network of walking-hiking trails and access to Santa Barbara’s most isolated beach. I’ve been…
John McKinneyMay 6, 2016
Come for the sequoia, stay for the Sierra. And take a hike in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. If you only drive through you’ll…
John McKinneyJanuary 20, 2016
San Miguel, westernmost of the Channel Islands, has much to offer the hiker, particularly if you join a ranger-guided hike. Hike to Cuyler campground on…
John McKinneyJanuary 2, 2016
Sam Merrill Trail: From Cobb Estate to Echo Mountain is 5.6 miles round trip with 1,400-foot elevation gain Professor Thaddeus Sobieski Coulincourt Lowe’s Echo Mountain…
John McKinneyNovember 22, 2015
Redwood Canyon, Hart Tree Trails 6. 5 mile loop with 700-foot elevation gain; return via Sugar Bowl is 9-mile loop with 1,200-foot gain The largest…
John McKinneyJuly 14, 2014
