Roam
Perched above the San Fernando Valley on one of the more prominent bumps of the Santa Monica Mountains, the Cold War-era Nike missile site at San Vicente Mountain has become a destination for hikers, mountain …
Eleven miles of hiking trail lace through the 1700-acre Hellhole Canyon Open-Space Preserve, east of Valley Center. The San Diego County parks department acquired this former parcel of surplus public-domain land, one of several such …
Long ago, extensive saltwater and freshwater marshes lined Orange County's coast between Seal Beach and Newport Beach. The sandy beaches along that coast remain, but most of the wetlands succumbed to the 20th-century tide of …
Road-biking doesn't get any better than on San Diego County's remote mountain and desert rural highways -- especially those beyond Palomar and Julian, where traffic thins considerably and the roads themselves are often accompanied by …
Caspers Wilderness Park is the crown jewel of Orange County's regional park system. It is the county's largest park (7600 acres), the least altered by human activities, and the most remote from population centers. "Remote" …
If you have the fortitude to tackle some killer ups and downs, try the surprisingly challenging hiking route to El Cajon Mountain, a picturesque East County landmark. Your primary destination is the 3675-foot-high point along …
Death Valley's spaciousness is a big part of its appeal, but there's something here for claustrophobic individuals as well. In a few places, infrequent but powerful flash floods have carved narrow, sinuous channels into the …
With the opening of the ten-mile-long Mule Hill/San Pasqual Trail outside Escondido in June 2002, the projected Coast-to-Crest Trail leaped closer to reality. The coast-to-crest route, designed for hiking, biking, and equestrian travel, will eventually …
Although Garnet Peak isn't the highest peaklet along the steep eastern escarpment of the Laguna Mountains, its exposed position makes it a fine place to view both the pine-clad high country and the raw desert …
Elongated Ryan Mountain rises above the boulder-studded plains of Lost Horse and Queen Valleys in Joshua Tree National Monument. The view from the top is arguably the best in the national park, encompassing the blocky …
Some of the loftiest -- and loneliest -- mountain country in San Diego County lies on the 25,000-acre Los Coyotes Indian Reservation. You won't find any casino here, but you will discover San Diego County's …
Walnut Creek and its associated parkland stretches through the San Gabriel Valley communities of San Dimas and Covina. A wide and well-traveled equestrian and hiking trail goes the length of the park, crossing the streambed …
As September grades into October and the sun swings ever lower across the southern sky, the high-desert landscape around Anza-Borrego's Blair Valley becomes comfortable enough for an early-season visit. It's warm, dry, and desolate out …
The two major subdivisions of the California desert (the Mojave and Colorado Deserts), plus an outlying stretch of chaparral habitat, intersect in the 4500-acre Big Morongo Canyon Preserve, north of Palm Springs. Bighorn sheep, bobcats, …
There are only a few places along the Southern California coastline where you can walk for miles in a single direction and hardly see any highway, railroad tracks, powerlines, houses, or other signs of civilization. …
Saddle Peak, a notable high point along the crest of the Santa Monica Mountains, consists of two 2800-foot summits: one topped by antennas and fenced off, the other one barren but viewful. Both preside over …