Summit Valley, a.k.a. Edmund D. Edelman Park (named in honor of a Los Angeles County supervisor), is a recent addition to the public lands of the Santa Monica Mountains. The park spreads across both sides …
April 4, 2002
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Stories by Jerry Schad (RIP)
Visit serene Summit Valley, a new patch of designated open space in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Circle Lake Poway on a 3-mile loop trail for hikers and bikers.
In the cool of a spring evening, as the sun arcs toward the western horizon at an ever-later hour (especially after daylight time kicks in on April 7), you can escape from the cares of …
March 28, 2002
Hike to Fortynine Palms, a canyon-bottom oasis in Joshua Tree National Park.
Native California fan palms (Washingtonia filifera), familiar to Anza-Borrego and Baja visitors, can be found as well in scattered locations amid the rocky defiles of Joshua Tree National Park, which lies some 100 miles north …
March 21, 2002
Take a nippy dip in the shallow pools of Cuyamaca's Harper Creek
On a bud-bursting spring day, Harper Creek's shallow, jewel-like pools invite tactile exploration — with more than just the fingers. Slide into one of the pools this month (assuming we get a decent amount of …
March 14, 2002
A geologic story of deposition
Scenic Red Rock Canyon hides amid the scruffy slopes of the Santa Monica Mountains, not far from the San Fernando Valley communities of Woodland Hills and Calabasas. Slabs of cavernous sandstone and cobbly conglomerate tilted …
March 7, 2002
Easy-to-reach Cottonwood Creek Falls channels snowmelt and runoff descending from the Laguna Mountains.
Hidden in the apex of a valley just below Sunrise Highway, near the town of Pine Valley, a small stream has worn its way down to the metamorphic bedrock that underlies much of the Laguna …
February 28, 2002
Dribbling with runoff, Newton Canyon Falls in the Santa Monica Mountains lies hidden below a major roadway.
Although they slice only about six miles inland from the Pacific shoreline near Point Dume in Malibu, Zuma Canyon and its tributaries harbor some of the deeper gorges of the Santa Monica Mountains. Winter rains …
February 21, 2002
"Big" Black Mountain outside Ramona offers a unique perspective of central San Diego County's geography.
San Diego County's "big" Black Mountain (not the smaller one looming above Rancho Peñasquitos) rises gently to an elevation of 4051 feet outside Ramona. A fire-lookout tower once stood on Black Mountain's summit, taking full …
February 14, 2002
Visit a surviving remnant of open space at south Orange County's Riley Wilderness Park.
Orange County's Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park -- a wilderness in name only -- spreads over 475 acres of rolling hills and oak-lined ravines and includes about five miles of trails open to hikers, equestrians, …
February 7, 2002
Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve near Escondido offers 10 miles of multi-use trails, with more to come.
The 750 acres of open space at Escondido's Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve were opened to the public in December 1992 as a cooperative effort between the Olivenhain Municipal Water District and the U.S. Bureau of …
January 31, 2002
View Catalina Island and 150 degrees of ocean horizon from the top of the Palos Verdes peninsula.
Created by uplift of the sea floor roughly two million years ago, the Palos Verdes peninsula lay surrounded by the ocean for hundreds of thousands of years. Today a vast sheet of alluvium fills the …
January 24, 2002
Hike or bike the south end of the Verdugo Mountains in Glendale for clear-air views of the L.A. Basin and the ocean.
Like a ship caught fast on a sandbar, the Verdugo Mountains protrude above what would otherwise be an unbroken sheet of alluvial deposits slanting down from the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains toward the …
December 20, 2001
Hike the blufftop at Scripps Coastal Reserve for vertiginous views of Scripps Pier and the ocean.
The Scripps Coastal Reserve, managed by the University of California Natural Reserve System, includes a small, undeveloped mesa overlooking the ocean, steep canyons to either side, and an underwater preserve beneath Scripps Pier. Up on …
December 13, 2001
Hike or mountain-bike to Gilman Peak in Orange County's Chino Hills State Park.
Gilman Peak's bald summit, barely poking over the lesser ridges of the Chino Hills of Orange and Riverside Counties, affords a breathtakingly spacious view of Southern California on a clear day. To the southwest lies …
December 6, 2001
Ramble with map and compass amid the tortured landscape of Palm Wash in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
Thousands of years of cutting and polishing by flash floods and winds have produced the intricate rock formations and slot-like ravines you'll discover at the foot of the Santa Rosa Mountains in far-eastern San Diego …
November 29, 2001
Hike or bike to pleasantly forested Henninger Flats, in the San Gabriel Mountains overlooking Pasadena.
Park-like Henninger Flats is a cool "sky island" in the front range of the San Gabriel Mountains, just behind and above the cities of Pasadena and Altadena. The flats and slopes hereabouts have been the …
November 21, 2001
Experts predict 2001's Leonid meteor shower will roar.
Will the annual Leonid meteor shower deliver a last hurrah this year and next or fade toward insignificance sooner rather than later? By analyzing new data provided by the observed performance of the shower in …
November 15, 2001
Explore the rich tidepools of Little Corona Beach in Orange County
Some of the finest tidepools in Orange County — indeed in all of Southern California — await you on this short, absorbing, and possibly time-consuming walk north of Crystal Cove State Beach. Successful "tidepooling" requires …
November 8, 2001
Visit Imperial County's Pumpkin Patch, where stone pumpkins dot the barren desert landscape
Stone pumpkins numbering in the hundreds, baked beige and reticulated by exposure to the summer desert sun, lie in a patch of several acres at the Imperial County site known as Pumpkin Patch. The spherical …
November 1, 2001
Take a spin on a bicycle over the flat roads of Borrego Valley.
The sun-blasted desert days of summer are over, and Borrego Springs now boasts salubrious temperatures along with its bone-dry air. This community of several thousand residents (in the winter season, at least) squarely placed in …
November 1, 2001
Snoop around the Dawn Mine, hidden deep within Millard Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains.
Millard Canyon's happily splashing stream, presided over by oaks, alders, maples, and bigcone Douglas firs, flows out of the San Gabriel Mountains and down into the urban flatlands of the Los Angeles Basin. The six-mile …
October 25, 2001
Climb Morena Butte's three-peaked summit for great views of Lake Morena and the border region.
Morena Butte's three-peaked summit plateau presides over a diverse landscape of V-shaped canyons, rock-strewn ridges, and grassy depressions known as potreros (pastures). All three peaks are attractive photographically, as they consist of great slabs and …
October 18, 2001
A shady passage out of L.A.
The seemingly ridiculous concept of hiking in Los Angeles is belied by the availability of many fine trails not necessarily in the city itself, but rather within city limits and just beyond the edge of …
October 11, 2001
Drive and then hike to Toro Peak, the pinnacle of the desert-bordering Santa Rosa Mountains.
At 8716 feet Toro Peak crowns the Santa Rosa Mountains, an elongated complex of ridges running for some 35 miles between Palm Springs in Riverside County and Borrego Valley in San Diego County. Perhaps nowhere …
October 4, 2001
Hike Towsley and Wiley canyons in the spacious new Santa Clarita Woodlands park, north of the San Fernando Valley.
The Santa Clarita Woodlands Park, north of the arid San Fernando Valley and just west of Santa Clarita's dry hills and valleys, encompasses a surprising assortment of strange geologic features and several surprisingly lush canyons. …
September 27, 2001
Trails at Sunset Cliffs Park
Visit Sunset Cliffs Park on Point Loma for tidepooling and brilliant sunsets.
September 20, 2001
Hike the Cougar Crest Trail, rising on the slope north of Big Bear Lake.
The Big Bear Lake region offers some fine outdoor experiences for those willing to stretch their legs a bit. Some of the better hiking routes can be found on the sloping mountain rim that rises …
September 13, 2001
Explore the new Boden Canyon Ecological Reserve, outside Ramona.
Comely Boden Canyon, rich with live-oak woodland and nestled between baked hillsides redolent with the sweet fragrance of sage, has become a part of San Diego County's newest parcel of protected open space. The Boden …
September 6, 2001
Hike the beach below San Clemente, and get a glimpse of the Western White House
In southernmost Orange County, a long, gently curving stretch of sand and surf beckons surfers, swimmers, sunbathers, and strollers. Closer to Dana Point, both the old coast highway (former Highway 101) and the tracks of …
August 30, 2001
Walk around San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park
In summer and fall, perhaps two or three centuries ago, Native Americans on the coastal side of the mountains were busy gathering luscious fruit from stands of prickly pear, tuna, and other varieties of cactus. …
August 23, 2001
Breathe pine-scented, rarefied air on Mount Hillyer in Angeles National Forest.
If you enjoy the High Sierra you may get some sense of déjà vu atop Mount Hillyer, a rounded promontory off Angeles Crest Highway in the San Gabriel Mountains. The warm (but not hot) summer …
August 16, 2001
Discover hidden Escondido Falls in the Santa Monica Mountains outside Malibu
Escondido ("hidden" in Spanish) Canyon conceals one of the natural treasures of the Santa Monica Mountains: a shimmering waterfall leaping more than 200 feet over a broken cliff. Only during times of rare flood do …
August 9, 2001
Seek out the surface trace of the Rose Canyon Fault, San Diego's greatest geologic threat
San Diego County — indeed all of California — is an orthopedic basket case. For millions of years, the ground beneath us has been shattered by slow but sure, incremental changes that can be read, …
August 9, 2001
Visit Irvine Regional Park in Orange County and participate in the century-old tradition of picnicking there.
For more than a century, Irvine Park has drawn Orange Countyans up into the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. Once a meeting place for the early settlers -- then known as the Picnic Grounds …
August 2, 2001
Get intimate with bat rays and pickleweed at the Chula Vista Nature Center.
Spy on the secret, subterranean life of a worm; ogle a heron or an egret; pet a bay ray or a leopard shark; get personal with pickleweed and cordgrass; sniff the sage-tinged salt breeze as …
July 26, 2001
Hike the lofty but short Table Mountain Trail near Big Pines in Angeles National Forest.
Big Pines Recreation Area, part of Angeles National Forest, perches atop the easternmost extremity of the San Gabriel Mountains, west of Cajon Pass. Blanketed by a heterogeneous mixture of pines, firs, and oaks, and perched …
July 19, 2001
Pedal your fat-tired steed over 20 miles of pavement and rutted dirt road in and beyond Ramona's Pamo Valley.
Spared from the threat of being inundated by a large reservoir, Pamo Valley awaits a possible destiny of becoming one of the county's premier nature preserves. A large parcel of Cleveland National Forest land surrounds …
July 12, 2001
Climb to the 8859-foot summit of Cucamonga Peak, and gaze over miles of San Gabriel Valley suburbia
Cucamonga Peak's south and east slopes feature some of the most dramatic relief in the San Gabriel Mountains. At 8859 feet, the peak stands sentinel-like only four miles from the edge of the broad inland …
July 5, 2001
Visit Oasis Spring in the Laguna Mountains, where a sparkling rivulet makes a headlong plunge toward the desert floor.
A more restful place could scarcely be imagined. A warm breeze from the desert below wafts up the shady canyon, bringing with it the scent of sage and bay laurel. A lone bigleaf maple tree …
June 28, 2001
Explore Runyan Canyon, a former hillside retreat of Hollywood stars, in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Runyan Canyon, a narrow strip of open space rising into the hills just one mile from the heart of Hollywood, counts among its former residents the actors John McCormick and Errol Flynn. For more than …
June 21, 2001
Take an early-evening stroll through spring-green chaparral on Cuyamaca's Pine Ridge Trail.
If you want a quick escape from the dreary late-afternoon June gloom dogging the coast of late, try this little outing to the blue-sky realm of the Cuyamaca Mountains. Pack along a light dinner of …
June 14, 2001
Get good vibrations from the Kelso Dunes in Mojave National Preserve
Booming, roaring, barking, squeaking, and whistling sands have figured in folklore and travelers' tales for 1500 years, with the earliest references found in Chinese and Mideastern chronicles. Marco Polo describes encountering the phenomenon on a …
June 7, 2001
Follow a segment of the Coast to Crest Trail along the north shore of Lake Hodges.
Lake Hodges has become one of the key units in the sprawling San Dieguito River Park, slowly taking form along 55 miles of river valley from the coast at Del Mar to Volcan Mountain near …
May 31, 2001
Ramble about on the shady trails of Peters Canyon Regional Park in suburban Orange County.
Deeded to the Orange County parks system by the Irvine Company in 1992, Peters Canyon Regional Park has -- like several other newly declared open-space areas around the periphery of the Orange County metropolis -- …
May 24, 2001
Hike the gently rising Pine Mountain Trail in the Laguna Mountains.
The Pine Mountain Trail, the newest designated trail in the Laguna Mountains, invites your attention this verdant and merry month of May. Spring rainfall in our local mountains, abnormally extending to as recently as last …
May 17, 2001
Endure Sisyphean ascents and descents enroute to one of Los Angeles County's finest waterfalls: Fish Canyon Falls.
One of L.A. County's most attractive waterfalls, Fish Canyon Falls in the San Gabriel Mountains, lies today in a canyon whose mouth has been ripped apart by large-scale quarrying operations. Once beyond the canyon's gaping, …
May 10, 2001
Climb Cowles Mountain by way of a more difficult approach from Santee.
Cowles Mountain, the centerpiece of Mission Trails Regional Park, stands 1591 feet above sea level, making it the highest point within San Diego's city limits. On a warm springtime day, hundreds of people -- maybe …
May 3, 2001
Descend the V-shaped gorge of Tenaja Canyon in the Santa Ana Mountains, where water splashes and newts waddle.
As the gloom of a late afternoon descends upon the deep-cut, linear furrow of Tenaja Canyon, dozens of orange-bellied newts waddle determinedly uphill and across the trail, oblivious to my footfalls. The cute faces and …
April 26, 2001
Visit Palomar's Love Valley during the peak of its vernal splendor.
After a wet winter, the shallow ponds in Love Valley hold the shimmering, upside-down image of a classic California landscape: a weathered barn nestled at the far end of an Ireland-colored meadow, rounded foothills studded …
April 19, 2001
Circle to the summit of Condor Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains, and return by way of Trail Canyon
The all-day, 14-mile-loop hike up to the viewful summit of Condor Peak and back by way of verdant Trail Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains is well suited to properly conditioned hikers but punishingly difficult …
April 12, 2001