At 1680 feet above sea level, the summit of Mount Lee perches high above the Los Angeles Basin on the western edge of spacious Griffith Park. In addition to hosting the iconic “Hollywood” sign, the …

After many years of awkward accessibility, or no access at all, the north slope of Black Mountain once again welcomes hikers (and their four-legged companions). The new, improved access to the Miner’s Ridge Loop Trail …

The Spanish colonists who christened Arroyo Seco (“dry creek”) evidently observed only its lower end — a hot, boulder-strewn wash emptying into the Los Angeles River. Upstream, inside the confines of the San Gabriel Mountains, …

The 2600-mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), which was intended to hit as many high points as possible along its mountainous route between the Mexican and Canadian borders, takes an anomalous detour into the Anza-Borrego Desert …

Nicholas Flat harbors a small oasis of live oaks and an old cattle pond backed by picturesque sandstone outcrops. During the winter and late spring, the grassy meadows above the pond may host an eye-popping …

The boulder-frosted summit of Woodson Mountain (aka Mount Woodson) has many routes of approach, though none this particular winter/spring season is as interesting as the west-side approach from Lake Poway. The October 2007 Witch Creek …

The grassy hillsides of Chino Hills State Park, which covers 13,000 acres in eastern Orange County and western Riverside and San Bernardino counties, are turning green these days in response to winter rains. Winter also …

Remotely situated at San Diego County’s far east side and surrounded by Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Agua Caliente Regional Park draws winter visitors to its comfortable warm and hot bathing pools and its homey campground. …

Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park is the wordy title of a strip of public land squeezed between Tarzana, at the south edge of the San Fernando Valley, and “dirt Mulholland,” the unpaved section of the …

The triple set of waterfalls dubbed the “Three Sisters” is an amazing San Diego County feature not many have seen. In full flood, these cascades put on a show reminiscent of Yosemite’s show stoppers — …

A great blue heron ambles on stilt-legs across the reed-fringed shallows, stabbing occasionally at subsurface morsels of food. A willowy egret glides in for a perfect landing, scattering concentric ripples across the surface of the …

Serene Oakoasis Open Space Preserve covers 397 acres of oak woodland, boulder-studded hillsides, and young chaparral vegetation recovering from the 2003 Cedar Fire. Try visiting during winter, when the air is clean and fresh, or …

Boulder-hop for miles to reach one of the tallest waterfalls in Southern California. The hike up Hot Spring Canyon is arguably the most beautiful canyon trek in the Santa Ana Mountains, and supremely arduous to …

Oak leaves fluttering in the sunlight, pine needles soughing in the breeze, gray squirrels scurrying, and pungent-sweet fragrances in the air. These dependable pre-Cedar-fire experiences are now a work-in-progress. The rate and extent of postfire …

A simple shack fashioned of rock, cement, and corrugated metal might be unremarkable anywhere else, but in the midst of thousands of acres of wild desert, it becomes a significant point of interest. The semi-rugged …

For hikers, the flattish 5700-foot summit of Mount Wilson -- home of the historic (and still viable) Mount Wilson Observatory -- is a jumping-off spot for vintage trails that run downhill in practically every direction. …

This trail highlights the Engelmann oak (or mesa oak) -- a somewhat rare evergreen oak tree found only in parts of inland Southern California. Along the way you'll also see the ubiquitous coast live oak, …

Although relatively unknown among hikers, the Piru Creek gorge offers a rugged wilderness experience less than one hour's drive away from L.A.'s northern suburbs. In 1992 the 220,000-acre Sespe Wilderness was carved out of lands …

Smack dab in the middle of the most desolate part of the Borrego Badlands stands a remarkable triad of palm oases. The best known of these, Seventeen Palms, is a popular destination for park visitors. …

Formerly remote Lower Otay County Park, perched on a hillside above the dam of Lower Otay Reservoir, is now only a few minutes' drive from tens of thousands of new South Bay residents in communities …

Angeles Crest Highway (Highway 2) snakes along the crest of the San Gabriel Mountains, offering always impressive and sometimes stupendous views of thousands of square miles worth of Southern California real estate, mountain and desert …

Sandstone Canyon has been called the most spectacular small wash in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Like a hidden jewel, this particular natural feature requires time and effort to find -- and it is often necessary …

In 1991 Orange County opened the 1500-acre Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, which sprawls across the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains just east of the communities of Lake Forest and El Toro. One surprise can …

Oakzanita Peak is one of only a handful of named peaks in the Cuyamaca Mountains, yet its humble appearance -- at least on approach -- wouldn't inspire most hikers to climb it. Actually, the view …

Cool Canyon, a deep crease in the east flank of Granite Mountain, stays truly cool only for a month or two before winter solstice, and for a couple of months afterward. If you visit the …

Coyotes howl, water splashes down a willow-lined creek, and hummingbirds flit about in search of nectar. All of this takes place barely a mile from the grid of suburban streets on the fringe of Los …

Guatay Mountain, a gently swelling, chaparral-covered ridge rising about 900 feet over the hamlet of Guatay, is distinguished by its old-growth population of Tecate cypress trees. This particular species of cypress has a very spotty …

Point Mugu State Park, midway between Los Angeles and Ventura, sprawls across 15,000 acres of the coast-hugging Santa Monica Mountains. About 70 miles of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails lace through the park. Campers are …

The Noble Canyon National Recreation Trail is an extension and reworking of an older trail built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Since its completion in 1982, the trail has proven popular among …

Girded by freeways and busy streets, the trails around Puddingstone Reservoir in Bonelli Regional Park are hardly the place to get away from it all -- unless, perhaps, you arrive early on a Saturday or …

UCSD's Stuart Collection of outdoor sculpture seeks to enrich the cultural and intellectual life of the campus and the surrounding community. The current 16 works in the collection are sprinkled throughout several hundred acres of …

The Cheeseboro/Palo Comado Canyons park site, a unit of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, draws tens of thousands of self-propelled travelers yearly, but there's plenty of room for those visitors to spread out. …

Miramar Lake, perched halfway up the dry hills overlooking Scripps Ranch, Mira Mesa, and the distant coast, was completed in 1960 as part of the second San Diego Aqueduct project. Water flowing south to the …

The James Dilley Greenbelt Preserve, a unit within Orange County's Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, dates back to a landmark purchase by the city of Laguna Beach in 1978. Environmentalist James Dilley helped champion the concept …

Once rich in rural landscapes, the area between Fallbrook and Bonsall has experienced a lot of suburban growth -- everything from full-blown subdivisions to large-acreage lots with mini-mansions placed on them. Fallbrook remains the "avocado …

As travelers make their way up from Los Angeles into the San Gabriel Mountains via Angeles Crest Highway, Charlton Flat is the first place they encounter true coniferous forest -- stately pines, firs, and cedars …

Pyles Peak is a prominent bump in the series of mountaintops stretching between Cowles Mountain in the south and Fortuna Mountain in the north. Collectively, these high points constitute the spine and centerpiece of the …

Tall, aromatic pines and firs and thin air (elevation averages 7500 feet) lend a High-Sierra feel to the north slope of Blue Ridge, which lies on a high divide of the San Gabriel Mountains near …

Middle Peak's north slopes used to feature the "big trees" of Cuyamaca Rancho State Park -- centuries-old sugar pines over 100 feet tall and plenty of black oaks, white firs, Jeffrey pines, and incense cedars. …

Tucked amid a lovely grove of pines on the remote north ridge of the San Gabriel Mountains you can find tiny Messenger Flats Campground, an Angeles National Forest facility available on a first-come, first-served basis. …

Carlsbad's Rancho Carrillo community trail circles what used to be the heart of the 2538-acre Rancho de los Quiotes (Ranch of the Spanish Daggers). Stage and screen actor Leo Carrillo founded the ranch in 1937 …

The hiking/biking/jogging trail following a branch of Shepherd Canyon in Tierrasanta, dating from the 1980s, is an example of one of San Diego County's first "community" or "neighborhood" trails designed to serve the recreational needs …

Barely a mile's walk from the little community of Mount Baldy (at the base of 10,000-foot-high Old Baldy, or Mount San Antonio), you can be sitting on a rock, communing with nature, feet dangling in …

As San Diego County's newest (2006) open-space park, the Santa Ysabel Open Space Preserve is already establishing a reputation as one of the county's finest parcels of unburned montane landscape. Actually, the Cedar Fire in …

The San Gabriel Wilderness harbors deer, bighorn sheep, black bears, and mountain lions -- facts that hint at the quality of the wilderness experience you can get there. Only one trail stabs deeply into the …

This past rainy season delivered only a small share of moisture to grassy East Mesa in the Cuyamaca Mountains. So don't wait long if you want to enjoy spring-green rather than summer-yellow meadow vistas. Outlined …

So far and yet so close. Only minutes away from the hectic San Diego traffic, rolling meadows lie open to the sky, and boulder-studded hills form a backdrop akin to the interior of some sleepy …

The Chiquito Trail, a multiuse (hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding) route down from Blue Jay Campground to Ortega Highway in the Santa Ana Mountains, is best explored (if hiking) in the one-way, downhill direction. Mountain …

The nearly flat ramble along Daley Ranch's Jack Creek Meadow is best in the springtime -- and also comfortably suitable during the summer, provided you travel in the cooler early morning or late afternoon. If …

The dark west flank of Monserate Mountain rises abruptly alongside Interstate 15, its chaparral-coated surface relatively uncut by roads and graded residential lots. The Fallbrook Land Conservancy has established its largest preserve here, the 340-acre …