Burney Falls 2025: Falls Loop Trail Reopened! The main Falls Loop Trail that takes you to the pool at the base of the falls reopened in late January of 2025! ————————————————————— Burney Falls is one of America’s most stunning waterfalls. This article has everything you need to make the most out of your visit: details […]
Best Whale Watching from Northern California Trails: Where, When, and How
Love whale watching in Northern California? Then hike coastal trails to spot gray, humpback, and blue, and fin whales from some of the prettiest coastline on the planet.
Hike Castle Crags State Park’s Stunning Trails in 2025
Love to hike? Castle Crags State Park hosts a range of hiking trails for every ability, plus an excellent campground. This post gives all you all your hiking options, plus camping details, and includes discussion of the geology, plant and animal life, and human history of Castle Crags State Park and its environs — all […]
Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail Through Castle Crags State Park and Wilderness
The steep granite slopes of Castle Crags tower above this Pacific Crest Trail hike through Castle Crags State Park, Castle Crags Wilderness, and Shasta-Trinity National Forest. You gain a lot of beauty for a modest effort, and you’ll likely also have solitude.
Exploring Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park Hiking Trails
Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park has many miles of hiking trails, fascinating human history, and an abundance of wildlife, fascinating volcanic geology, and Cascade volcano views. You’ll have to boat to the park, but that adds to the adventure and also means you’ll have less company. These three hike descriptions of Ahjumawi Lava Springs State […]
Exploring Anderson Marsh State Historic Park Hiking Trails
The hiking trails of Anderson Marsh State Historic Park near Northern California’s Clear Lake in Lake County offer rolling foothills, spring wildflowers, historic buildings, and views of surrounding mountains. Anderson Marsh State Historic Park is one of the gems of the California State Parks system, and it borders Cache Creek right where the stream begins […]
Support State Parks at Park Advocacy Day in Sacramento
California State Parks supporters/trail hikers: important event happening tomorrow, March 20, in our state capitol. It’s the… Tenth Annual Park Advocacy Day Advocates to Highlight Efforts to Defend State Parks, Feature Problems Already Happening in Parks Slated for Closure WHO California State Parks Foundation (CSPF) and more than 180 park advocates from across the state […]
California State Parks Foundation Defend What’s Yours Campaign
The California State Parks Foundation has just launched the Defend What’s Yours campaign to fight the closure of state parks: Seventy of your state parks are going to close. Become a defender, spread the word, volunteer, and join us in this fight to Defend What’s Yours! Please share this video and the other Defend What’s […]
Closing California State Parks Is Bad for Business
Here’s an important press release from the California State Parks Foundation. The struggle to save access to state parks — and their hiking trails — continues… State and Local Business Groups Launch ‘Closing Parks is Bad for Business’ Campaign As part of its ongoing Save Our State Parks Campaign, the California State Parks Foundation (CSPF) […]
California State Parks: New Law Allows Nonprofits to Help Keep Them Open
Great news: Governor Brown signed AB42, which helps nonprofits keep California’s state parks open for hikers and other visitors. Here’s the press release from the California State Parks Foundation: Key Bill AB 42 Provides New Authority for Nonprofits to Help Operate Parks SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Brown signed Assembly Bill (AB) 42 (Huffman), the bill […]
On the Potential Closure of Castle Crags State Park
As many of you long-time readers know, I’ve written often here about the major threat of closures of California’s state parks due to the California budget crisis and the choices our lawmakers are making to deal with that crisis. I’ve made my stand in favor of protecting California State Parks and their hiking trails many […]
California State Parks Foundation Holds Ninth Annual Park Advocacy Day in Sacramento on Tuesday, March 22, 2011
California Park Advocacy Day, sponsored by the California State Parks Foundation, is coming soon. Just got this press release from the California State Parks Foundation. They do great work to help protect our state parks, including protecting access to hiking trails. If you live and hike in the Sacramento area, try to make this. California […]
Saving California State Parks — New Report from California State Parks Foundation and Save the Redwoods League
I’m a big fan of California state parks, and I’ve been a strong advocate of keeping all the parks open and especially maintaining access to all the California State Parks hiking trails. The California State Parks Foundation and the Save the Redwoods League have just issued A Vision for Excellence for California’s State Parks which […]
California State Parks Hurting After Proposition 21 Ballot Measure Loss
There’s a good article from the San Francisco Chronicle that discusses the grim future for California state parks and their hiking trails in the wake of the defeat of Proposition 21: State officials vowed Wednesday to do everything they can to prevent California’s chronically underfunded state parks from turning into litter-filled wastelands full of stray […]
California State Parks Hiking Trails Potentially Threatened by New State Budget
I’ve written over a dozen posts over the last year about how the California state budget cuts have hurt California State Parks hiking trails and access to the parks for camping, swimming, and other recreation. I’ve also trumpeted the good work of theCalifornia State Parks Foundation in the effort to keep our parks open and […]
California State Parks Get Drilled by Governor’s Proposed Budget
I just wrote about the 2010 initiative to help California State Parks and what you can do to help. Yesterday Governer Scharzenegger released his proposed state budget, and once again it’s obvious that California State Parks are not a high priority for him. Here’s what the California State Parks Foundation says: California State Parks Foundation […]
Helping California State Parks: November 2010 Ballot Initiative
I’m a strong supporter of California State Parks, and I’m a member of the California State Parks Foundation, the group that works hard to keep parks open and affordable. The California State Parks Foundation is the driving force behind a group that has qualified an important proposition for the 2010 ballot, and it’s one I […]
California Coastal Clean-Up Day: Help Keep Your Favorite California Hiking Beaches Trash-Free
California Coastal Clean-Up Day is this Saturday, September 19. If you’re like me, you love hiking on beaches and coastal trails. When I lived in Crescent City, I walked Pebble Beach twice every day. (My golden retrievers insisted on it.) Here’s what sponsor California Coastal Commission says: California Coastal Cleanup Day is the premier volunteer […]
California State Parks Foundation Photo Contest: You Good Enough?
There’s been a lot of attention paid to the California State Park system over the last few weeks as hikers and other park lovers fight to keep parks open in the face of Governer Schwarzenegger’s myopic attempt to slash the park budget. Well, let’s look at the lighter side. Regular readers know I’m a big […]
California State Parks Closure List — Are Your Favorites Here?
Governor Schwarzenegger proposes closing 220 California state parks, a misguided attempt to help close the budget deficit given that it will save only $213 million through the end of 2010. Closing these parks would be a major blow for California hikers: Many of us spend a lot of time on these trails and they are […]
Protect California State Parks – And Their Hiking Trails – in 2009
The California State Parks Foundation, one of my favorite outdoors advocacy groups, followed up on Monday’s Park Advocacy Day events in Sacramento (see my previous blog post about Park Advocacy Day) by declaring 2009 the “Year of Park Protection.” California State Parks Foundation: Park Advocacy Day 2009 Here’s the entire press release from California State […]
Help California State Parks: Parks Advocacy Day on March 23
The California State Parks Foundation sponsors Park Advocacy Day this Monday the 23rd at the State Capitol on Sacramento. if you can make it, go there to help lobby our state government to maintain access and improve our state parks. As you know, our state parks harbor hundreds of hiking trails that we all love. […]
March Hike of the Month: Hidden Beach and False Klamath Rock
This month we head way north on the coast to Redwood National and State Parks just south of the Oregon border. I lived in nearby Crescent City and in a rural area near Klamath from 2001 to early 2005, so these trails have a special place in my heart. I went to Hidden Beach dozens […]
Ano Nuevo State Natural Reserve
Ano Nuevo State Natural Reserve is a treasure for its Northern Elephant Seals and its hiking trails. I’ve had Dave Miller’s exquisite Bay Area Outdoors blog in my RSS feed for several months, and I love his well-written descriptions of his Bay Area travels. But I’m absolutely crazy for the many, many exquisite photos he […]
Improving Our Trails: Box Canyon Trail and Castle Crags State Park Nature Trail
The Mount Shasta Trail Association recently did some important maintenance on local trails: the Box Canyon Trail near Lake Siskiyou and the town of Mount Shasta in Siskiyou County, and the Castle Crags State Park Nature Trail in Shasta County. Here’s the skinny from the Mount Shasta Trail Association website: Recently a team of Mount […]
