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Whale skull washes up in Marin: What’s coming next?
Whale skull washes up in Marin: What’s coming next?
A surprise find on a Marin beach last weekend of a piece of skull from an 80-foot blue whale marks the start of the coastal treasure hunt season. A series of factors are aligning that will bring all matter ...
State parks in Wine Country in deep recovery after 2017 fires
When Sonoma County was burning up two years ago, at one point it looked like the plume of a nuclear firebomb was billowing into the sky out of Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. This fall, the scene has been much ...
Coming soon: New Bay Area trails and campgrounds
An array of impending projects at Bay Area parks could make for a series of game-changers across the region. They include a new connecting link for the San Francisco Bay Trail on the Peninsula that would ...
Big push to modernize camps, amenities at national parks
Improved cell phone/WiFi service, increased partnerships with private concessionaires to run campgrounds, improved camper stores, and food and hot showers at campgrounds are among a list of enhancements ...
Like in Alaska, salmon draw in bears on Tahoe creeks
At a small creek that feeds Lake Tahoe, you can see how spawning kokanee salmon are drawing in hungry bears to feast before facing a long winter — a show that can resemble the scenes on the salmon rivers ...
Everything you need to know to visit Lake Berryessa in fall
Like clockwork, a magic moment clicks into time at Lake Berryessa at the end of October. This is the magic moment when Lake Berryessa “turns over” and brings a lake’s worth of feed to the surface ...
Cheat sheet: How to snag last-minute campsites this fall
Campsites at Point Reyes and Angel Island are sold out for Saturday nights through the end of the year with few exceptions. Yet at parks off the radar, you can still find several gems. .
In Bay Area and beyond, bald eagles steal the show
Bald eagles migrating south from Alaska and Canada are joining the local resident eagles at lakes and estuaries where there are ducks and trout to eat. The best spots to see the show in Bay Area and north ...
Marine Mammal Protection Act has helped shark, seal, otter...
Elephant seals are pouring into Año Nuevo State Park Natural Preserve and Point Reyes National Seashore. The great white sharks will follow them in. Sea otters are going on a vigil to avoid becoming shark ...
On the hunt for Kauai’s wild pigs
Some 15 years ago, a local hunter took my son and me under his wing and taught us how to track, stalk and spot the wild pigs of the Kauai jungle. This is how you do it.
PG&E; outages: Hikers, tourists face park shutdowns, limited...
State Park rangers closed Mount Tamalpais State Park in Marin on Wednesday, and others are on notice.
1 billion birds en route to California
The greatest aerial show on Earth, the migration of 1 billion birds on the Pacific Flyway to California, is a full go this week as early winter weather hits hard in Canada. These numbers include 3 million ...
Bicycle turnouts are the answer to two-lane conflict
Across the narrow, twisty back roads of the Bay Area foothills, car versus bike conflicts could be solved with one simple correction: add bicycle turnout lanes. The first prototype is at Mount Diablo.
Bay Area counties’ highest points offer some wonderful views
Whether you drive, walk, hike or climb, a trip to the highest peak in your county can provide a Sunday getaway with a world-class view. In the larger scope, you also get a moment in time where it might ...
What is the Tafoni? You’ll have to hike to find out
The Bay Area’s newest trail provides a leg for a sensational loop route to a rock that looks like it’s from another planet: the Tafoni, a sandstone monolith tucked deep on the slopes of a redwood ...
Fall colors ignite; Point Reyes Light, e-bikes, Sierra snow
In the canyons west of U.S. 395 in Mono County, the aspens went from zero to 10% color last weekend to peak fall colors right now . . . and breaking news about the reopening of the Point Reyes Lighthouse, ...
A historic bid for limited boating at Hetch Hetchy Reservoir
A landmark proposal to allow rental kayaks, canoes and electric-powered boats for the first time at Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park is being considered by Interior Secretary David ...
East of Mt. Diablo is hidden gem Round Valley
From Hardy Canyon Ridge, there’s a favorite rock where you can take a seat or a perch, and then take in a spectacular view across Round Valley, a series of wildland ridges and beyond to a perfect ...
Crazy-quilt start to fall colors across Sierra
The arrival of fall colors has started exactly backward compared with past years. Nature has been running by a new schedule, and no one can predict exactly when peak color will arrive at different areas.
Fall at Shasta Lakes brings more wildlife than visitors
In an afternoon at Shasta Lake, we saw more bald eagles, deer and fish than people. A review of the 50 major recreation lakes in California showed that the water levels are 100 percent of average or better ...
Now is the perfect time to visit Lake Tahoe
If timing is everything at Lake Tahoe, now is that time. Tahoe’s fall shoulder season provides a rare chance to make the region your own at the lake, beaches and trails, with a full lake and few people ...
Homage for a pickup truck at 400,000 miles
For an outdoors writer, hitting 400,000 miles on the odometer is a moment in time that stands apart, a testament to years looking for one more place to hike, bike, boat, fish, watch wildlife and camp.
Mountain lion alert sent out for South Peninsula
Three open space preserves in a five-mile span on the South Peninsula are on alert for mountain lions after several sightings and a preserve closure — and the memory of a lion attack on a 6-year-old boy ...
As fall heats up, Bay Area lakes are the place to cool off
Heading into Indian Summer, the payoffs from winter’s big rains just keep on coming for lakes in the greater Bay Area region: 18 of 22 major lakes in eight counties are heading into fall more than 84% ...
Red Bank Fire on brink of heaven, hell for wildlife
The 9,000-acre Red Bank Fire in Northern California is teetering on the brink between redemption and calamity, says a wildlife manager who helped convert a barren landscape in the region to a wildlife ...
Tom Stienstra’s Outdoors notes: Deer, bears, whales and more
As deer, bear and other wildlife prepare for fall, the annual late-summer eating binge is a go with blackberries, wild plums, apples and other goodies available. Sometimes, they prefer more exotic cuisine.
On seafloor, sea urchins trump abalone
In the undersea world of Sonoma and Mendocino counties, divers have found many sites on the seafloor where hordes of kelp-eating purple sea urchins have invaded, conquered and left behind a barren ...
The best way to see Monterey? From the water
From the crowded streets and sidewalks of Cannery Row in downtown Monterey, you can transform your world in just a few seconds — and a few paddle strokes — by renting a kayak or SUP.
How Yosemite is solving gridlock at Glacier Point
The pending one-year closure and renovation of Glacier Point Road gives Yosemite National Park a chance to implement “a grand vision” to solve the car crush at Glacier Point, says a park lover who has ...
What e-bikes mean for Yosemite, Point Reyes, Sequoia
A trail-by-trail analysis of the directive that orders National Parks to allow e-bikes wherever mountain bikes are permitted shows it will have minimal impact at Yosemite, Point Reyes and Sequoia-Kings ...
Weekend getaway to Skyline Ridge on the Peninsula
What you see: At Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve, you can take a short stroll to pretty Horseshoe Lake. Or you can go all day, with an ambitious hike or mountain bike ride to a ridge with a view west ...
Big Basin trail camps avert annual shutdown
In a major coup for Bay Area outdoors recreation, the best trail camps at Big Basin Redwoods State Park and in the Santa Cruz Mountains will stay open through fall and winter. The decision by California ...
Weekend Getaway: Ocean Beach
What you see: The black sand, magnetite, is magnetic. The hang gliders are sensational. Beach walks go on forever. Along Ocean Beach to Fort Funston, about 750,000 people visit this stretch of San Francisco ...
Weekend getaway to bird watching and more at Coyote Point
What you see: The first surprise at Coyote Point is at the waterfront, where you can look out across the expanse of South San Francisco Bay. It’s so close to so many, but gazing out from land’s end at ...
Weekend getaway to the Diablo Foothills Regional Park
What you see: An extended series of monolithic sandstone structures is the highlight at Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area. As you pass through Pine Canyon and along Pine Creek, you have the option of ...
Sunday Drive: A weekend getaway to Fort Baker
What you get: World-class views and picnic sites, easy walks and a wild-card adventure for kayaks under the Golden Gate Bridge can put Fort Baker on the map for all. Fort Baker is set along the deep cove ...
Weekend getaway to Pescadero reveals beach, marsh
Why it works: You get a twofer at Pescadero State Beach and the adjoining Pescadero State Natural Preserve. For those who love beaches, carved-out havens against the cliffs, tidal reefs, lagoons and ...
Weekend getaway to San Francisco’s Coastal Trail
What you see: The views are so spectacular that it can feel like you are looking at a painting. You can see across the mouth of San Francisco Bay and out to sea, over to the Marin Headlands and the Golden ...
Weekend getaway to old-growth redwoods at Heritage Grove
What you see: The Heritage Grove Trail, one of the Bay Area’s newest trails, provides access to a 37-acre grove with some mammoth, old-growth redwoods. Whether you walk for 100 yards, a mile or make it a ...
Weekend getaway to waterfront possibilities at Bolinas Beach
What you see: At Bolinas Beach, the waterfront arcs in a half moon south to Stinson Beach. To your left, you can walk along the expanse of sand to the mouth of Bolinas Lagoon. Along the way, you can venture ...
Weekend Getaway: Trailhead offers view of Mt. Diablo,...
What you see: From the new trailhead at Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park, the payoff is the panoramic view from atop the 1,500-foot North Ridge Trail. Mount Diablo dominates the landscape to the northeast, ...
Sunday getaway to the gateway to Big Sur
What you see: Garrapata State Park is the gateway to Big Sur on Highway 1, and with it, access to a series of spectacular state parks: Garrapata, Andrew Molera, Pfeiffer Big Sur and Julia Pfeiffer Burns. In ...
Sunday getaway to see humpback whales in Monterey Bay
What you see: Humpback whales have provided such a sure-thing spectacle out of Monterey this month that the Monterey Bay Whale Watch Center has been running up to seven trips a day. Sightings have ranged ...
Weekend getaway to Jenkinson Lake
What you see: The scene was gorgeous last week at Sly Park: a full lake ringed by conifers, a few boats sprinkled across the water along with a handful of kayaks and powerboats. From the dam looking east, ...
Sunday getaway to Samuel P. Taylor State Park
What you see: In minutes, you depart the city life at Fairfax for open foothills and then enter beyond into creekside redwoods at Samuel P. Taylor State Park. The trip provides one of the sharpest ...
Sunday getaway to Coloma
What you see: By river or by land, Coloma is one of the state’s best launch points for surprises. It is the No. 1 site for rafting in California and a state park built around the 1848 discovery of gold. ...
Sunday getaway to Lake Hennessey
What you see: Surprises are great in the outdoors, and when you come ’round the bend and see Lake Hennessey for the first time, you might be shocked at what you’ll find: a small, gorgeous lake settled ...
Sunday getaway to Coyote Hills
What you see : Coyote Hills provides panoramic views across south San Francisco Bay, whether from a shoreline trail or a hilltop. In an interior wetland, a boardwalk is routed through a marsh that ...
Sunday Getaway to Lake Tahoe’s Emerald Bay
What you see: Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe is one of the prettiest places on the planet — a giant cove with cobalt-blue water, surrounded by a mountain rim crowned by Maggie's Peak, and dotted with Fannette ...
Sunday getaway to Carmel’s Point Lobos
Venturing to Point Lobos State Natural Reserve is kind of like falling in love. Each time you look, you see something different that draws you in. Take your pick: Gorgeous ocean views, secluded coves and ...
Sunday getaway to Bodega Bay
Why now: One of the fastest ways to give your world a three-day holiday weekend makeover — and get a jump on summer — is to head out on Bodega Bay in a kayak or SUP. It’s easy to do, the location is ...
Sunday getaway to El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve
What you’ll see: This easy trip features a pretty drive and five-minute walk to see the Methuselah Tree, a giant redwood. Go the extra mile and you’ll see the Tafoni — a one-of-a-kind sandstone ...
Sunday getaway to Uvas Canyon
What you see: The reopening of Uvas Canyon County Park brings with it a gorgeous easy walk, a good loop hike, and a campground with a guarantee that you won’t have to deal with parties. Swanson Creek is ...
Sunday getaway to Mitchell Canyon
Why now: If you hike on Mount Diablo one time a year, now should be that time. Winds out of the northwest are common in May and that cleans out the air for great long-distance views from ridges. ...
Sunday getaway: Del Valle Regional Park
Why now: Spring rains and warm April temperatures have sparked Del Valle Reservoir and its 5,000 acres of parkland to life. You could search across the Bay Area’s 275 recreation destinations and find that ...
State parks in Wine Country in deep recovery after 2017 fires
When Sonoma County was burning up two years ago, at one point it looked like the plume of a nuclear firebomb was billowing into the sky out of Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. This fall, the scene has been much ...
Coming soon: New Bay Area trails and campgrounds
An array of impending projects at Bay Area parks could make for a series of game-changers across the region. They include a new connecting link for the San Francisco Bay Trail on the Peninsula that would ...
Big push to modernize camps, amenities at national parks
Improved cell phone/WiFi service, increased partnerships with private concessionaires to run campgrounds, improved camper stores, and food and hot showers at campgrounds are among a list of enhancements ...
Like in Alaska, salmon draw in bears on Tahoe creeks
At a small creek that feeds Lake Tahoe, you can see how spawning kokanee salmon are drawing in hungry bears to feast before facing a long winter — a show that can resemble the scenes on the salmon rivers ...
Point Reyes Lighthouse’s rebirth: Mystery solved, $5 million...
After 14 months of construction, $5 million and discovery of a 90-year-old mystery box, the Point Reyes Lighthouse is projected to reopen in October. As crews deconstructed the original tower, they ...
Sunday drive to Pearson-Arastradero Preserve
Gateway park: A little-known trail from Pearson-Arastradero Preserve provides a gateway into Foothills Park, the only access available for non-Palo Alto residents. The payoff is a sensational view of the ...
