Nestled in the eastern Santa Cruz Mountains between Morgan Hill and Watsonville is Uvas Canyon County Park. With Swanson Creek flowing year-round and tall hills, this is a great place for some mellow and scenic hiking away, but not away, from civilization. You can hit miles of trails and still be back in time for brunch. I met up with my longtime Instagram friend, Christian Arballo, and set off to explore some trails in this new-to-us park!
Hike: Bay Area Ridge Trail to Ancient Oaks Trail to Charquin Trail to Borel Hill
Where: Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve
Trailhead: Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve
Level: Moderate
Duration: 3 hours
Length: 8 miles
Gear: Icebreaker Women’s Tech T Lite T-Shirt, Outlier Women’s Daily Riding Pants, REI Flash 18 Pack
, Triple Aught Design Artemis Hoodie, and Ahnu Sugarpine Waterproof Hiking Boots
Cost of Parking: Free
Met up with Russ the Wine Hiker & Karl from Alpha Roaming this past Sunday for a quick hike off of Skyline Blvd at Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve. The Bay Area is chock-full of these Open Space Preserves, open to hikers, bikers and equestrians. They tend to get very busy and are quite open and unprotected, so I tend to avoid them. But they all offer miles of gorgeous trails and amazing views.
We’ve been getting a wee bit of rain in the Bay Area, so the hills are currently lush, green and dotted with wildflowers. It was the perfect time to hike an open space preserve.
We started off at the parking lot off of Alpine Road and hopped onto the Bay Area Ridge Trail. Enjoyed sweeping views of Silicon Valley beginning to wake up under a cloud of fog, and then made our way over to the Ancient Oaks Trail. Hiked beneath the shade of some gorgeous oak trees and then dropped down onto Charquin Trail until it hit Mindego Hill Trail.
From there, we retraced our steps back up Charquin and Ancient Oaks. We popped up to Borel Hill which was quite windy, and then took the Bay Area Ridge Trail back to the parking lot.
If Big Sur is a popular cheerleader, Mendocino is her older, cooler, more aloof older sister. Situated four hours north of San Francisco, this North Coast destination has plenty to offer the weekend warrior. Russian Gulch State Park and the Fern Canyon and Waterfall Loop are some trails that should not be missed.
Hike: Balconies Cave and High Peaks Loop
Where: Pinnacles National Park
Trailhead: Old Pinnacles Trailhead
Level: Moderate
Duration: 5 hours
Length: 10.5 mile loop
Fitbit Steps: Approximately 33,000
Gear: CamelBak Aventura pack, Outdoor Research Contour Shorts, NW Alpine Black Spider Hoodie,
Ahnu Women’s Montara Waterproof Boot, Icebreaker Women’s Tech T Lite
Cost of Parking: $5 with admission to park for 7 consecutive days after
Notorious for crazy volcanic rock formations jutting hundreds of feet in the air, Pinnacles National Park is a destination for hikers and climbers. This past weekend was my first jaunt to the breathtakingly gorgeous national park. I cannot believe I have never been, both as a hiker and a climber.
The “pinnacles” that you see at the park are eroded formations from a long extinct volcano. These formations are home to the endangered California condors that can often be seen soaring high above. Rocky talus also forms caves in the park that house at least thirteen species of bats.
Weather was in the high 70s with wisps of clouds from previous storms in the air. Streams were flowing with water from the last two weeks of rain. The trails were dry, but not unbearably so. Balconies Cave was also open for passing.
We attempted to follow this hike via EveryTrail, but went in through the wrong entrance, and chose to approach from a separate trailhead on the east side of the park. From there, we made our way up to the Balconies trail, decided that we wanted to go through the cave, went through the cave, and then back up the Balconies trail again, effectively adding some extra mileage. The Balconies trail does go up in elevation so if you are looking for something a little more mellow, head through the cave. Depending on the time of year, the bottom of the cave may be wet. This past weekend was not too bad with small trickles and wet rocks. Went from Balconies to the Chaparral area, and then up to High Peaks through the tunnel, and back down around to the trailhead.
I expected the park to be more crowded with all the forever summer weather that California has been receiving, but it was fairly empty on the loop I was on.
If you’re looking to visit this park, spring and fall are the best time to avoid sweltering heat and melt-your-face temperatures. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend. The pinnacles alone are Instagram-worthy. So gorgeous!
The redwoods are always my favorite place to escape in inclement weather. There’s nothing quite like hiking under the protection of dense branches towering way above. My face loves being tickled by little bits of rain.
The Big Ben Loop at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park is a series of trails at the Fall Creek Unit. It’s part of Henry Cowell State Park, but more remote.