Roam-O-Rama
In spring and late summer, the “elfin forest” of chaparral in the Santa Monica Mountains takes on a dozen shades of green and bursts forth with nectar-bearing blossoms that are often more attractive to the …
Joining joggers, walkers, and cyclists on local recreational pathways are a certain number of recreational skaters, especially those using fast, sleek, in-line skates. Smooth, paved footpaths, bike paths and sidewalks, plus a few traffic-free roads …
Laguna Coast Wilderness Park is just one component of south Orange County’s 20,000-acre swath of coastal open-space parkland that is open to all kinds of non-motorized travel. The Big Bend Loop trail route (which takes …
Eastbound in the right lane of Highway 52, the San Clemente Canyon Freeway, you can look down upon a long, slender, almost unbroken swath of natural vegetation: massive sycamores, stately live oaks, swaying willows, climbing …
Los Angeles’s scenic and storied Mulholland Drive/Highway skims across the crest of the Santa Monica Mountains from the Hollywood Hills all the way to Ventura County. If Mulholland were ever extended farther eastward from its …
Two of inland San Diego County’s most important east-west highways, Scripps-Poway Parkway and the Tierrasanta-to-Santee stretch of the Highway 52 Freeway, have been designed to carry bicycle as well as auto traffic. They can be …
Silverwood. The name comes from the glittering effect of sunlight upon the dark-green leaves of the coast live oak. Scores of these trees, some of them two-century-old giants scarred by wildfire, shade the canyon floor …
Two hundred thirty-eight years ago, a small party led by the Spanish Colonel Pedro Fages chased after army deserters from the Presidio of San Diego, trekking through a narrow declivity known as Oriflamme Canyon on …
Spring is finally arriving in upper-elevation San Diego County. At mile-high elevations you can find lingering bursts of wildflower color amid the somber pines and bright-green black oaks. For a wide-ranging introduction to this mountain …
After the series of rainstorms we experienced this past winter season, Riverside County’s San Mateo Canyon is brimming with a cold, sparkling stream. The surrounding hillsides (all a part of the Cleveland National Forest) have …
Los Peñasquitos Lagoon, one of San Diego County’s largest coastal wetlands, spreads far and wide in Sorrento Valley, between La Jolla and Torrey Pines. Nearly all of this marshy area belongs to Torrey Pines State …
You trudge ever upward with steady footfalls, steering clear of barely seen rocks and roots. Night vision rules, monochromatic and flat, supplied by the light from a three-quarter, waning moon sinking in the west. As …
North of Warner Springs, a several-miles-long segment of the 2650-mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) traverses Cleveland National Forest land that may one day be designated the “Caliente Wilderness Area.” Certainly the area is remote enough …
Silent, except for the gentle gurgle of water over stone, upper Hot Spring Canyon is an easy-to-reach hideaway in the Santa Ana Mountains, not very far from a pair of Cleveland National Forest campgrounds. Those …
Big Spring, tucked in a tributary of Tubb Canyon on the west side of Borrego Valley, is one of the more reliable water producers in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. As such, it’s an important …
Verdant East Canyon tucks into steep, north-facing slopes just below the crest of the Santa Susana Mountains. The canyon receives an average of about 20 inches of rainfall annually — just enough, in an environment …