Roam-O-Rama
"In Memory of Col. F. C. Marshall and 1st Lt. C. L. Webber who fell at this spot Dec. 7, 1922.” Without this inscription, the presence of an old 12-cylinder engine permanently mounted in stone …
O’Melveny Park spreads over 672 acres, second on the list of largest parks within the City of Los Angeles, right after the much-more-spacious Griffith Park. Noted for its picture-perfect picnic grounds with white fences and …
Stark and barren, yet glorious in their nakedness, Anza-Borrego’s skeletal mountain ranges conceal more than they reveal to casual passersby. If you want to know them better, you must leave the security of the automotive …
The name “Sycamore Canyon” in California geography plays a rather redundant role. How many canyons have specimens of native sycamore, and how many of those were named (either in English or in Spanish) after that …
The practically straight-up Vital Link Trail connects popular Wildwood Canyon Park in the Verdugo foothills with the Verdugo Mountains crestline. Almost every step on the trail yields a higher vantage for the panoramic view of …
Flat Cat Canyon is the curious name given to a rugged gorge southwest of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park visitor center and not far outside the community of Borrego Springs. Park rangers once found a …
On the Mount Zion loop hike, you get to discover plenty of wild territory tucked back into the steeply rising “Front Range” of the San Gabriel Mountains. Why Front Range? Because these fortress-like ramparts form …
Straddling the San Diego–Riverside county line, Rockhouse Canyon and the broad, sloping alluvial basin drained by it — informally known as Rockhouse Valley — constitute one of Southern California’s truly forgotten places. Not much more …
Upper Las Virgenes Canyon, near Calabasas at the edge of the San Fernando Valley, is one of those places where you can make the sight and sound of a huge metropolitan area simply disappear after …
Winter is an often-ideal time for watching the sun rise or set in and around San Diego. Picture yourself on a clear late afternoon, perched atop a seaside bluff or on one of the hills …
A long and leisurely ramble up the sinuous course of Harper Canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park leads hikers to Harper Flat, a four-square-mile valley hidden from casual view by rock-strewn ridges and peaks. The …
Clear, late-autumn skies and cool temperatures inland beckon you to visit southwest Riverside County’s premier ecological showplace: Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve. The leisurely half-day Punta Mesa loop hike will introduce you to virtually every …
Serene Dos Picos County Park, outside Ramona, nestles into East County’s sweet-smelling chaparral hillsides like a dewdrop caught in the hollow of a leaf. The name refers to two prominent mountain peaks nearby, though which …
Southern California abounds with duplicate place names such as Devil Canyon, Devil’s Canyon, Devil’s Peak, Devil’s Punchbowl, and the like. In the particular Devil Canyon described here, which lies at the northwest corner of the …
Sombrero Peak rises head and shoulders above the southern precincts of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, its summit overlooking a hundred-square-mile expanse of rock-strewn mountains and gorges, sun-baked valleys, and shimmering badlands. Conversely, the peak …
Several back roads, some paved and some unpaved, strike off in various directions from Ramona, each offering splendid bicycle touring that doesn’t have to include tangling with snarling traffic on major roads. Black Canyon Road …