Roam-O-Rama
Tens of millions of years in the making, Devil's Punchbowl is without a doubt Los Angeles County's most spectacular geological showplace. Looking into this chasm, you immediately sense the enormity of the forces that produced …
Mile-high Palomar Mountain State Park has probably the finest montane scenery in San Diego County, complete with trickling streams, mixed oak-conifer forests, and rolling meadows. So far, this magnificent spot has managed to evade the …
The climb to Calabasas Peak appeals to both exercise-minded folks and landscape photographers. The non-trivial gain and loss of 1000 feet of elevation makes a great workout, and the geologic formations you pass along the …
Los Pinos Mountain's 4805-foot height hardly places it in the same league as the nearby, higher peaks of the Cuyamacas and Lagunas, but the peak does get some recognition as the site of one of …
As one of the richest wetland areas Southern California, the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary offers an uncommon opportunity to come in contact with a natural ecosystem seemingly plunked down in the midst of Orange County's …
The 12-mile, one-way hiking traverse from the Laguna Mountains to Cuyamaca Rancho State Park isn't what it used to be, on account of the October 2003 Cedar Fire. Still, it's nice to see the recovery …
Parsons Landing on Santa Catalina Island is not only the site of a small beach and a spacious camping area; it is also the home of one of the best examples of native Southern California …
For cyclists, skaters, walkers, and runners, the vast Mission Bay Park features something quite hard to find in our topographically wrinkled county: dead-flat terrain. Now that fine new or refurbished concrete sidewalks snake around South …
The Mount Waterman Trail traverse across the north rim of the San Gabriel Wilderness provides almost constant views of statuesque pines, yawning chasms, and distant, hazy ridges. The rugged topography of the wilderness area is …
Hemmed in by hundred-foot cliffs on one side and the restless surf on the other, Crystal Cove State Park's three miles of sandy beachfront seem strangely detached from the busy Orange County world above. Aside …
Mount Lowe is only one of many named summits in the so-called Front Range of the San Gabriel Mountains overlooking Pasadena and the rest of the vast Los Angeles metropolitan region. Its strategic location, affording …
A cool coastal breeze, worming its way up through Mission Gorge, ruffles the mirrorlike surfaces of the seven Santee Lakes, and sets cottonwood leaves aflutter. A damp, wholly agreeable odor permeates the wooded shorelines. Does …
Far from sight and sound of the city, the Burkhart Trail blazes a lonely path over the desert bordering range of the San Gabriel Mountains and down into the upper margins of the Mojave Desert. …
San Diego County is riddled with edges or "ecotones" -- boundaries between different geographic regions or ecological habitats. Ecotones harbor great biological diversity and often feature spectacular scenery, especially when the transition from one type …
Prior to October 2003's great Cedar Fire, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park sprawled across more than 25,000 acres of chaparral, gentle meadows, gurgling streams, and forests of pines, firs, cedars, sycamores, and oaks. Today, of course, …
For much of the past century, Paramount Ranch has served the needs of an entertainment industry always hungry for rustic outdoor scenery. Since 1980, however, the core of this property has been in the hands …