Roam-O-Rama
Topanga -- "The place where the mountains meet the sea." That simple and descriptive Gabrielino Indian name aptly applies to both the famous canyon near Los Angeles and to the big state park sprawling along …
Summer is settling in at last upon the hills and dales of Julian, bringing with it the toasty smell of sun-dried grass and the cool, vanilla-like fragrance of Jeffrey pines. Bicycling is a good way …
The "top of the world" views from Twin Peaks ridge are among the best in the San Gabriel Mountains. Sometimes in summer (and often in winter) you can look south over a low-lying blanket of …
From its mouth at northernmost Mission Bay, Rose Canyon slices north past Soledad Mountain, then curves east toward the flat mesas of Miramar Marine Corps Air Station. A quarter million or so people unwittingly follow …
Providence Mountains State Recreation Area, billed as California's most remote state park, hides in the midst of what some call the "Lonely Triangle" -- a four-million-acre spread of Mojave Desert landscape bounded by Interstate 15, …
In the lush, shady recesses of Big Santa Anita Canyon, just north of the San Gabriel Valley community of Arcadia, you can easily lose all sight and sense of the mega-millions of people living in …
Eyes shut tight to ward off the stinging spray, wet hair plastered to your head, you hurtle blindly on a straight trajectory toward a sinus-filling finale. Flat on your back, you slip through roller-coasterlike curves …
Development continues in the remaining open spaces of southern Orange County -- so fast that a few years ago Orange County bumped San Diego County from its former rank as the second most populous county …
On average, total lunar eclipses visible from any given locale occur about once every two years. Luckily for us, the year 2003 features two of them. Both eclipses take place (coincidentally and auspiciously) during the …
At a point on the toll road 34 miles east of Tecate and just shy of the village of La Rumorosa, exit the toll road at "Vallecitos," turn right, then make a 180-degree turn.
After a visit to Mount Palomar's famous observatory, I enjoy introducing friends to the delights of the natural landscape right below the telescope's looming dome. In a kind of reverse pilgrimage, we follow the Observatory …
Drive up a short mile from the speedway known as Sunset Boulevard in West Los Angeles toward Will Rogers State Historic Park, and you'll instantly leave the rat race behind. This secluded spot on the …
With five tiers and a total drop of about 150 feet, Tenaja Falls is the most interesting natural feature in Cleveland National Forest's San Mateo Canyon Wilderness. In late winter and spring, water coursing down …
Not many small- or medium-size cities can boast of three mountain ranges within its border, but Glendale, California, does. Stretching east and north from the San Fernando Valley, the city takes in substantial parts of …
Oak Canyon, tucked into a relatively pristine corner of Mission Trails Regional Park just west of Santee, has come alive with a thin stream of gurgling water, owing to the recent decent (if not quite …
Crystal Cove State Park preserves one of the last large, undisturbed parcels of open space along the Orange County coast. Besides containing a three-mile stretch of bluffs and ocean front, the park reaches back into …