This is a great trail for a quick morning or evening hike, or a great loop to do a few times if you are trail running or desperate to get out on your mountain bike! It’s easy to access and provides a great amount of wildlife and wilderness in a fairly busy area.

On our way out to camp in Joshua Tree, we made a quick stop to hike around the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and see if any fall migration birds were hanging out in the area. It’s clear this is a “birder’s park”, so we’ll definitely be returning to see what else we can see here!

As soon as we started planning our trip to the Grand Canyon, we started researching hiking down into it! We decided to hike the South Kaibab Trail to Cedar Ridge, and we were not disappointed. Amazing views, great weather, and some California Condors made this hike feel like the highlight of our whole trip!

We enjoyed five days at the Grand Canyon and, for a first visit, we got to experience a lot of the park. We had every kind of weather, so that gave us a chance to spend time in the shops and museums, which was really fun. We had a lot of really good weather, that allowed us to hike on Kaibab and Rim Trail. We saw a lot of wildlife, great birds, and stunning sunrise and sunsets! We’ll be back!

The Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve is a coastal estuary that covers around 1,300 acres. It features many scenes and habitats for all kinds of wildlife, including open water, mudflats, salt marsh, coastal dunes, seabird nesting islands, riparian, and freshwater marsh.

If you live in Orange County, you have probably heard of Peters Canyon Regional Park. It’s a part of the OC Parks system with multiple trails and even a lake.

Finding peace and quiet in the middle of Orange County can be difficult. The San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary is a great place to find it. This sanctuary and marsh provide a quiet retreat with lots of options for walking, bird watching, or just relaxing in nature. The Sea & Sage Audubon Society work with the sanctuary to protect birds, wildlife, and their habitat. They provide an amazing escape in the middle of Irvine, California!

A great hike in Idyllwild, California in the San Bernardino National Forest. The trail starts from Humber Park and meanders along the hillside with multiple creek crossings, great views of Tahquitz Peak and San Jacinto and fantastic forest scenery.

We love the Point Reyes National Seashore area, and similar to our first visit, we left the second visit already planning for next time. We hiked Bear Valley to Meadow to Sky to Coast and back to Bear Valley, and would highly recommend this loop (despite a terrifying bee sting)! The hiking here is great, and the area is just beautiful!