Lake Elizabeth, Fremont, CA

Good for a casual stroll. It gets a bit crowded and there are also lots of geese.

Central Park

Sanborn County Park, Saratoga, CA

This is a pleasant, moderately steep forest hike. There is a $6 vehicle entry fee.

Cuesta Park

Seal Point Park, San Mateo, CA

Great views of the bay. Best in summer as it gets somewhat breezy. Parking is easy and plentiful. Has a dog park as well.

Byxbee park, Palo Alto, CA

I took the family here for a short walk. It's not crowded here so social distancing (with mask) was not too difficult.

Mission Peak (via Stanford Avenue)

I did a hike at Mission Peak with my brother in early spring.

Uvas Canyon County Park, Morgan Hill, CA

I recently went on this hike with my SO, after my uncle had suggested this park to me. A good place to go in early spring to see waterfalls.

Baylands Park, Sunnyvale, CA

I went here on a Sunday afternoon with my brother. It is flat with a good view of the marshlands. Popular with drone operators.

Lafayette Reservoir, revisited

First hike of the year!

Bishop Ranch Regional Preserve, San Ramon, CA

Dublin Hills Regional Park, v2

During late summer I took a short afternoon hike here.

Morgan Territory Regional Preserve, Livermore, CA

Good for a weekend afternoon. Mt. Diablo is visible from the Volvon trail.



Note: getting to the park requires driving on a narrow 1-lane road. Exercise caution.

Tiger Mountain, Issaquah, WA

The hike to Poo Poo Point features a 1858-foot elevation gain in 3.5 miles (7-mile round trip).

Lafayette Reservoir

This short hike around the reservoir was good for a summer jog.

McWay Falls

This waterfall is one hour south of Monterey, and worth the drive.

Sycamore Valley Regional Open Space Preserve

This park is not crowded, but not isolated either. Good for a 2-3 hour hike.

Somewhere in the tri-valley area

In early June I took an impromptu hike on a sunny afternoon.

Ed R. Levin County Park

On a Sunday in early May, I hiked here. It features beautiful views of a lake and the bay.



Note: Certain trails in this park go near a cell phone tower. I turned back early to avoid it (possible EM radiation exposure risk).

Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park, Pleasanton, CA

On a warm weekend afternoon I hiked here.

Wilder Ranch State Park, Santa Cruz, CA

I took my wife here on a late April weekend. The hike was windy, but pretty.

Bothe-Napa Valley State Park

On a sunny weekend trip to wine country, we took a short hike here.

Lake Chabot, revisited

In mid April I revisited Lake Chabot, with family.

Shoreline Park to Byxbee Park, Mountain View, CA

Today I jogged between the two parks for a nice workout.

Mission Peak (via Stanford Avenue)

On a Saturday in late March, we hiked Mission Peak.

Dublin Hills Regional Park, Dublin, CA

I went here for a walk/jog on a cloudy spring afternoon, and was lucky to make it back to the car before the bulk of the rain hit.

Copper Trail, Albuquerque, NM

On a work trip to Albuquerque, I was able to squeeze in a hike at Copper Trailhead.

Windy Hill, v2

In early February I revisited Windy Hill, this time with my better half.

Vargas Regional Park

In early February I spent a couple hours on a Sunday afternoon at Vargas Regional Park.

Warning: The drive there traverses a narrow road...drive safely and watch for oncoming traffic.
Note: It gets very windy here (thanks to the Venturi effect).

Alum Rock, San Jose, CA

I returned here in early February with my S.O. Here is the view from Eagle Rock.

Del Valle redux

In January I returned to Del Valle for a short hike.

Las Trampas Regional Wilderness, San Ramon, CA

Recently I went hiking in San Ramon. It is windy here during the late fall and the trail is steep, but scenic.

Almaden Quicksilver County Park, San Jose, CA (Mockingbird Hill entrance)

On a late summer afternoon, I took a hike at Almaden Quicksilver County Park.



Trails: Virl O. Norton Trail, Hacienda Trail
Difficulty: >Medium (2.4 miles, hilly)

Ano Nuevo State Park

San Gregorio State Beach

Lands End to Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA

I took my special companion here on a Saturday afternoon. After a late lunch, we started our journey on the 1.5-mile Lands End Coastal trail, and decided to continue on to the Golden Gate Bridge, retracing our steps back to the starting point for a 7 1/2 mile round-trip hike.


Trails: Coastal Trail, El Camino Del Mar/Lincoln Blvd.
Difficulty: Moderate to Strenuous

Mussel Rock Beach Park, Daly City, CA

Recommended by my brother, this SF-area park is full of nice photo ops. Prepare to get wet if you venture near the rocks.

Mount Si, North Bend, WA

This strenuous hike is about an hour east of Seattle. It provides stunning views of Mt. Rainier.


Trail: Mt. Si Trail
Difficulty: Strenuous (7.6 miles out & back, 3277ft elevation change)

Phantom Lake, Bellevue, WA

This lake near Seattle makes for a nice spring walk.


Trail: Lake to Lake Trail
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

Monte Sano State Park, Huntsville, AL

This park features a wooded area and cave.

Lake Chabot Regional Park, Castro Valley, CA

This East bay hike was recently recommended to me, and I was pleasantly surprised. It features pretty views of Lake Chabot and the bay. Good for walking the dog if you have one.


Trail: Unnamed
Difficulty: Moderate (some slope, sun exposure, windy in certain areas)

Ravenswood Open Space Preserve, East Palo Alto, CA

Next to the Dumbarton bridge, this marshland has some opportunities for birdwatching, but is very isolated. Do not hike here alone.


Trail: Bay Trail
Difficulty: Moderate (isolated, windy)

Los Trancos Open Space Preserve, Los Altos, CA

Hidden in the hills southwest of Los Altos, this hike features a creek in the middle of the woods.


The trail itself is flat and not very long, but it is somewhat isolated. Though signage is good one can still lose one's way. It is advisable to bring friends and a gps-capable device.

Trail: Lost Creek Trail
Difficulty: Moderate (isolation)

Joseph D. Grant County Park, Mount Hamilton, CA

I took a spur-of-the-moment hike here today.

The park features a lake and several trails leading up into the foothills adjacent to Mt. Hamilton. After walking around Grant lake, one can take the Halls Valley Trail up the foothills.

Grant Lake


Halls Valley trail: Note the cows grazing on the grassy hillside.


About halfway up the Halls Valley trail, 3 cows blocked the trail up ahead and stood their ground. Instead of waiting it out, I decided to turn back as it was getting late.

Trail: Halls Valley Trail
Difficulty: >Moderate (length, slope, secluded)

Greyhound Rock County Park, Davenport, CA

At the suggestion of one of my uncles, I decided to drive here and look around. The park itself is located about 15 miles north of Santa Cruz, along highway 1. After parking, take the paved road down to the beach, where you will be greeted by a beautiful view of the rock.


It can be helpful to time your visit with low tide.

Having already hiked earlier that day (see previous post), I decided not to climb onto Greyhound rock itself, and plan to return sometime in the not-too-distant future to do so.

Pomponio State Beach, San Gregorio, CA

This beach is located 12 miles south of Half Moon Bay along Highway 1--a great place to spend an afternoon to escape one's daily concerns and unwind. It is not too crowded here, and you can get a nice, secluded view of the coastal bluffs and ocean if you walk far enough along the beach.