Congress, which in December passed legislation that created a number of new national park units, is now being asked to expand by 75,000 acres the Mojave National Preserve as well as Death Valley and Joshua Tree national parks, while also being called upon to create two new national monuments. U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer are working to build upon a...
Learn MoreKirkland Ranch in south Napa County, California has a ridge with sweeping views of vineyards, wetlands, San Pablo Bay and beyond, which the local park district wants the public to experience. “I think that would certainly be a draw for a lot of people,” Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District General Manager John Woodbury said. The district recently released...
Learn MoreIt takes a certain masochism to experience Death Valley National Park as it’s meant to be seen. But torture yourself just a little, take a few extra steps, and you’ll be rewarded with a combination of natural and historical wonders that no place on Earth can match: gorgeous sand dunes sculpted by wind; a dried-up lakebed named the Racetrack for its power to move rocks;...
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Death Valley is an imposing place to go for a hike, though the staff at the national park is encouraging visitors to experience the park on a hiking trail through a new program that debuts in January. The Hike Death Valley program offers a list of hikes for visitors to take. Each hike has a point value assigned to it. For instance, hike the half-mile to Scotty’s...
Learn MoreOn Feb. 5, 2014, the world’s most famous wolf woke up somewhere along the Oregon-California border, very likely in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, a landscape of Alpine forests and grassland valleys. For the better part of a year he had been making his home in this place where the Cascade, Klamath, and Siskiyou mountains converge. It was cold that day, in the...
Learn MoreA group of avid hikers are coordinating with San Mateo, CA officials to provide more recreational opportunities at Sugarloaf Mountain by creating formal and accessible trails at the city’s largest park and open space landholding. “It’s a little jewel here in San Mateo,” said Marilyn Stockdale Green, a San Mateo resident who sits on the nonprofit Trail Center Board of...
Learn MoreAt three miles long and 2,000 feet in elevation, the hike up Mission Peak is not for the faint of heart: The trail is dry and nearly bald, and climbing it can be painfully hot. The incline near the top is rocky and preposterously steep. But for those who make it to the top, the payoff is big. In addition to a panoramic view of San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and,...
Learn MoreGoogle unveiled panoramic imagery and mapping that was collected by Google Trekkers who hiked some of California’s state parks this summer. The initial launch included imagery of 10 state parks, Point Lobos State Reserve, three state beaches, and more than 25 hiking trails, many of which are in Big Sur. The Mountain View-based company took the technology of its...
Learn MoreHiking the Backbone Trail is the slowest and most gratifying 65 miles you’ll ever travel in Southern California. In a region built for cars and speed, the Backbone Trail represents a return to the simple pleasures and challenges of taking your time, putting one foot in front of the other, and seeing how far you can go. Stretching through the Santa Monica Mountains from...
Learn Moret’s ironic so many American success stories happened at a spot named for one of history’s iconic failures. But that’s how it is with the Donner Pass near Truckee, Calif. The first wagon train to successfully cross the Sierra Nevada squeezed through the tiny granite gap in 1844. In the 1860s laborers built massive walls and 15 tunnels through the pass to...
Learn MoreDuring his two years confined in harsh imprisonment for the crime of homosexuality, British playwright Oscar Wilde wrote: “Nature, whose sweet rains fall on unjust and just alike, will have clefts in the rocks where I may hide, and secret valleys in whose silence I may weep undisturbed … She will cleanse me in the great waters, and with bitter herbs make me...
Learn MoreWhile you can’t go wrong with when it comes to hiking in Marin County, California, there are some areas you undoubtedly must visit at least once. Considering Marin’s seemingly endless selection of open space and trails, creating a list of the best hikes the county has to offer is no easy feat. But here’s a shot, with a mix of cardio-pumping routes and...
Learn MoreFor adventurous hikers looking to traverse the paths less traveled, author Justin Rohde said his new book provides a detailed guide to the region that straddles the Oregon and California border, which contains the highest concentration of undammed wild and scenic rivers in the United States. Rohde, who worked as a guide on hiking trails near Cave Junction in...
Learn MoreLong before yoga pants made their first appearance in Runyon Canyon, a health guru helped Angelenos discover their local mountain trails. Beginning in 1924, on the first and third Sunday of each month, members of the Wanderlusters Hiking Club followed Paul C. Bragg into the hilly terrain around Los Angeles. Dozens of them traipsed through Altadena’s Millard Canyon...
Learn MoreSince the closure of Fort Ord in 1994, the 28,000 acres that comprised the military base have been spun off into various civilian uses. As a part of that process, on April 12, 2012, President Obama signed a declaration setting aside 14,650 acres—half of the former base—as Fort Ord National Monument. The Bureau of Land Management currently oversees 7,200 acres, and the...
Learn MoreBottled-water drinkers, we have a problem: There’s a good chance that your water comes from California, a state experiencing the third driest year on record. The details of where and how bottling companies get their water are often quite murky , but generally speaking, bottled water falls into two categories. The first is “spring water,” or groundwater that’s collected,...
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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