Long Barn, California

The South Grove Trail of Calaveras Big Trees State Park sees far less traffic than the North Grove due to its increased mileage and distance from the park entrance. The trail starts at the South Grove Trail head which is located nine miles east of the entrance on the main park road. The trailhead...

Start by picking up your wilderness permit at the Summit Ranger Station near Pinecrest - (209) 965-3434. There's no quota for this area, so no need for reservations in advance. To reach the trailhead, make your way south from the Ranger Station and turn left onto Crabtree Rd. Drive along this ro...

Get your hands on some limestone bouldering at this spot. There's actually two locations for bouldering in this area, Columbia College and Columbia State Park (about less than a 10 min. drive from Columbia College), but I made this specific adventure for climbing on the college. GPS Coordinates f...

Chewing Gum Lakes is located in Emigrant Wilderness, South of Lake Tahoe and North of Yosemite, with stunning valley views and gorgeous granite faces, peaking through the tree lines of the Stanislaus National Forest. Sitting just north of Yosemite allows you to take in a portion of the beauty of ...

When thinking of the iconic Sequoias of the Sierra Nevada, one usually thinks of Yosemite and Sequoia National Park. However, there is a often forgotten area of Giant Sierra Redwoods that gets far less traffic than the more popular groves. The North Grove Trail takes you through a grove of over 1...

Upon entering Yosemite Valley National Park I made it a point to see Half Dome, El Capitan, and Washington Column and several other famous Yosemite formations. What I didn't realize was as soon as I entered The Village was that all could be seen within a 15 minute loop around the valley floor. Th...

Finding Rainbow Pool is a little tricky, since it is off the side of a highway, but when you find it there is parking and bathrooms. There is a easy walkway to get down to the pool itself, and trails to climb to the top to slide or jump off the rocks. Many people tend to fish up top underneath th...

Hetch Hetchy has a completely different character than other areas of Yosemite National Park, and the hike to Wapama Falls is an excellent way to explore this relatively remote section of the park. You can only imagine what this valley looked liked before it was dammed and is second to none compa...

Situated in the northwest portion of Yosemite National Park, Hetch Hetchy is is a not often visited treasure of the Central Sierra Nevada. In 1913, in an extremely controversial move, work on the O’Shaughnessy Dam was started to provide water to the growing population of San Francisco. Today, Het...

Getting There Take 108 to Pinecrest Lake to pick up a free backcountry permit at the Summit Ranger Station. (If you reach Strawberry you've gone too far.) Continue past Beardsley Lake to Clark's Fork Road on the left. Cross two bridges and Forest Route 6N06 will take you to the trailhead (County ...

The Lower and Upper Relief Valleys are beautiful alpine valleys cut by Relief Creek in the heart of the Emigrant Wilderness and are an excellent alternative to Yosemite National Park if you're looking for solitude and no crowds. The East Flange Rock juts prominently over Lower Relief and is an ea...

Merced Grove is technically the smallest and most secluded of the three sequoia groves found in Yosemite National Park, which lends itself to be less crowded offering a peaceful solitude hike. The trailhead is located at the Merced Grove parking lot on Big Oak Flat Road. This trail begins by foll...

The trail to Wheeler Lake begins at the Woodchuck Basin Trailhead. This trailhead is located a little over a mile east of Lake Alpine on Highway 4. The trail starts off relatively flat and winds through forests and meadows, taking you into the Mokelumne Wilderness. Time it right and you'll be met...

The Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias is one of three sequoia groves in Yosemite National Park. This particular grove has gorgeous forest scenery and provides great solitude compared to the crowded Yosemite Valley. The trail used to be an old road offering a wide path with a gradual descent, makin...

Crane Flat Campground is located on the Big Oak Flat Road (Highway 120) just west of Crane Flat, about 30 minutes northwest of Yosemite Valley. Sites are open July-October at $26/night. More info at https://www.nps.gov/yose/plany...

The hike to Bull Run Lake is about 7.8 miles, roundtrip, and begins at the Stanislaus Meadows Trailhead, located about 10 miles West of Ebbetts Pass. There is plenty of parking near the trailhead, off of the South side of CA 4. The trailhead GPS coordinates are: N38 30.376' / W119 56/617'Once you...