Walking in John Muir’s Footsteps at Alhambra Hills Open Space
Once slated for homes, now open to hikers
Conservation
First Cotoni-Coast Dairies Trails Opening At Last
Explore sweeping coastal prairies, redwood forests, and oak woodlands at a new national monument near Santa Cruz
An Ocean-to-Bay Hike: San Francisco’s Double Cross Trail
The companion to the Crosstown inspires with hidden nature and jaw-dropping views.
Finding Bugula
A colony of hundreds of small animals, whose symbiotic bacteria pumps out human medicine.
Fall 2025 Almanac: Blond Tarantulas and Beavers
Life during fall brings with it a little bit of whimsy, the cerulean sky, and a shimmer of promise.
How to Watch Butterflies and Their Migrations
My advice? Don't act like a bird.
Unburned: An Investigation
To protect the Plumas National Forest and its communities from the next megafire, the Forest Service plans to burn it—intentionally. Can $274 million do the job?
A Land Back Success for the Amah Mutsun Within Its Historical Territory
The tribe has been landless for more than 200 years.
How Spiders Fly
Darwin saw them ballooning. Without any wind. Eventually some scientists figured out their electric secret.
The Epic Saga of the Verna A II, a Shoreline Menace No More
A derelict fishing vessel has finally been removed from a Sonoma County beach, after nine years. Waiting to do the cleanup more than doubled the cost.
