It has been over a year now since I took the plunge into car-free existence. The one-way, overnight backpack trip up and over Mount Diablo that I took last fall is one example of the kind of adventure I have been enjoying since I said good-bye to my car.
Camping and Backpacking | Climbing | Gardening | Kids and Nature | Paddling | Point Reyes Walkabout | Trails
Transit to Trails Map
Download our updated map showing transit connections to protected parks and open spaces all over the San Francisco Bay Area.
Up and Down at Point Reyes
If the Sweet Lumber Company had had its way, the landscape of Inverness Ridge in West Marin would be more tree farm than forest. In the 1950s the company built a mill pond and started logging the giant Douglas fir … Read more
Mulch Madness
Google “mulch” and you’ll find university websites from Alaska to Florida touting mulch as one of the most environmentally friendly and effective tools for improving a backyard garden. But that mulch keeps native bees from digging their nests…
Backyard Boarding House
Leafcutters, diggers, carpenters, and masons… At first glance that may look like a directory for building contractors. Add the miners, cuckoos, and sweats and what you have isn’t a list of tool-bag clad builders, but some of the 1,600 known species of native bees in California. Here’s how you can make them at home in your garden.
Bees, Butterflies, and Other Insect Pollinators
Insects have fascinating lives and behaviors most of us never notice. But if you spend even 15 minutes watching bees or butterflies, you’re sure to be drawn into their worlds and want to know more about them. Here are some … Read more
Native Plant Sales
April and May are great months for getting to know native plants through native plant sales and garden tours held around the Bay Area. And not only gardeners benefit: The proceeds from these sales fund valuable conservation work all over the region.
Waterfalls!
One of the special rewards of a rainy season hike is the sight and sound of a trailside waterfall.
Out of the Blue
This massive South Bay preserve, which is still being assembled, forms a critical link in the chain of protected landscapes in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Kayaks and Breeding Birds at Alcatraz
The nearly vertical cliffs on the western side of Alcatraz Island serve as a nursery for several species of seabirds. These cliffs are the Bay’s only breeding site for Brandt’s and pelagic cormorants. In 1991, when PRBO Conservation Science began … Read more