Mori Point, located just south of the City of Pacifica, is a beautiful place on the Californian coastline and is only a short drive from San Francisco. With its rugged bluffs, the wild ocean crashing at the shore, black beaches, carpets of wildflowers in spring, and abundant wildlife, Mori Point is an awe-inspiring example of what is possible when restoring natural landscapes after decades of exploitation.

Hiking in San Francisco? Absolutely! Thanks to San Francisco’s fantastic location on the Pacific Ocean, there are numerous opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts, even within the city limits. The Batteries to Bluffs Trail, Lands End, and China Beach are stunning options for exploring the city’s rugged shoreline, offering incredible views of the Golden Gate Bridge along the way.

The Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve is a remarkable place to admire the spring bloom of the stunning California state flower. A place that looks in summer like the sun must have burnt every trace of life to the ground and it is hard to imagine that there is any time during the year where something, besides maybe a cactus, could thrive there. In spring, however, nature proves otherwise.

The Carrizo Plain National Monument is a remote place in the heart of California's Central Valley that comes to life with wildflowers during spring, occasionally showcasing a superbloom in ideal years. The monument was once a vast grassland. Today, it is, in the midst of agriculture and the oil industry, the last remnant of this landscape.

Joshua Tree National Park is one of my favorite national parks in California. To me, deserts are one of those places where you really feel small and insignificant as a human being - in a very satisfying way. In this blog article, I will share my favorite things to do in the park during fall and winter, give insight into the history and geology, provide accommodation tips, and guidance on park entrances.

Point Lobos State Natural Reserve is a wonderful place to admire the immense biodiversity and beauty of the Californian Central Coast. There are numerous trails within the reserve that allow you to immerse yourself in stunning scenery, ranging from coastal bluffs providing habitat for — among many others — harbor seals, sea lions, pelicans, and great blue herons, to dense forests with yellow-green lichens hanging mythically from the trees, often shrouded in fog.

The James Irvine Trail in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is an incredible hike through a dense redwood forest, leading down to Gold Bluffs Beach and the popular Fern Canyon. Along the way, you can spot gigantic clover, banana slugs, or even Roosevelt Elk, that live in this unique habitat.

Winters in California are mild, and on the Central Coast, the temperatures do not differ much from those in summer. In fact, a dry and sunny winter day may even feel warmer than one of the many foggy and windy summer days. In January, after a long stretch of rain, we took the opportunity on one of those summery weekends and headed out to Point Reyes for a little backpacking adventure to the Coast Campground and Santa Maria Beach.

Framed within a historic setting, where human land use of the past is intertwined with the protection efforts of today, the trail leads us through brownish grasses that had endured the lack of summer rain for many months now. We knew, though, that it would only take a couple of weeks until the scenery would be fed with water again and relieve the plants from the long drought. After a while, we finally encountered what I was hoping to see all along.

And there it was. The first big patch of snow, which was still in the process of melting away on this day at the end of summer after a crazy winter. As we came closer, we saw that it wasn’t just a snow patch, but something like a snowy ice tunnel had formed.

What was that? It sounded like someone or something broke a bunch of thicker branches and I immedetly knew that it was impossible that a squirrel, a mouse or even a coyote could have caused this. The trail was rather narrow at this point. To my left side, there were thick bushes that were hiding the river down in the valley below us. The sound was so close. It must have come from these bushes! I turned my head to the left and all I could see was fur in the midst of greenery, A LOT of brown fur.

As the sun began to set, it seemed like the conditions could be good – at least the cloudless sky allowed a clear path for the sun to shine at the waterfall. The shine of the sun got more and more focused on the waterfall, becoming more golden minute after minute.

Thanks to San Francisco's hilly terrain, there is no shortage of amazing views within (and just outside) the city. In this guide, I'll share my favorite viewpoints and parks with a view as a resident of SF, all of which are entirely free to access.

While summer is slowly winding down in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere at the end of September, the hottest place on Earth is still sweltering under the scorching sun.