Joshua Tree National Park is not just bare desert — it is a place of surprising diversity and full of wonder. While I admittedly do have a thing for deserts, Joshua Tree can also convince those of this incredible ecosystem who find deserts generally boring and lifeless! Two days is a good amount of time to discover different features of the park. This post focuses on which hikes and places I’d recommend to pick for just two days in the park.

San Francisco is one of those rare places where city life and the outdoors blend seamlessly. If you love nature but still enjoy culture, food, and architecture, there’s really no better city (at least in my book!). Even if cities aren’t your thing, you’ll still find plenty of ways to get outside — from beaches and forests to cliffs and coastal dunes. In this guide, I’m sharing my favorite outdoorsy things to do in San Francisco — a mix of well-known spots and hidden gems for locals and visitors alike.

Moab is a hiker’s, adventure seeker’s, and desert lover’s paradise. From here, you can easily reach two iconic national parks — Arches and Canyonlands — but there are also plenty of incredible hikes outside the parks. This region is exactly what many people imagine when they think of Utah. While Moab is close to famous trails like Delicate Arch, you’ll also find hidden gems where you can enjoy some peace and solitude. In this guide, I’ll share my top hiking recommendations in the Moab area — both within and beyond the national parks.

Rocky Mountain National Park is a place where rugged peaks, alpine lakes, and endless skies meet. Whether you’re hiking to a glacier-fed lake, trying to spot moose, elk, or bighorn sheep, or just soaking in the crisp mountain air, Rocky Mountain National Park is a dream for outdoor lovers. In this guide, I'll share my tips on how to make the most of a short visit to Rocky Mountain National Park, tailored to a visit in late spring or early summer. This itinerary is ideal if you want to experience a little bit of everything — from iconic hikes to wildlife viewing and scenic drives.

Great Basin National Park is Nevada’s only “unshared” national park — unlike Death Valley, which also stretches into California. It’s one of the most remote and least visited parks in the United States. But don’t let the low visitation numbers fool you — Great Basin is packed with natural wonders: from ancient Bristlecone Pines and turquoise alpine lakes to glaciers and sweeping desert views. Imagine hiking through snowy peaks, passing the oldest trees on Earth, then gazing down at a vast desert valley from above. The contrasts are stunning — and totally surreal. If that sounds like your kind of adventure, grab your favorite drink and dive into what makes this hidden gem so special!

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.

What could be more breathtaking than a road trip from California’s rugged Pacific coast across Utah’s deep red deserts to Colorado’s rushing mountain rivers in late spring? Imagine yourself traversing the vast, sun-scorched deserts along the Loneliest Road in America, gazing into the universe under some of the world’s darkest skies, hiking the tallest sand dunes in the Northern Hemisphere, and admiring turquoise alpine lakes while looking down at bone-dry deserts stretching endlessly below. In this article, I’ll take you through my absolute favorite outdoor adventures on a three-week road trip spanning California’s coastline, Utah and Nevada’s wild landscapes, and Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.

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 Tomales Point Trail at Point Reyes National Seashore offers a beautiful hike along California’s central coast, featuring stunning Pacific Ocean views and wildlife sightings like tule elk and coyotes. The trail is set within a historic landscape where past land use meets today’s conservation efforts.

The James Irvine Trail 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 redwood sorrel, with its heart-shaped, clover-like leaves, banana slugs, or even Roosevelt Elk, that live in this unique habitat. In this article, I’ll take you on a journey through this magical hike, share fascinating facts about the majestic redwoods, and my best tips for exploring this route!

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are nestled in the stunning scenery of the Sierra Nevada and are home to the impressive giant sequoias — the largest trees in the entire world. While these incredible trees are reason enough to visit Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, there’s much more to see—gray granite mountains, waterfalls, abundant wildlife, valleys, or canyons with raging rivers.

Mori Point, located just south 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 a great example of what is possible when restoring natural landscapes after decades of exploitation.

Lassen Volcanic National Park is one of the lesser-visited national parks in California, yet it is by no means less beautiful or interesting. In this article, I will share my experience and best tips for hiking from Cold Boiling Lake to Bumpass Hell, where one encounters the awe-inspiring scenery of wildflower meadows, tiny streams, and turquoise lakes, all leading to the largest hydrothermal area in Lassen Volcanic National Park.

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 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 — as it was the case in 2023. The monument is a vast grassland that historically stretched across much of California’s Central Valley. Today, it is, in the midst of agriculture and the oil industry, the last remnant of this type of landscape in California.

Yosemite National Park is beautiful any time of year, but visiting in winter offers a chance to experience a true winter wonderland. If you visit from mid- to late February, you may also witness the phenomenon known as the firefall, when the last rays of sunlight hit Horsetail Fall at just the right angle, making it appear as if fire, rather than water, is falling down. Join me on a snowy hike along the Mist and John Muir Trails to Vernal and Nevada Falls, as well as the attempt to see the firefall. Plus, learn what to know before hitting the icy trails in Yosemite in Winter!

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.

The Twenty Lakes Basin Loop is a stunning hike that begins at Saddlebag Lake and leads you through a series of breathtaking alpine lakes and scenery. Along the way, you'll be treated to impressive views of nearby mountain peaks. In this article, I’ll take you along with me on this hike, which I did in late summer after a particularly snowy winter. The lingering snow patches, which persisted until September, made the hike both tricky in places and exciting.

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.