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Gould Mesa Trail Camp is a hike-in campground in the front range of the San Gabriel Mountains, quite close to cities like Altadena and La Cañada Flintridge. The most obvious route to Gould Mesa is Gabrielino Trail. For something that's about half as long and twice as steep, you can take Gould Mesa Road, which drops 525 feet over 1.15 miles going from Angeles Crest Highway down a ridge and... Read more.

Gabrielino Trail is one of the principle trails through Angeles National Forest. Starting from the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, you can take this trail a short distance up a canyon along the lovely Arroyo Seco and come to Gould Mesa Trail Camp, a hike-in campground just a couple miles from civilization that delivers a quick escape from cities in the valley below. Starting in an... Read more.

Andrew Molera State Park preserves nearly 5,000 acres of beautiful parkland at the north end of Big Sur. Hikers can explore the park on over twenty miles of trails, including the Ridge Trail - Panorama Trail - Bluff Trail Loop hike. Campers can enjoy Andrew Molera State Park Trail Camp, which has a 24 first-come first-serve campsites in a grassy meadow near the Big Sur River and Molera... Read more.

In 1917, Mount Wilson Toll Road was used to bring equipment (including the 100-inch mirror) up to Mount Wilson Observatory where the world's largest telescope was assembled for gazing out across the universe. Today visitors can use the same dirt road to enjoy naked-eye views across the Southland. On clear days the views extend to the Palos Verdes Peninsula, framed by two slices of the... Read more.

Sometimes it can seem ambitious just to go for a hike in the rugged San Gabriel Mountains, but Thaddeus Lowe was way more determined than that, devising an incline tram and railway to bring guests to a resort, tavern, and mountain overlooks that he created in the San Gabriel Mountains about a century ago. His railway and resorts have long been destroyed, but hikers can still visit the... Read more.

For backpackers and day hikers, Cruickshank Trail offers an extraordinary opportunity to explore the wilderness off Highway One on the beautiful Big Sur Coast. The single track starts by climbing to lofty ocean views, and then heads inland along a canyon wall with relaxing pockets of oaks and redwoods toward a handful of trail camps. The excellent trail to Upper Cruickshank Camp crosses... Read more.

It can sound like hyperbole when you try to put into words the breathtaking, jaw-dropping stop-you-in-your tracks ocean views found on trails in Big Sur. Never the less, Buckeye Trail has absolutely extraordinary views over the Pacific that you need to see to believe. Rising above Highway One, the trail ventures through the Silver Peak Wilderness, ascending coastal canyons and ridges to... Read more.

Starting just inside Yellowstone's northeast entrance near Cooke City, Montana, there is an interstate trail traveling through a beautiful backcountry meadow boxed in by 10,000-foot peaks. Pebble Creek Trail is often ventured as a top-to-bottom 12-mile long through hike ending at Pebble Creek Campground. There are five trail camps along Pebble Creek Trail for backpackers. Even if you can't... Read more.

Hoegees Camp lies along Winter Creek in the canyon adjacent to Sturtevant Falls. Both trails begin from Chantry Flats. And while the hike to Hoegees Camp does not offer a waterfall, it does offer a 4.25-mile out-and-back hike through a lush canyon with 700 feet of elevation change. You may also continue on Upper Winter Creek Trail to return to Chantry Flats for a 4.85-mile loop with 1,000... Read more.

If the short hike to Sturtevant Falls leaves you yearning for more, get more by continuing up Santa Anita Canyon to Spruce Grove Camp. Beyond the falls, the trail takes on a greater feeling of wilderness immersion. This section of Gabrielino Trail gets less foot traffic, making it a great retreat for those times when you need to feel far from LA. To get to Spruce Grove Camp, start from... Read more.