Stories | Roam-O-Rama
Rustic Canyon
Published Aug. 13, 2008
Rustic Canyon, now almost fully reverted to wilderness condition after nature’s one-two punches of fire and flood, was quite lively in the past. Pop-philosopher Will Rogers and his associates used it as a retreat back in ...
La Jolla to Soledad Park
Published Aug. 6, 2008
For a unique look at La Jolla — from the edge of the village’s commercial center to 811 feet of elevation — try this obscure walking or bicycling route. Cyclists beware: there are some tough ...
San Diego Bay Bike Ride
Published July 30, 2008
Here’s a bicycle ride that’s practically a land-based equivalent of the harbor cruise covering north San Diego Bay. Over an out-and-back stretch of 16 miles, you’re seldom far from the water, and the ease of ...
Pico Canyon Published July 23, 2008
Pico Canyon cuts deeply into the rugged Santa Susana Mountains, a few miles south of the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park. The canyon is ... More Post a comment
A Guide to Unexpected San Diego and Beyond Published July 16, 2008
Familiar to most people around Del Mar but unknown to many outsiders, the Torrey Pines State Reserve Extension conceals itself amid the coastal bluffs inland ... More Comment (1)
Big Pines Nature Trail Published July 9, 2008
On the eastern extremity of the San Gabriel Mountains, seemingly far from L.A.’s smoggy blanket of air, lies the Big Pines Recreation Area, designated as ... More Comment (1)
De Luz Bike Ride Published July 2, 2008
The sinuously curving rural roads on the far (north) side of Fallbrook offer a significant challenge to bicycle riders. Thirty or 40 years ago, the ... More Comment (1)
Mission Valley Walk Published June 25, 2008
Bounded by some 32 freeway lanes carrying a half million vehicles a day, and smack dab in San Diego County’s busiest commercial zone, the San ... More Comment (1)
Marshall Canyon Published June 18, 2008
The multiuse trails of Marshall Canyon Regional Park (for hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians) thread through Marshall and Live Oak canyons in the foothills of ... More Post a comment
Lake Wohlford Published June 11, 2008
Serene Lake Wohlford lies near the headwaters of Escondido Creek, its mirroring surface reflecting the shaggy-with-chaparral, boulder-studded hillsides that confine it. As early as 1895, ... More Post a comment
Backbone Trail Published June 4, 2008
The easternmost Backbone Trail, part of a “hikers highway in the making” through the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, skims across spacious Topanga State ... More Post a comment
Scott's Cabin to Boucher Hill Published May 28, 2008
Palomar Mountain has dodged a couple of bullets in recent years. Wildfires in 2003 and 2007 have threatened to seriously damage San Diego County’s foremost ... More Post a comment
Dixon Lake Published May 21, 2008
Perched several hundred feet up on a rocky slope north of Escondido, Dixon Lake stores drinking water and serves as a recreational resource as well. ... More Post a comment
Aliso and Wood Canyons Published May 14, 2008
Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park consists of over 4200 acres of shallow canyons, sandstone rock formations, narrow strips of oak and riparian woodland, and ... More Comment (1)
Kwaaymii Trail Published May 7, 2008
The Laguna Mountain range, just east (and squarely in the “rain shadow”) of the nearby Cuyamaca Mountains, snags just enough moisture from passing Pacific storms ... More Post a comment
Roberts Ranch Published April 30, 2008
Thanks to the crusading efforts of Descanso cabinetmaker Duncan McFetridge (affectionately known by some as the “Robin Hood of Cleveland Forest”), certain privately owned lands ... More Post a comment
Trabuco Canyon Loop Published April 23, 2008
Significant hiking feats can be accomplished in the “wilds” of Orange County, especially in the upper elevations of the Santa Ana Mountains, which define the ... More Post a comment
Los Peñasquitos Canyon Published April 16, 2008
Crickets sing and bullfrogs groan. A hawk alights upon a sycamore limb, then launches with outstretched wings to catch a puff of sea breeze moving ... More Post a comment
Hoegees Loop Published April 9, 2008
The cabin community in Big Santa Anita Canyon and along neighboring Winter Creek has been called “a rustic Xanadu, where groceries come by burro.” On ... More Post a comment
Barker Valley Published April 2, 2008
Barker Valley perches squarely in one of the more remote corners of the Palomar mountain range, right alongside an upper branch of the San Luis ... More Post a comment
Holy Jim Falls Published March 26, 2008
Sometimes the intimacy of a small, hidden waterfall is more aesthetically rewarding than the thunder of a famous one. Such is the case with Holy ... More Post a comment
Black Canyon Published March 19, 2008
In Black Canyon, water amply illustrates its mindless yet artistic ability to sculpt stone. Every once in a great while, a gush of sediment-laden storm ... More Post a comment
Mount Lee Published March 12, 2008
At 1680 feet above sea level, the summit of Mount Lee perches high above the Los Angeles Basin on the western edge of spacious Griffith ... More Post a comment
North Slope Black Mountain Published March 5, 2008
After many years of awkward accessibility, or no access at all, the north slope of Black Mountain once again welcomes hikers (and their four-legged companions). ... More Post a comment
Down the Arroyo Seco Published Feb. 27, 2008
The Spanish colonists who christened Arroyo Seco (“dry creek”) evidently observed only its lower end — a hot, boulder-strewn wash emptying into the Los Angeles ... More Post a comment
San Felipe Hills Published Feb. 20, 2008
The 2600-mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), which was intended to hit as many high points as possible along its mountainous route between the Mexican and ... More Post a comment
Nicholas Flat Published Feb. 13, 2008
Nicholas Flat harbors a small oasis of live oaks and an old cattle pond backed by picturesque sandstone outcrops. During the winter and late spring, ... More Post a comment
Woodson Mountain Published Feb. 6, 2008
The boulder-frosted summit of Woodson Mountain (aka Mount Woodson) has many routes of approach, though none this particular winter/spring season is as interesting as the ... More Post a comment
San Juan Hill Published Jan. 30, 2008
The grassy hillsides of Chino Hills State Park, which covers 13,000 acres in eastern Orange County and western Riverside and San Bernardino counties, are turning ... More Post a comment
Pond at Agua Caliente Published Jan. 23, 2008
Remotely situated at San Diego County’s far east side and surrounded by Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Agua Caliente Regional Park draws winter visitors to its ... More Post a comment
Caballero Canyon Published Jan. 16, 2008
Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park is the wordy title of a strip of public land squeezed between Tarzana, at the south edge of the San ... More Post a comment
Three Sisters Falls Published Jan. 9, 2008
The triple set of waterfalls dubbed the “Three Sisters” is an amazing San Diego County feature not many have seen. In full flood, these cascades ... More Comment (1)
San Elijo Lagoon Published Jan. 2, 2008
A great blue heron ambles on stilt-legs across the reed-fringed shallows, stabbing occasionally at subsurface morsels of food. A willowy egret glides in for a ... More Post a comment
Fire recovery is a work-in-progress at Oakoasis Open Space Preserve near Lakeside Published Dec. 27, 2007
Serene Oakoasis Open Space Preserve covers 397 acres of oak woodland, boulder-studded hillsides, and young chaparral vegetation recovering from the 2003 Cedar Fire. Try visiting ... More Post a comment
Boulder-hop for miles to reach one of the tallest waterfalls in Southern California. Published Dec. 20, 2007
Boulder-hop for miles to reach one of the tallest waterfalls in Southern California. The hike up Hot Spring Canyon is arguably the most beautiful canyon ... More Post a comment
Hike or ski-tour the West Mesa loop route in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Published Dec. 13, 2007
Oak leaves fluttering in the sunlight, pine needles soughing in the breeze, gray squirrels scurrying, and pungent-sweet fragrances in the air. These dependable pre-Cedar-fire experiences ... More Post a comment
Hike to the rock house in Rockhouse Canyon, near Anza-Borrego's Bow Willow Campground. Published Dec. 6, 2007
A simple shack fashioned of rock, cement, and corrugated metal might be unremarkable anywhere else, but in the midst of thousands of acres of wild ... More Post a comment
Catch a panoramic view of the L.A. Basin from the historic Mount Wilson Toll Road high above Pasadena. Published Nov. 29, 2007
For hikers, the flattish 5700-foot summit of Mount Wilson -- home of the historic (and still viable) Mount Wilson Observatory -- is a jumping-off spot ... More Post a comment
High above Escondido, enjoy the bucolic splendor of the Engelmann Oak loop hike in Daley Ranch. Published Nov. 21, 2007
This trail highlights the Engelmann oak (or mesa oak) -- a somewhat rare evergreen oak tree found only in parts of inland Southern California. Along ... More Post a comment
Remote Piru Creek, in the Los Padres National Forest north of Los Angeles, offers a challenging wilderness experience. Published Nov. 15, 2007
Although relatively unknown among hikers, the Piru Creek gorge offers a rugged wilderness experience less than one hour's drive away from L.A.'s northern suburbs. In ... More Post a comment
Visit three palm oases in the midst of one of Anza-Borrego's driest quarters. Published Nov. 8, 2007
Smack dab in the middle of the most desolate part of the Borrego Badlands stands a remarkable triad of palm oases. The best known of ... More Post a comment
Enjoy a unique South Bay vista in Lower Otay County Park. Published Nov. 1, 2007
Formerly remote Lower Otay County Park, perched on a hillside above the dam of Lower Otay Reservoir, is now only a few minutes' drive from ... More Post a comment
From the top of the Angeles Crest, view an unmatched panorama of ocean, islands, and mountains. Published Oct. 25, 2007
Angeles Crest Highway (Highway 2) snakes along the crest of the San Gabriel Mountains, offering always impressive and sometimes stupendous views of thousands of square ... More Post a comment
Explore the near or the far reaches of Sandstone Canyon, one of Anza-Borrego's most dramatically sheer landforms. Published Oct. 18, 2007
Sandstone Canyon has been called the most spectacular small wash in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Like a hidden jewel, this particular natural feature requires time ... More Post a comment
Hike to Orange County's micro Grand Canyon in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. Published Oct. 11, 2007
In 1991 Orange County opened the 1500-acre Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, which sprawls across the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains just east of the ... More Post a comment
Catch a comprehensive view from the top of Oakzanita Peak in the Cuyamaca Mountains. Published Oct. 4, 2007
Oakzanita Peak is one of only a handful of named peaks in the Cuyamaca Mountains, yet its humble appearance -- at least on approach -- ... More Post a comment
Visit Anza-Borrego's Cool Canyon on a warm autumn afternoon. Published Sept. 27, 2007
Cool Canyon, a deep crease in the east flank of Granite Mountain, stays truly cool only for a month or two before winter solstice, and ... More Post a comment
Venture up Haines Canyon, where you leave L.A. behind and enter a seldom-visited corner of Angeles National Forest. Published Sept. 20, 2007
Coyotes howl, water splashes down a willow-lined creek, and hummingbirds flit about in search of nectar. All of this takes place barely a mile from ... More Post a comment
Trek to the obscure summit of Guatay Mountain, between Descanso and Pine Valley. Published Sept. 13, 2007
Guatay Mountain, a gently swelling, chaparral-covered ridge rising about 900 feet over the hamlet of Guatay, is distinguished by its old-growth population of Tecate cypress ... More Post a comment
Catch the autumn sunrise or sunset from the Overlook at Point Mugu State Park. Published Sept. 6, 2007
Point Mugu State Park, midway between Los Angeles and Ventura, sprawls across 15,000 acres of the coast-hugging Santa Monica Mountains. About 70 miles of hiking, ... More Post a comment
Biking, hiking, or horseback riding, it's downhill from pines to sunny chaparral on the Noble Canyon Trail Published Aug. 30, 2007
The Noble Canyon National Recreation Trail is an extension and reworking of an older trail built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Since ... More Post a comment
Ramble about Bonelli Regional Park in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains near Pomona. Published Aug. 23, 2007
Girded by freeways and busy streets, the trails around Puddingstone Reservoir in Bonelli Regional Park are hardly the place to get away from it all ... More Post a comment
- « View Older Roam-O-Rama Articles
- View Newer Roam-O-Rama Articles »