Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and local cycling clubs.
For online forums and reviews of mountain-biking trails in California, search
www.mtbr.com
and
www.socaltrailriders.org
.
Hiking
With epic scenery, California is perfect for exploring on foot. That's true whether you have
your heart set on peak-bagging 14,000-footers, trekking to desert oases, rambling among
the world's tallest, largest and most ancient trees or simply walking on the beach by boom-
ing surf. In spring or early summer, a painter's palette of wildflowers blooms on coastal
hillsides, in mountain meadows, on damp forest floors and, most famously, in desert sands.
TAKE A (REALLY LONG) HIKE
Famous long-distance trails that wind through California include the 2650-mile
Pacific
Crest National Scenic Trail
(PCT;
www.pcta.org
), which takes hikers from Mexico to
Canada. Running mostly along the PCT, the 211-mile
John Muir Trail
(JMT;
www.pcta.org
) links Yosemite Valley and Mt Whitney via the Sierra Nevada's high country.
Enjoy inspirational views of Lake Tahoe while tracing the footsteps of early pioneers and
Native Americans along the 165-mile
Tahoe Rim Trail
(
www.tahoerimtrail.org
). The
Cali-
fornia Coastal Trail Association
(
www.coastwalk.org
)
is working to build a 1200-mile
trail along California's shoreline that's already over half complete.
Best Places to Hike
No matter where you find yourself in California, you're never far from a trail, even in met-
ropolitan areas. Head to national and state parks for a staggering variety of trails, from
easy nature walks negotiable by wheelchairs and strollers to multiday backpacking routes
through rugged wilderness.
Sierra Nevada
In Yosemite (
Click here
), Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks and
around Lake Tahoe, clamber toward waterfalls, wildflower meadows and alpine lakes,
tackle mighty granite domes and peaks, or wander in pine-scented forests.
