Blithedale Ridge

Near: Mill Valley
Trip Type: Hike
Distance: 3 miles
Elevation: 200 - 900 feet
Vegetation: Oak and Redwood
Last visit: 4/16/2017

Blithedale Ridge is the easternmost piece of the Marin county open spaces surrounding Mt. Tamalpais.  We took a light hike up to the highpoint on a rainy April Sunday.   I've seen this ridge from Mt. Tam plenty of times, so I know it's got several open spots with clear views of the mountain and surrounding towns, but they weren't in evidence for us.  While we were just out for a short jaunt, you could always use the trails and fireroads in this area for a jumping off point to climb Mt. Tam from the northeast, with routes running around 10-15 miles round trip.

Garin/Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park

Near: Hayward
Trip Type: Hike
Distance: 6 miles
Elevation: 100 - 1200 ft
Last visit: March 2017

Garin/Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park is another grassy collection of East Bay hills.  There's not much unique about it, but it does provide some nice views of the south bay and a satisfying hill climb to see it.

Harvey Bear Ranch

Near: Gilroy
Trip type: Trail Run
Distance: 7 miles
Elevation: 800 - 1,300 feet
Vegetation: Pasture with some oak and pine forest
Last visit: March 2017

Harvey Bear Ranch County Park sits on a low ridge overlooking Gilroy.  This loop circles over Mummy Mountain, a rise on the southern end of the ridge.  Most of the park is open pasture land.  The open western slope of the ridge offers long views towards Gilroy, but I preferred the more wooded eastern slope overlooking Coyote Lake.

Hope Valley Cross Country : Waterdog

Near: South Lake Tahoe
Trip Type: Cross-country Ski
Elevation: 7,000 - 8,000 ft
Distance: 8 miles
Vegetation: Pine Forest
Last Visit: 1/14/17

Hope Valley Cross Country center is at Pickett's Junction, where Hwy 88 meets Hwy 89 just east of Carson Pass.  It's a small-time affair with limited grooming (classic skiing only) and ski and snowshoe rentals run out of a Yurt.  Prices are great ($25 for a daily ski package, $10 per car suggested donation for folks brining their own skis).  The big attraction for me at Hope Valley is that it's the best place I've found so far for an easy back country ski experience in California.  Since most trails in the Sierra aren't marked, finding your way in the winter can be a chore.  At Hope Valley there are a mix of groomed and marked, but un-groomed trails on old roads and hiking routes around the valley.  The routes are generally easy to follow, even if the markers are a bit sparse.  It's more like skiing in the woods out east (where they believe in marking hiking trails) than at a typical cross country ski center.  This post is specifically for part of their trail system that winds up a minor ridgeline east of CA-89 on the north side of CA-88.

Spooner Lake to Marlette Lake

Near: South Lake Tahoe
Trip Type: Cross Country Ski
Distance: 9 miles
Elevation: 7,000 - 8,600 feet
Vegetation: Pine Forest
Last Visit: Jan 28, 2017

Spooner Lake is just a big pond really, on the East side of Lake Tahoe.  A short, flat trail around the lake makes for a nice light walk or ski in the winter.  For a bigger day, take the North Canyon Road towards Marlette Lake.  The road follows a gently climbing stream up a small valley to a saddle point overlooking the lake.  From there you can descend to the lake, but detoured west to a rocky outcropping with outstanding views of Lake Tahoe.  The climb on this route is more appropriate for intermediate to advanced cross-country skiers, but novices might find a trip up the lower portions of North Canyon Road a fun challenge.  There have been sporadic efforts to groom a trail around the lake and up North Canyon Road for classic and skate-skiing of late, but this time no grooming was in evidence. Striding skis were required and I was glad I was wearing BC gear when we had to break trail in the upper portions of the route.

White Hill

Near: Fairfax
Trip Type: Trail Run
Distance: 5-10 miles
Elevation: 500 - 1400 feet
Vegetation: Mix of Forest, Grassland, and Pasture
Surface: Mix of soft dirt, hard packed dirt and loose, rocky road bed.
Last Visit: 11/12/16

White Hill is a modest highpoint in Marin County near Fairfax.  While the peak it's self is somewhat unremarkable, it does offer fine views of Mt. Tam and San Francisco to the south and across the San Francisco Bay to the east.  The route up to the peak runs through a surprisingly varied landscape including a couple small stands of dense redwoods mixed in with typical Bay Area oak, chaparral, and grassland.

Sierra Buttes

Near: Sierra City
Length: 7 miles
Elevation: 6,200 - 8,600 feet
Vegetation: Pine Forest
Last Visit: 11/05/2016

The Sierra Buttes are a dramatic cluster of volcanic spires at the northern edge of the Tahoe National Forest.  Somewhat off the beaten path of the Lake Tahoe and High Sierra around Yosemite to the south, the Sierra Buttes are one of the most under rates spots on the Pacific Crest.  An old forest service fire lookout sits at the summit, 4,000 feet above Sierra City and the Yuba River to the south and over 2,500 feet above the Sardine Lakes to the northeast with excellent views in all directions. There are a few options for climbing the summit, including a long climb up the south and west face from Sierra City along the PCT, and a few options converging on the north ridge.  In the summer a 5 mile round trip is possible from Butcher Ranch Road above Packer Lake Saddle.  We opted for a 7 mile route from near Packer Lake north east of the summit and passing Tamarack Lakes en route to the north ridge.