Point Reyes National Seashore
A great place to walk just outside of busy San Francisco is Point Reyes National Seashore. Within an hour of the city, you step into open coastline, rolling hills and windswept trails that feel wonderfully removed from urban life.
This stunning stretch of California coastline was protected in 1962, when it was signed into law by John F. Kennedy in 1962. The preservation effort was driven by conservationists who recognized the rapid development threatened this landscape. This protection ensured that this peninsula would remain open and wild rather than subdivided and built over.
The walking paths range from gentle coastal strolls to dramatic cliffside hikes overlooking the Pacific. What I especially appreciate about Point Reyes is the contract. One moment we were in the pace of the city, and the next we were standing on a cliff with the ocean stretching before us.
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Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is in California, close to one of the largest cities in the country. The landscape is of rolling hills, rugged mountains and open meadows dotted with coast live oaks. It feels remote, and yet just beyond these hills lies Los Angeles. Long before it became protected land, this land was […]
Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site
America’s only Nobel Prize winning playwright, Eugene O’Neill, made his home at Tao House during the height of his writing career. In this secluded retreat overlooking California’s San Ramon Valley, O’Neill found the peace and inspiration to create many of the works that secured his place among the giants of American literature. Between 1937 and 1944, he wrote […]
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
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