Chasing cascades in the bay area

Golden retriever overlooks aerial view of Sunol Regional Wilderness.

Sunol Regional Wilderness. Photo by Kevin Noble.

From easy family hikes to certified huffer-puffers, the hills and streams of the San Francisco Bay Area are at their voluptuous best in spring. Read more.

Hike your tails off

East Bay dog with green hills in background

Oakland is surrounded by hills, and the hills—luscious green at this time of year—are laced with hiking trails. You don’t have to go far from downtown Oakland to access one of the close-in preserves managed by the East Bay Regional Park District, which oversees more than 65 open-space areas with 1,250 miles of trails between them. A perk you won’t find on many other public lands: Read more.

Pull up a pillow (and a dog bed) and stay the night

While the Tri-Valley region is within easy commuting distance of the Bay Area and Sacramento, after a day of hiking or touring the wine or craft beer trails, it’s always nice to stay for dinner, pull into a nearby hotel and spend the night. Tri-Valley has accommodations to fit any taste or budget and by our count, over two-dozen are dog-friendly. The Hyatt House in Pleasanton even has their own resident dog who hangs out in reception. Read more.

East Bay Regional Park District

Sunol Regional Wilderness. Photo by Kevin Noble.

The Bay Area wouldn’t be what it is without its tawny, oak-studded hills, and we have the East Bay Regional Parks District to thank for keeping many of them accessible to the public. Read more.

Woof it up at little Yosemite

Wildflowers and waterfalls are the star spring attractions in Little Yosemite, a scenic gorge on Alameda Creek in Sunol Regional Wilderness. On a 3-mile round trip along the Canyon View Trail, you’ll traverse open meadows studded with wildflowers, walk through woods and encounter dramatic serpentine and basalt outcrops along the crashing creek. Read more.