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The main star of Haleakala National Park is the massive, dormant volcano and rightfully so. But if you are looking to explore other parts of the park or are looking for something family-friendly, Hosmer Grove is a great place to check out.

Kilauea Iki, meaning "Little Kilauea", is a smaller crater next to the main caldera crater of Kilauea. Famous for an eruption in 1959 that created a lava lake, Kilauea Iki has cooled and is now a popular hiking area inside Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

Trailhead: Humber Park, 24559 Fern Valley Rd, Idyllwild-Pine Cove, CA 92549 Parking: Parking lot at Humber Park which requires an adventure pass (can be purchased in town), or you can do this hike from the opposite end which has free street parking. Distance: 5.2 miles out & back Difficulty: Moderate Nestled in the San Jacinto Mountains and part of the San Bernardino National Forest, Idyllwild is a beautiful, little town to visit. With lots of trail options nearby, we chose t

Trailhead: The Greek Theatre, 2700 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027 Parking: Free parking in the lot next to the Greek Theatre unless there is an event going on. There is free street parking on some side roads like Commonwealth Canyon Drive and Vista Del Valle Drive. Distance: 2.6 miles out & back Difficulty: Easy to Moderate Griffith Park is a great place to visit in the spring. After the rainy season has brought some much needed hydration to the area, the park ends up w

Trailhead: Debs Park Road Parking, Debs Park Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90032 Parking: Free parking in the lot on Debs Park Road. Distance: 1.8 miles out & back Difficulty: easy Nestled in East Los Angeles near Montecito Hills, Ernest E. Debbs Regional Park is a decently sized open space nature reserve. With plenty of parking, even on a weekend, this park is a good choice if you want don't want to drive too far but also don't want the crowds. The Summit Ridge trail is a paved bike p

Trailhead: 2333 Fern Dell Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90068 Parking: free parking along Fern Dell Drive and in a parking lot just north of the trailhead. Distance: 1.8 miles loop Difficulty: Moderate Griffith Park is a treasure trove of short (and long) hikes right in the heart of Los Angeles. You may not be escaping the city as much as you would by heading to some of the other mountain ranges in the area, but it's still a great place to go to get outdoors and see some nature. Fern D

Trailhead: 4730 Crystal Springs Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027 Parking: free parking in the parking lot by the Merry-go-Round. Distance: 1.9 mile loop Difficulty: Easy As I continue to explore more of Griffith Park this spring, I came to realize that I had never seen the old L.A. Zoo, which is an area in the park with abandoned zoo cages from when Los Angeles' zoo occupied the space from 1912 to 1966. So recently, I took a nice stroll along the Old L.A. Zoo Trail to see what it w

Trailhead: 4730 Crystal Springs Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027 Parking: free parking in the parking lot by the Merry-go-Round. Distance: 3.0 miles out & back. Difficulty: Moderate Griffith Park is a Log Angeles staple. There are so many trails to traverse within its 4,210 acres. One of the treks that I had done a few years back and just revisited is the Fern Canyon Trail to Beacon Hill. It's a great trail to do if you're looking for some cardio and it has a pretty nice 360 degree

Trailhead: Switzer Falls Trailhead, 701 Angeles Crest Hwy, Tujunga, CA 91042 Parking: Parking lots down by the trailhead, halfway down the road, and up at the turnoff on Angeles Crest Highway. An Adventure Pass is required to park. Distance: About 4 miles out & back Difficulty: Moderate Switzer Falls is a popular waterfall hike in the Angeles National Forest. It's a fun trail that has a couple of different environments as you go along. The first thing to note though is the pa

Trailhead: Rose River Falls Loop Trail Parking, Skyline Drive, Virginia 22851 Parking: There is free parking across the street from the trailhead. Shenandoah National Park does require a park pass. The Shenandoah park pass is $30 and more information can be found HERE. Distance: 4.0 miles loop Difficulty: Moderate Want to see two different waterfalls on the same hike (actually, there are a lot more than two)? Then the Rose River Falls and Dark Hollow Falls path is for you! On

Trailhead: Story of the Forest Trail, Stanley, VA 22851 Parking: There is a free parking lot for the Harry F. Byrd Sr. Visitor Center at the trailhead. Shenandoah National Park does require a park pass. The Shenandoah park pass is $30 and more information can be found HERE. Distance: 1.6 miles out & back Difficulty: Easy Looking for a nice leisurely trail in Shenandoah National Park? Then Story of the Forest is a good pick for you. The trail is a fairly flat, fairly short pat

Trailhead: Old Rag Parking, 2577 Nethers Rd, Etlan, VA 22719 Parking: There is a free parking lot at the trailhead. The trail does require a park pass as well as a day-use pass. The Shenandoah park pass is $30 and more information can be found HERE. The Old Rag day-use pass is $1/person and can be purchased HERE. Distance: 9.4 miles loop Difficulty: Strenuous/Extreme This is, as of today, the hardest hike I've ever done! The length, the elevation gain, and the intense rock sc

Trailhead: Wonder View Trailhead, Wonder View Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90068 Parking: street parking along hillside road at trailhead. Distance: 3.0 miles out and back Difficulty: Challenging Sitting atop a peak on the western side of Griffith Park is the Wisdom Tree, a singular tree that survived the 2007 Hollywood Hills fire. And not too far away to the east is the famous Hollywood Sign. If you want to see both landmarks in one hike, then the Wonder View Trail is for you! If you

Trailhead: Hollywood Reservoir North Gate, Los Angeles, CA 90068 Parking: street parking along hillside near gate Distance: 3.5 mile loop Difficulty: Easy Nestled to the south west of the Hollywood sign is Lake Hollywood, or the Hollywood Reservoir, a man-made lake created by the Mulholland Dam. The entire circumference of the body of water is lined with a paved walking path which adds up to a 3.5 mile loop. I started the loop at the North Gate which is off of Lake Hollywood

Trailhead: Walker Ranch Trailhead, 19798 Placerita Canyon Rd, Newhall, CA 91321 Parking: Small dirt turnout at trailhead and a second one near trailhead Distance: 1.5 miles out and back Difficulty: moderate to challenging Placerita Canyon in the Newhall/Santa Clarita area, is really a great place for hiking, especially if you want to get away from the crowded trails of Los Angeles. There are a number of trail options, including the Shadow Glen and Uncle Remi Trail Loop and Ea

Trailhead: Ascot Hills Park, 4371 Multnomah St, Los Angeles, CA 90032 Parking: Free parking in two lots in the park off Multnomah Street. Distance: 1.9 miles Difficulty: Easy to Moderate Ascot Hills is a 93 acre park in the middle of a residential area between the Lincoln Heights and El Sereno neighborhoods of Los Angeles. It's a little nature oasis in a big city. The main entrance is off of Multnomah Street, although there is an entrance at the northern end on Kewanee Street

Trail Head: Scorpion Anchorage, Ventura, CA 93001 Parking: To get to the Channel Islands, you need to purchase a ferry ticket from Island Packers in Ventura, CA. Parking at the harbor is free. For more information on the ferry, click HERE. Distance: Approx. 6 miles loop Difficulty: moderate to challenging The Channel Islands are a national park only about an hour drive from Los Angeles. The only way to access the islands is by ferry boat. Island Packers is the company that is

Trailhead: Mt Wilson Trail, Sierra Madre, CA 91024 Parking: free street parking on E Mira Monte Ave. Distance: 3.6 miles out & back Difficulty: Challenging The Mount Wilson Trail is actually a longer, 7.25 mile trail up to Mount Wilson (14.5 mile round trip). But this shorter hike is a good starting point to gauge the trail's difficulty and still enjoy some views from the National Forest. The parking for this trail is just street parking, but it was not that difficult to find

Trailhead: Pfeiffer Big Sur Rd, Big Sur, CA 93920 Parking: $10 day use parking lot nearby or 90 minute free parking at the Big Sur Lodge Distance: 2 miles loop Difficulty: Moderate Valley View and Pfeiffer Falls is a nice, short hike in Big Sur State Park. It brings you up above the Big Sur valley for some nice views of the surrounding area, plus it features a 60-foot waterfall. Since we were staying at Big Sur Lodge, we were right next to this trail which starts to the side

Trailhead: 45500 CA-1, Big Sur, CA 93920 Parking: $10 day use parking lot at the trailhead Distance: 2 miles out & back Difficulty: Easy Andrew Molera State Park is a small park in the Big Sur area of California that includes trails that give you views and access to the coastline. The Creamery Meadow Trail is a very easy, flat, and wide trail that brings you from CA-1 to a beach. It's a nice walk that has a lot of shade and no real elevation gain. That being said, you can cer