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2022 is coming to a close, and with that comes my annual top 5 trails of the year! This year was a busy one in our lives, and so the number of trails we hiked fell off a bit. But that doesn't mean we didn't get to hike some awesome trails or see some beautiful places! 5. Petrified Forest National Park Not so much a single trail as it is a bunch of shorter trails and walking paths that can be done all in a day's drive through the park. This is certainly one of the more underra

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

Back in 2020, one of my first blog posts was a Holiday Gift Guide for Hikers. Now, for 2022, I wanted to add to that list with some fun stocking stuffer ideas for the hiker in your life! Here are 10 small things that would easily fit in that stocking: Trail Snacks - It's always good to have food with you on the trail. Anything from trail mix to protein bars are good options. Something that's small and easy to pack! Water Flavor Drops - Hydration is important when you're outdo

Location: Painted Desert Visitor Center, 1 Park Rd, Petrified Forest National Park, AZ 86028 Entry Fee: $25 per vehicle or a valid National Parks pass. More about the park fees HERE. Parking: Free parking lots and turn-outs at most points of interest. Petrified Forest National Park is a small national park in Northeastern Arizona. It includes the Painted Desert and part of historic Route 66. It's a park that can easily be seen in a day, which is exactly what we did, and there

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

Trailhead: Rocky Peak Rd, Simi Valley, CA 93063 Parking: Free parking either in the very small lot at the trailhead or on the other side of the highway overpass. Distance: 5.6 miles out & back Difficulty: Challenging The trailhead to Rocky Peak, in Simi Valley, literally starts at an exit ramp for the 118 highway. The parking area right in front of the trail is extremely small so if there aren't any spots available, there is more parking on the other side of the highway overp

Trailhead: 15 Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canyon Village, AZ 86023 Parking: Free parking lots near Bright Angel Lodge or large parking lots near the Visitor Center with easy bus transit to Bright Angel Lodge. Grand Canyon National Park does have a $35 entrance fee. More about the park fees HERE. Distance: up to 12 miles out & back. This review is for a 3 mile out & back route. For more information on the whole 12 mile trail, visit the NPS website. Difficulty: Challenging The Br

Location: Valley of Fire Visitor Center, Overton, NV 89040 Entry Fee: $10 per NV vehicle, $15 per non-NV vehicles Parking: Free parking lots at most points of interest. Recently, we've been to a few places where we explored multiple points of interest in a day instead of sticking to one long trail. So this review is a little bit different! Instead of a review of a single trail, this is going to be a review of a whole park! The Valley of Fire is a Nevada State Park about an ho

Trailhead: 12869 Yerba Buena Rd, Malibu, CA 90265 Parking: Free parking in lot at the trailhead. Distance: 6.25 miles loop I had decided recently that I wanted to do a sunset hike in the mountains near Malibu, and I'd been given a recommendation by someone that Sandstone Peak was a great hike to do. It's the tallest peak in the Santa Monica mountain range and offers spectacular views of not only the surrounding mountains but also some of the ocean as well. The hike starts aft