Walkabout California Store

San Francisco to Half Moon Bay

This easy four-day, 30-mile walkabout from Ocean Beach in San Francisco to Half Moon Bay starts with a 9-mile hike along the beach, climbs the flank of Montara Mountain, follows the cliffs above Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, and ends with a stroll on Half Moon Bay State Beach. Along the way you will visit coastal villages with fine dining and entertainment. Enjoy this wild landscape so close to urban centers.

Hiking The Tahoe Basin
Donner Pass To Lake Tahoe

With the Truckee River Valley to the east, the deep gorge of the American River Canyon plunging to the west, and Lake Tahoe shimmering in the distance, this walkabout follows the spine of the High Sierra along the Pacific Crest Trail. A challenging 30-mile trek spread over three hiking days, it has two steep descents and one ascent of 1,900 feet. You’ll be rewarded with stopovers at mountain resorts in spectacular settings and the solitude and pristine beauty of the Sierra Nevada.

The Lost Coast

The Lost Coast is the most remote and inaccessible section of the California coastline. The wild, rugged shore and the soaring peaks of the King Range are only visited by backpackers, ambitious dayhikers, and walkabout adventurers. All 3 two-day loop hikes, ranging from 21 to 39 miles, stop over at the picturesque fishing village of Shelter Cove. Stay for a few days to recuperate and enjoy the wild beauty of the Pacific Coast from a comfortable inn. These are the most difficult walkabouts in this guide. Your reward is to be among the few brave explorers to really experience the spectacular and wild beauty of the Lost Coast.

Circumtabulation
A Pilgrimage Around Mt. Tamalpais

Mt. Tamalpais, the highest peak for 250 miles along the central California Coast, beckons hikers to explore her trails and to marvel at her extraordinary vistas. This 56-mile walkabout travels around the mountain, a circumambulation, over five hiking days. A moderate to challenging hike with days as short as 6 miles and as long as 16, it climbs up and down the mountain’s flanks from sea level to 1,900 feet. Along the way you visit villages with interesting restaurants, inns, and three meditation centers. You may want to include a stop for a class or a few days of personal retreat. Take a long pilgrimage around the revered Mt. Tamalpais - a circumtambulation.

Walkabout the Marin Coast

This moderate 38.2 mile hike along some of the most beautiful and dramatic coastline in the world starts in the Marin Headlands, a short distance from San Francisco, and ends at Point Reyes National Seashore. Along the way the trail passes through three coastal villages: Muir Beach, Stinson Beach, and Bolinas, each offering interesting places to stay and great dining.

Crossing the Sierras on the Emigrant Trail

This challenging 41.6 mile hike crosses the Sierra Nevada from east to west, passing through some of the most breathtaking parts of these majestic mountains and traveling along the trail of the Pony Express and in the footsteps of adventures who once sought their fortune in the gold rush of the mid-1800s. Three days of hiking each end at a beautiful mountain resort.

Walkabout Point Reyes

With 71,000 acres of coastal hills, dense forests, pristine beaches, and 140 miles of hiking trails, Point Reyes National Seashore is a walkabout paradise. This easy 24.8 mile walkabout over three days explores the central portion of the park with stays at lovely inns and a hostel set deep in the park.

Walkabout the Mendocino Coast

This easy 14.1mile two-day hike makes for a perfect romantic holiday traipsing along the rugged and beautiful Mendocino Coast. Along the way, you will stay in charming inns, dine on sumptuous cuisine, and explore the lush forests of the coastal range and the headlands along the edge of the wild Pacific.

Walkabout the Monterey Bay

Enjoy the great beauty and power of the Pacific by hiking its shoreline along the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. This 37 mile, four-day hike explores pristine beaches, unique inns, great dining, and some of the most spectacular wildlife viewing on California’s coast.

Exploring Lassen Volcanic National Park

This guide offers two walkabouts through an enchanted land of mountain lakes and streams, deep glaciated canyons, and otherworldly hydrothermal landscapes. Both stop over at Drakesbad Guest Ranch, selected by Frommer’s editorial staff as one of its worldwide “Top Destinations for 2009.”

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