California Trails

This week's deadly storms have polluted the ocean with disease-carrying runoff.

Heavy rains devastated an area just burned by the Thomas Fire.

The Oakland reserve hosts clusters of the spotted bugs from November through February.

Three wanderers spill about what it's like calling a tricked-out van home.

January brings a host of natural wonders to Marin County.

The Marin County peak proved a popular January 1 ritual this year.

Downtown LA has seen just 3 percent of its usual rainfall since Oct. 1.

A $165 million private donation made the land deal possible.

Trash in the neglected Sycamore Grove area threatens area waterways.

New regulations aim to curb the pollution and water abuses of illegal growing operations.

The 17-acre Hollywood Hills parcel will be preserved permanently.

From record snowpack to the establishment of moose in the state, it's been an interesting year.

Bookings for some of these 8 elevated perches open up in December.

Authorities report that the Ventura and Santa Barbara County blaze had two origins.

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Changing demographics and climate change are behind the decline.

Bolinas-Fairfax Road reopened for good last week.

Toxic pollution threatens wildlife at Sierra County's Empire Mine site.

The San Diego Mountain Biking Association supports a Congressional bill to allow bikes in wilderness areas.

The Ventura and Santa Barbara County blaze has burned 270,000-plus acres.

See how far Ventura County's monster blaze would stretch in LA, New York, Chicago, and more.

Members of Jesse James's gang allegedly once hid out in the La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve.

The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band won permanent property rights through a cultural conservation easement.

The bill, which would amend the 1964 Wilderness Act, has sparked strong opposition from conservation groups.

Last week's Skirball Fire destroyed six homes.

This year, the NPS waived entry fees 10 times. Next year they'll do it just 4.

Owl populations are still declining in national forests despite logging bans of the '90s.

A wounded fox and a mountain lion with a kitten are alive and well after devastating blazes last August and October.

Several blazes destroyed homes and injured firefighters on Tuesday.

Sierra black bears are recolonizing the Great Basin area for the first time in 80 years.

California's elk now number 13,000, up from just 3,500 40 years ago.

La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve features 6 miles of trail, redwoods, and Pacific views.

Rangers had been searching near Glacier Point, where the Santa Barbara man's car was parked.

The specimen from Lunada Canyon shows humans in the area 500 years earlier than was previously believed.

Learn about plans for Pismo State Beach and share your thoughts on off-road vehicles on the dunes.

The 18-year-old man's car was found at Glacier Point last week.

Alpenglow Sports's Afterglow podcast series will feature interviews with outdoor all-stars.

A sheriff's deputy shot video of a mother bear and two cubs at Lighthouse Shopping Center.

NPR listeners share their favorite trails for a post-Turkey Day jaunt.

Park visitors who share photos and stories on social media can snag a free Eagle Creek pack.

Reintroduction and habitat restoration projects are helping the birds build up their populations throughout the state.

The campus CHAOS group hopes to add to its 900-strong membership by introducing newbies to the wilderness.

Now's the time to check out unique fungi and spawning coho salmon on local trails.

The park district has partnered with REI's #OptOutside campaign to get people out of the mall and into the parks.

The San Gabriel chestnut snail lives only in the Los Angeles area.

Are gorgeous social media photos and hashtags behind record crowds in our natural areas? Some think so.

Drought, a warming climate, and a bark beetle infestation are to blame for the park's 2.4 million dead trees.

Mt. Rose kicked off the winter this week after a light snowfall.

Entrance fees are waived at national parks November 11 and 12 for Veterans Day.

Entrance fees are waived nationwide for Veterans Day, November 11 and 12.

The plan will phase out diesel trucks and reduce carbon emissions from SoCal's single largest source of air pollution.

A wildlife camera image gives the first proof of a cougar living in a slice of proposed preserved land in the Hollywood Hills.

The incident was the first confirmed wolf kill in California for more than a century.

Two years after a massive leak at Aliso Canyon, protesters are still fighting to shut it down permanently.

The federal government is forecasting a mild La Nina. Local meteorologists aren't sure.

Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows to officially announce a high-speed link, but environmental advocates aren't on board.

An Oakland couple got stranded overnight after getting disoriented.

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Four Lake Tahoe cubs have tested positive for a rare virus that has already killed two other cubs.

Vireos, lesser goldfinch, and scrub jays have flown the Northern California fires—and the Audubon Society is taking notice.

The so-called Wilson fire has burned 30 acres and threatens the history Mount Wilson Observatory.

Two bodies were discovered in Joshua Tree National Park last Sunday, and one mane believes it's his missing son and his girlfriend.

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A Sierra Club writer dishes on his thru-hike of the Santa Monica Mountains.

John Ayers, an undergrad at Cal State Fullerton, describes his summer adventures to Yosemite in his own words.

As of Thursday, 16 fires have consumed 158,000 acres, killed at least 23, and destroyed 3,500 homes.

Extremely toxic pesticides like carbofuran are being used to grow marijuana on California's public lands.

With a cost of $24 million, the new bridge helps repair extensive damage from mudslides earlier this year.

A backcountry taco hut has popped up six times on the JMT—then disappeared.

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Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed a bill that would speed up a sale of 6,500 acres, which includes 1,100 acres of redwoods.

The Tahoe Weekly gives the low-down on a local favorite.

In 1990, the city tallied up some 75,000 palms. But as they die off, they're being replaced by native trees.

Want to get in on a popular guided hike of the Backbone Trail? You still have a few days to sign up for the lottery.

Of the island's 1 million annual visitors, only 20,000 venture into the backcountry. A new project wants to change that.

This series of essays and reflections, in Bay Nature magazine, chronicles the history and color of Mount Tamalpais.

A new $2.6 million project seeks to uncover the genetic code of nature's tallest trees—to better learn how to protect them.

Debbi Preston tracked down 57 day trips for you and your pup.

A proposed 43-home subdivision may go up on the southeastern tip of the Tiburon Peninsula.

Yosemite National Park, California