Best Wild Flowers Trails in California

THANK YOU to those who piled cairns/ducks, especially along 50. A great view awaits those that have the fortitude to climb the boulders at the top. We had no wind and the summit to ourselves.

This is an excellent hike ranging between moderate to hard depending in personal stamina. We did the complete 9.8 mile starting from North ridge, whittmore gulch, purisima Creek, Craig britton, Harkins ridge and back again North ridge.
elevation gain is good towards the last 2 miles. start early as it takes around 5-6 hours to complete

if you want to go to the Deep Creek Hot Springs they are just 2 miles past Rainbow Bridge not on the Pacific Crest Trail. plan to bring a headlamp and a jacket. small dogs hiking behind after dark not recommended due to mountain lion activity.

We did this trip counter clockwise from Oct 5-12. We tacked on a few side trips including Kearsarge Lakes and 60 Lakes Basin. We had one snow storm the day before doing Glen Pass but we just delayed our ascent a few hours until the sun had melted the pass on the south side and then things were not that bad. It was spectacular. I would recommend spending at least one day at Rae Lakes, it is the jewel of the hike. Water was available along the entire trip except for the ascent up Glen Pass. I carried 1 liter of water on me the entire trip and it worked well for me. Bring warm clothes as several nights got down into the teens. We saw several bears but they all kept their distance from us and we had no negative encounters. Bugs were almost non-existant but we did see 4 different snake species including a rattlesnake the first day hiking in. This was definitely a worth while trip and I will do it again.

Beautiful and dry as a bone. great view over the Livermore area

This was such a easy short hike. You walk along the dry river for a bit then take a little trail up into the canyon. a small section of scrambling and climbing for maybe 5 minutes. Just enough to get ur blood pumping then soon enough ur there. the waterfall is beautiful. Lots of large rocks and scenery. It's the perfect area to have a little picnic and relax..

makes you pay a fee

Read a bunch of reviews and feel like most are somewhat exaggerated. Did this hike in about 9.5 hours, and you definitely want to start at about 2am. I started at 2:30am by myself, first time hiking in the dark with an REI 20$ headlamp, and what an experience. Couldn’t see but could hear the water falls roaring, and the night critters were frequent on the trail. The headlamp did its job and being up on the cables at sunrise was magical, as well as the dark night sky on the way up. Going down was no problem until vernal/nevada fall, when the trail was packed with people, without much regard for others on the trail. For this I probably would have went JMT, but I wanted to see the things I couldn’t see on the way up. Also the sub dome is not that grueling, and it really only lasts about 20 minutes to the base of the cables.

Didn’t do much training for this, did Four Mile Trail, Eagle Peak, clouds rest, and MT. Hoffman spread out in weeks time. Took 30 liters of water with me and a water filter, to cut down on weight and didn’t have to use the filter (starting in the dark keeps the heat down). Overall awesome experience, happy to do it. Saw loads of people going up as I was going down so start early before 5am if you want to miss that, as there was no waiting on the cables going up or down, which made it easier.

Great hike for the family and with dogs. Short and sweet, only takes about 20 minutes to get to the waterfall. Beautiful views!

Nice and easy hike to Cascade Falls. So many great views along the way.

I really enjoyed this hike, the ascent is gradual, the trail is wide enough, and the vistas are amazing.

The view from the top is the payoff for taking this trail!

This is an excellent trail. It's very strenuous, but the scenery is amazing and the trail is very well maintained and marked. I never had a problem losing the trail. The actual hot springs are hard to find, and are considerably off the trail. Make sure you have the AllTrails app downloaded on your phone and you can find them from people’s recordings.

Definitely not my favorite hike! According to my phone and two others that I went with, the hike ended up being an average of 6 miles, 15,000 steps, and 90 flights of stairs. Beautiful lake but even in October there were icicles forming all around the lake. I am not a very skilled hiker but I do love to hike. I have done several hikes this year that were just as difficult but had more scenic views than this one. Very uphill and then right back downhill. I am glad I did it and it was beautiful but not a hike I would do again!

Beautiful and eerie pre-dawn October run up Montara Mountain. After heading out from the TH, I dropped down a bit and took the old road around a half mile in. About 2 miles in to the climb the trail gets a bit steep, but is non-technical and easy to follow even in the dark. I continued to climb up through and above the marine layer, feeling like I was in the Lost Boys. After about 4 miles, I reached the North Peak and took the fast decent back down.

Excellent trail! Did this Oct 6, 2018 with Overland Bound, wonderful time. Trail in great shape. Other than the first gatekeeper, all obstacles had a bypass, the gatekeeper might of had one as well but I did not notice it. Need 4x4, lift and bigger tires, also skids. As said do not go alone, on weekends there will be others on trail so stay alert. trail can be ran up and back or up and return a different trail. Trails not marked completely so have a map. Edison camp is wonderful camping area.

Easy hike, beautiful views, cool plants and terrain

Echoing what other folks have said: be ready for around 2 miles of elevation right at the start. Definitely wear some thing to protect your legs due to all the tall weeds and bush. In general dress for sudden temp drops in colder non summer seasons. The pond is a gentle reminder of what the years of drought have done to the ecosystem in SoCal.

Awesome views from the top! If you plan on hiking during the summer, start as early as possible.

Be sure to bring plenty of water and snacks with you but don’t overload yourself because this is a serious hike where every pound will be felt throughout the hike.

It was not that busy when we started out during a June 14th hike but on the way down we saw LOTS of people coming up during the midday sun.

Bring more water than you think you’re going to need. It was 95 by noon when I made it to the top. I had 5L on me and just about ran out at the top.

Whenever my husband and I vacation in Encinitas, we go to Torrey Pines, not so much for a “workout” because the trail is really easy, but for the views! Gorgeous!

While there are no guarantees that you'll see bears, this is the one trail in my life where I have seen more bears than any other place.
Every October people flock here to see the salmon run, with hundreds of fish in certain spots, and the potential to see black bears enjoying their autumn buffet.
We came on October 13th this year, but were a little dissappointed there were few fish. It is usually the middle of October. Maybe we were too early.
Either way, this is a fun family activity, with the trail to Baldwin and Kiva Beaches, along with the rainbow loop seeing the cool autumn sun shining through the yellow aspens.
This year, the aquarium was closed for construction.
The trail is easy, and can fit handicapped walkers, along with elderly and young children.
Beware of the crowds.

Overall, a must-do activity if you're in South Lake Tahoe.
- Mike & Angel, EarthTrek Gear

Wonderful hike back into small, beautiful lakes. recommend taking the southern side (on the right as you look at the lake from the trailhead parking lot) around Saddlebag lake as the northern side is very rocky and hard on dogs paws.

This trail was literally the most beautiful thing ever! The weather was rainy and foggy when I went which made the adventure much more fun! We saw a deer. It was just lovely I literally need say no more. The trails are a little hard to find as the signs become distant so definitely take a map and activate the GPS on this app so you don’t get lost.

Fun overnighter camping out with the Cougars..

Beautiful views! Well worth the climb!

My first hike EVER! It was tumultuous for me as an amateur but I pressed in and got to the beautiful Eagle Lake and it was totally worth it!!

Hiked with my girlfriends and the views were incredible.

This is a short but heavily trafficked trail in Sequoia NP. It’s a paved path that’s great for handicap, kids, and walkers. At the half way point, you’ll reach the General Grant Tree. It’s beautiful but very busy! You can also connect to this trail from other trails in the park. We connected from the Rimrock Trail. Worth a stop if you’re in Sequoia NP!

It was very nice trail. I was impressed with the red rock itself. I had a very nice day.

* pretty, uncrowded in october.
* bring what water you need.
* lovely views!
* forested, shady, peaceful, wonderful walk.