Best hikes in Bay Area & Best hikes as Day Trips (top 2-3) (Oakland: wedding, camping)

[bloom]

What are your top ~2-3 most spectacular hikes in Bay Area, including most spectacular hikes as Day Trips??

[Dapper Zoom]

Steep Ravine trail and Cascade falls trails in Marin are both nice, especially on warmer days.

Mission Peak is fun if you go ridiculously early in the morning to beat the crowds.

I love doing all four peaks of Mount Diablo as a circuit as a training hike. Although it is sort of a buzzkill getting to the tallest peak and being joined by all of the people that just drove up there.

Point Reyes has some great hiking, although it is quite a drive from most places in the Bay Area.

My favorite book on California hiking is this one. It is organized in such a way that you can quickly find a hike that meets all the criteria you are looking for (length, difficulty, season, location).

[Ruth4Truth]

Marin has the best hikes, IMO, unless you include the north part of Santa Cruz County, specifically--Big Basin redwood park. There's a pretty spectacular hike from the top of Mt. Tamalpais in Marin, down the mountain to Stinson Beach. You can spend as much time at the beach as you want, then hike back up via an alternate trail, for different scenery. There's a creek en route that sometimes builds to a pretty waterfall. Due to the tremendous change in elevation, the route passes through several different ecosystems, including of course--redwood forest. I imagine that springtime would be the most lush along the trail, while fall would be drier, in terms of that creek/waterfall, but it's still beautiful anytime. And the views! The ocean beckons as you descend.

Learn more about it:
Hike: Mt. Tamalpais to Stinson Beach

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by Dapper Zoom

Steep Ravine trail and Cascade falls trails in Marin are both nice, especially on warmer days.

Mission Peak is fun if you go ridiculously early in the morning to beat the crowds.

I love doing all four peaks of Mount Diablo as a circuit as a training hike. Although it is sort of a buzzkill getting to the tallest peak and being joined by all of the people that just drove up there.

Point Reyes has some great hiking, although it is quite a drive from most places in the Bay Area.

My favorite book on California hiking is this one. It is organized in such a way that you can quickly find a hike that meets all the criteria you are looking for (length, difficulty, season, location).

I grew up at the foot of Mt. Diablo State Park and second second the hikes there. Just check in the summer to make sure the park isn't closed for fire danger on the day you want to go.

Also love Sibley Volcanic Regional Park and Redwood Regional Park in Oakland. But you should get that book. There are literally dozens of places to hike in the Bay Area, hundreds if you drive an hour or two.

[ZeApelido]

I love mountain meets ocean hikes, so I would suggest Montara Mountain south of Pacifica, and hiking off PCH in Big Sur (like Andrew Molera park).

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by ZeApelido

I love mountain meets ocean hikes, so I would suggest Montara Mountain south of Pacifica, and hiking off PCH in Big Sur (like Andrew Molera park).

The Mt. Tam to Stinson Beach hike is another one. And Big Basin regional park has one through the redwoods, too.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

An easy one is Angel Island. Great views of SF, and if you time it right, you can see the old Japanese immigrant station and the poetry they wrote on the walls.

https://angelisland.com/top-3-hikes-on-angel-island/

You take a ferry to get there, which is fun, too.

[zugor]

The East Bay Regional Park system has so many wonder hikes in such different micro-climates you could spend so many wonderful hours hiking and probably not cover them all.

Profile
East Bay Regional Park District manages:

121,397 acres
73 regional parks, recreation areas, wilderness, shorelines, preserves and land bank areas. General Brochure
31 regional inter-park trails
1,250 miles of trails within parklands
11 freshwater swimming areas, boating and/or stocked fishing lakes and lagoons and a disabled-accessible swimming pool
40 fishing docks; 3 bay fishing piers
235 family campsites; 42 youth camping areas
2 golf courses
2,082 family picnic tables
1,707 reservable group picnic tables
10 interpretive and education centers
18 children's play areas
Wedding, meeting and banquet facilities

I now live in a wonderful rural area with acres of my own to hike but I still sometimes miss the variety of CA hiking and camping.

[bloom]

Originally Posted by Dapper Zoom

Point Reyes has some great hiking, although it is quite a drive from most places in the Bay Area.

What is the driving time to get to Pt Reyes (furthest extent, closest, middle)?
Please indicate starting point for you.

[skygazer1]

I'd vote #1 for the Mt. Tamalpais to beach trails. Endless vistas, fog, forests, ocean views, changing at each turn. And pretty good elevation change for a workout! Hanging around at night (like the Sidewalk Astronomers), you experience the spectacular night sky above, Milky Way sinking into the light pollution of the cities to the E.

#2 I like Mt Davidson/Twin peaks in the city. Nothing challenging, but the views are almost as spectacular as Tam, with more of the urban ambiance. Plus, you can get to there by public transport from anywhere in the city