Trail Map of Bay Area Hiking by Season

Overview: The San Francisco Bay Area enjoys excellent hiking weather year-round -- ample sunshine, rare storms, scant snow -- but savvy local hikers still match their destinations to prime weather conditions.

Spring, for instance, brings an explosion to wildflowers. Summertime gets warmer the farther you get from the coast, so most hikers look for deep shade (plentiful in the redwoods) and cool breezes (perpetual along the coastlines).

Autumn brings welcome cooling for inland hikers, but the best reason to hit the trails is to catch wildlife in action, from tule elk to tarantulas.

Winter rains bring water gushing down the canyons between the Bay Area hills, creating wonderful waterfalls that typically run dry in the summer.

Tips: Attractions change with the seasons:

Spring: Wildflowers
Summer: Coast, redwoods
Fall: Wildlife
Winter: Waterfalls