Bay Area Redwood Hikes

Seeing Muir Woods is one thing: just look up. Enjoying it is another: go on an off-season weekday with light tourist traffic (January-March, for instance) and you'll experience the magical silence of this small grove of ancient redwoods. You can't get that with mobs of tourists milling about.

Recommended hike
Just wander the paved paths and read the interpretive panels: it's flat and easy, no more than a few miles. If there are too many tourists afoot, head up the Ben Johnson or Bootjack trails (each just over a mile long) and turn back when you've had enough -- both are beautiful but steep.

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This 1,829-acre park in the hills above Oakland belies the city's tough urban reputation. Redwoods on these hills were once so tall that mariners used them as navigation points. All were cut down early in the Bay Area's development but a healthy new redwood forest is bringing them back.

Recommended hike
Moderate 5.5-mile clockwise loop from Skyline Gate trailhead. Route takes in West Ridge, French, Mill and Stream trails, starting out in eucalyptus and pine forest and slowly descending into a dense stand of second-growth redwoods. Final leg on the Stream Trail is the best of the bunch.

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This park in the Santa Cruz Mountains southwest of San Jose is Bay Area's No. 1 locale for old-growth redwoods. It bests Muir Woods in every category: bigger trees, smaller crowds, richer forests.

Recommended hikes
The 12-mile loop to Berry Creek Falls via the Sunset and Skyline-to-the-Sea trails is the consensus pick as best Bay Area hike. The big however: a hike this long can be brutal if you're out of shape. Any of the many trails near the park HQ will pass stands of stunning ancient redwoods, and you won''t have to endure a strength-sapping six-hour trek.

If you''re up for a moderate hike of about six to seven miles, try a loop on the Sunset, Timms Creek and Skyline-to-the-Sea trails (get a map and consult with a ranger at the park HQ). Any of these hikes will redefine your conception of a walk in the woods.

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The main attraction of Henry Cowell is that it's next to Santa Cruz, so tourists checking the famously funky beach town can easily add some redwoods to their day. It might be just enough to get you hooked on redwoods.

Recommended hike
No need to get complicated: just start out at the visitor center and take the easy, .8 mile Redwood Grove Loop Trail, which encircles an impressive grove of old-growth redwoods.

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Local hikers adore this park along Highway 35 in the Santa Cruz Mountains. You start out high on a ridge, pass wide-open Pacific Ocean vistas on your way down and descend into a lush forest of second-growth redwoods. The vibe: primeval.

Recommended hike
The 2.6-mile Soda Gulch Trail is a sublime single-track through the best of Purisima's redwoods. It's 1.5 to two miles from the nearest Highway 35 trailheads (best place to park is the northern one) so you can plan anything from a moderate four-mile out-and-back to an epic 11-mile loop. Free trail maps are available at the trailhead. Save your strength for the return leg: it'll be all uphill.

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