Great Bay Area Hikes
Easy hikes
These are spots that have availability for easier hikes (but also may have some tougher ones).
Ed Levin is a favorite spot and there are some good flat meanders in the park. You can also do some tougher hikes to the top of Monument Peak.
Mussel Rock has some pleasant coastal hikes--especially if you head down to the beach (but you do have to climb back up!) It can be chilly when overcast and "Karl the Fog" comes out, so bring layers.
Tilden's a great family spot for nice walks but there are some good medium hikes in the park as well.
Views for DAYS at Lands End--a great spot in the city to feel like you're in nature. Gorgeous views across the Bay.
Great mellow wandering and some nice history of the area. Also some additional difficult hiking up to Sierra Rd if you're up for it!
Medium hikes
Ok, what's a "medium" hike, you ask? For me, medium is less than about 750 feet of elevation gain, has some shade or is good in cool weather and is probably less than 5 miles.
A nice spot on the coast and you can go inland to the Garrapata State Park or meander around Soberantes Point.
Extensive trails and some cool mining history--this park has some great longer trails in the foothills. It gets warm in the summer and has great views.
Rancho San Antonio's highlights are the little farm as well as the wide variety of medium hikes available. There are definitely longer/harder hikes (including a connector to Black Mountain, listed below).
Difficult hikes
These are the steep, long, hot, or challenging hikes. For these, I'm definitely bringing a day pack with extra water and snacks as well as a puffy jacket in case it's cold at the top. These typically have over 1k of elevation gain in a shorter distance or they are longer 5+ mile hikes.
There's some elevation gain here and lots of up-and-down, but it's a good place to train to hike in the Sierra.
A great hike is the Alpine trail, taking you to the summit where paragliders launch on east wind days. You can do a loop or an up + back. Parking is crowded, so go early.
Probably the most famous (infamous) hike in the Bay Area, Mission Peak is a ~4ish mile hike up. Barely any shade, parking is atrocious, and there's often rattlesnakes in the summer. And yet, thousands make the hike up to visit and photo at the "peeker pole" giving you views of the entire Bay Area. Admittedly, it's my favorite on this list for hiking and paragliding.
Gorgeous views and tons of trails await you in Marin--hike up Steep Ravine trail to do some loops. Camp at Pantoll. Check out the Dipsea Trail head and then enjoy lunch in Stinson.
Another leg-burner, the Black Mountain Trail is a great (if vigorous) hike up from the Rhus Ridge trailhead in Los Altos Hills.
I don't hike Mount Diablo as much as I used to. There are actually 3 mountains that you can do what I call an "epic day hike" that allows you to summit the main 3 peaks of the Diablo range. It's tough, start early and take water, food, and sunscreen no mater what time of year!
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