In the middle of San Francisco Bay sits Angel Island State Park, offering spectacular views of the San Francisco skyline, the Marin Headlands and Mount Tamalpais. The island is also alive with history. Three thousand years ago the island was a fishing and hunting site for Coastal Miwok Indians. It ........more >

The park, 60 miles north of San Francisco on the eastern edge of Santa Rosa offers miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking, and trail riding. For wildflower lovers, Annadel Park offers a great variety of flowers from early Spring until early Summer, especially on a hike around Lake Ilsanjo. The ........more >

The purpose of Ao Nuevo State Park, in San Mateo County, is to preserve and protect a substantial area on the western slope of the central Coast Range inland from Ao Nuevo Point. The property contains a diversity of plant communities, including old growth forest freshwater marsh, red alder riparian ........more >

Fifty-five miles south of San Francisco and the Golden Gate, a low, rocky, windswept point juts out into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish maritime explorer Sebastian Vizcaino sailed by the point on January 3, 1603. His diarist and chaplain of the expedition, Father Antonio de la Ascension, named it Punta ........more >

The Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge is located in the San Francisco Bay-Delta area, along the southern shore of the San Joaquin River. It was the first national wildlife refuge in the country established to protect endangered plants and insects. Established in 1980, the refuge provides protection ........more >

The serene, majestic beauty of this Grove is a living reminder of the magnificent primeval redwood forest that covered much of this area before logging operations began during the 19th century. Armstrong Redwoods preserves 805 acres of the stately and magnificent Sequoia sempervirens, commonly known ........more >

Located in the heart of the beautiful Napa Valley wine country, the Park offers camping, picnicking, swimming, and hiking trails that go through stands of coastal redwoods as well as forests of Douglas-fir, tanoak, and madrone. Daytime visitors can enjoy a leisurely stroll in Ritchey Canyon on the ........more >

Purchased by the State of California in 1983 this historic ranch property is hidden in a pristine valley south of Half Moon Bay. The area offers solitude, groves of mature eucalyptus, and a rich assortment of wildlife. With the addition of Rancho Raymundo at the east boundary, park property extends ........more >

Butano State Park's 2,200 acres lie in a secluded redwood-filled canyon. The park features miles of hiking trails, 21 drive-in campsites and 18 walk-in campsites. Restrooms with running water are provided. Drinking water is available at the park in both the campground and in the day use areas. Guided ........more >

The Farallon National Wildlife Refuge is a group of islands located 28 miles west of San Francisco. It sustains the largest sea bird breeding colony south of Alaska and contains 30 percent of California's nesting sea birds. Thirteen species, adding up to one-quarter of a million individuals, breed here, ........more >

Fort Point was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1853 and 1861 to prevent entrance of a hostile fleet into San Francisco Bay. The fort was designed to mount 126 massive cannons. Rushed to completion at the beginning of the Civil War, Fort Point was first garrisoned in February ........more >

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area GGNRA is one of the largest urban national parks in the world. The total park area is 75,398 acres of land and water. Approximately 28 miles of coastline lie within its boundaries. It is nearly two and one-half times the size of San Francisco. One of the ........more >

Coe Park is the largest state park in northern California, with over 80,000 acres of wild open spaces. The terrain of the park is rugged, varied, and beautiful, with lofty ridges and steep canyons. Once the home of Ohlone Indians, the park is now home to a fascinating variety of plants and animals, ........more >

The Site preserves the 14 room mansion where the naturalist John Muir lived from 1890 to his death in 1914. While living in Martinez, Muir accomplished many things he battled to prevent Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy Valley from being dammed, served as the first president and one of the founders ........more >

Kruse Rhododendron State Reserve is located adjacent to Salt Point State Park. Edward P. Kruse donated the land to the people of California in 1933 as a living memorial to his father, a founder of San Francisco's German Bank. The land was part of a large ranch established in 1880, on which the Kruse ........more >

Las Posadas is great for bikers and skiers and is located 3 miles S.E. of Calistoga in Angwin. This trail system has everything a mountain biker could want. Shady single track through manzanita tunnels, smooth fast descents down the back side fire roads, lazy table tops, rock drops and beautiful views ........more >

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McNee Ranch State Park is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains of the United States, near the unincorporated community of Montara, California in San Mateo County. Its highest point rises to 1,898 feet above sea level. An unpaved fire road, the North Peak Access Road, accessible from the Pedro Mountain ........more >

This park is one of the ecological treasures of the San Francisco Bay Area. Every season in the park has its special qualities. Discover for yourself the mountain's beautiful wildflowers, its extensive trail system, fascinating wildlife and distinctive rock formations. View the stars from its lofty ........more >

Just north of San Francisco's Golden Gate is Mount Tamalpais. It has redwood groves and oak woodlands with a spectacular view from the 2,571-foot peak. On a clear day, visitors can see the Farallon Islands 25 miles out to sea, the Marin County hills, San Francisco and the bay, hills and cities of ........more >

Walk among old growth coast redwoods, cooling their roots in the fresh water of Redwood Creek and lifting their crowns to reach the sun and fog. Federally protected as a National Monument since 1908, this primeval forest is both refuge and laboratory, revealing our relationship with the living landscape. ........more >

Point Reyes National Seashore contains unique elements of biological and historical interest in a spectacularly scenic panorama of thunderous ocean breakers, open grasslands, bushy hillsides and forested ridges. Native land mammals number about 37 species and marine mammals augment this total by another ........more >

On the evening of July 17, 1944, residents in the San Francisco east bay area were jolted awake by a massive explosion that cracked windows and lit up the night sky. At Port Chicago Naval Magazine, 320 men were instantly killed when two ships being loaded with ammunition for the Pacific theater troops ........more >

The park has a rugged, natural basin forested with coast redwoods, Douglas fir and live oak. Eighteen miles of trails crisscross the canyon and its two streams, Peters Creek and Pescadero Creek. A short nature trail along Pescadero Creek introduces visitors to the natural history of the area. Visitors ........more >

70 acres of gently sloping to steep hillsides of oaks and chamise chaparral. It is just down stream of Monticello dam, where Cold creek enters Putah creek. This area includes Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve. No hunting is permitted in this section. Deer and quail can be found here.........more >

Robert Louis Stevenson State Park is the place where the famous author of Treasure Island and Kidnapped spent his honeymoon in 1880. Although nothing remains of Stevensons cabin, the site is identified on the trail to the summit. The area features rough terrain, with evergreen forests in the canyons ........more >

Rocky promontories, panoramic views, kelp-dotted coves, and the dramatic sounds of pounding surf open grasslands, forested hills, pristine prairies, and pygmy forests- you can experience all of these coastal wonders within the Salt Point State Park. With 20 miles of hiking trails, over six miles of ........more >

Samuel P. Taylor State Park has over 2,700 acres of wooded countryside in the steep rolling hills of Marin County north of San Francisco. The park features a unique contrast of coast redwoods groves and open grassland. The park features a variety of flowers and trees, including oak, tanoak, madrone, ........more >

The area is at the northern reaches of the Santa Cruz range. The park provides Bay Area visitors with day-use facilities, hiking trails, and beautiful views of the city and the bay. The park is home to a wide variety of birds and animals as well as several endangered plant and butterfly species. The ........more >

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The San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge lies along the north shore of San Pablo Bay in Sonoma, Solano, and Napa Counties in northern California. The refuge includes open bay/tidal marsh, mud flats, and seasonal and managed wetland habitats. The Napa-Sonoma marshes in San Pablo Bay have been ........more >

Sugarloaf Ridge State Park contains the headwaters of Sonoma Creek. It runs through gorge and canyon, across the meadow floor, beneath scenic rock outcroppings, and is surrounded at times by redwoods and ferns. A 25-foot waterfall flows after the winter rains. There is a self-guided nature trail ........more >

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The Coast Miwok people were the first to inhabit the coastal area of sheltered coves, beaches, tidal marshes, and forest of Bishop pines now known as Tomales Bay State Park, forty miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Sir Francis Drake was the first explorer to land in this area in 1579, followed ........more >

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