Category Archives: California

Activities, Hikes, National Forests, Outdoors, U.S. Forest Service

Mount Baldy Trail Closures Extended — What Hikers Need To Know

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Forest managers restrict summit approaches after heavy snow and rescue operations — check official alerts before heading into the San Gabriels.

Mount Baldy is close enough to the city that people treat it like a day hike, which is why the latest extended closure matters. When winter turns the ridgelines to ice, the mountain stops being a fairly strenuous stroll and becomes a treacherous mountaineering adventure that can kill the underprepared and the overconfident.

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California, National Forests, Outdoors, Recreation & Responsible Use, U.S. Forest Service

Tahoe Trails: E-Bikes, New Connectors, and Upgraded Trailheads

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Forest Service signs off on new e-bike branches, restroom-equipped parking and wayfinding. Construction slated for June 2026.

Lake Tahoe is about to change the way people get around on two electric-powered wheels. In early January 2026, the U.S. Forest Service finalized a basin-wide plan that expands where e-bikes can go and ties loose ends in the trail network across the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. The agency incorporated community input into route selection and environmental analysis, resulting in a mapped program with new access and infrastructure.

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California, Conservation, Outdoors, State Parks

NoraBella Becomes Part of Big Basin Redwoods State Park — a 153-Acre Expansion Announced Today

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

California State Parks purchases the NoraBella parcel for $2.415 million, adding ridged forest and creeks to California’s oldest state park.

The acquisition — the park’s first acreage addition since Little Basin in 2011 — is a strategic move in the broader Reimagining Big Basin effort born out of the 2020 CZU wildfire. Planners see NoraBella as a natural approach to rebuilding a visitor experience: space for a welcome area at Saddle Mountain, room for shuttle access that keeps parking and buildings away from the most sensitive old-growth trees, and sites for operations that let the core groves heal while still welcoming visitors. California State Parks is advancing a facilities plan, general plan amendment, and environmental review to guide rebuilding. Continue reading →

California, State Parks

Keep the California State Library Parks Pass Going

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

AB 1804 cements the California State Library Parks Pass so Californians can borrow a day-use pass like a book and get outside.

Legislation has been introduced in the Assembly that matters if you like getting out of town and into wild places. California’s library-based parks pass — the program that lets a library card check you into a state park with a vehicle day-use pass — has been wildly popular, and AB 1804 is the push to stop it from wobbling on short-term budget choices.

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Activities, California, Outdoors

Wildflower season at Carrizo Plain — California in bloom!

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

A wet winter and early storms left enough water in the ground that wildflowers are erupting across the state.

At the Carrizo Plain National Monument, the first swaths of yellow and orange are up on the lower slopes of the Temblor Mountains. A wet winter and an early warm spell have moved the bloom ahead of schedule — the carpet of color can appear almost overnight and be gone within weeks. Plan on getting there early. Pay attention to the weather. Don’t be afraid to turn back if the weather changes, the roads are jammed, or the area is too crowded.

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