Mount Shasta dominates the landscape in Northern California, but this area is home to many hidden gems. Built in the 1920s, the Little Mt. Hoffman Lookout was used by the Forest Service until the late 70s. Now, it’s occasionally used by the Forest Service in times of extreme fire danger, but is primarily a cabin rental for guests.
The Shimanami Kaido is a 60km toll road connecting Honshu to Shikoku, starting in Onomichi and ending in Imabari. The driving route is also known as the Nishiseto Expressway. It is also a paved cycling route designed for casual cyclists and experienced roadies, alike. Officially, the well-marked Shimanami Kaido is 70km long. There are other routes, also marked, across the islands. These are labeled as the Island Explorer route, and adds extra miles through more scenic areas. The Island Explorer version of the Shimanami Kaido is sort of a choose-your-own-adventure, and is lesser traveled. We saw very few people on the version we did. The majority of the cyclists we saw were when the Island Explorer route intersected with the official Shimanami Kaido, primarily at bridges and michi-no-eki.
Read on for all the details on bike touring the Shimanami Kaido.
I love a good backpacking trip as much as anyone, but hiking to a cabin for the night? I’m a lazy lady, and that’s absolutely my jam. I’ve been to the Sierra Club Hikers Hut down the trail at Sam McDonald County Park. In May of 2023, Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) began operating the Audrey Edna Cabin in conjunction with San Mateo County Health’s Park Rx, and open for the public to use when it’s not occupied.
This post is a paid partnership with Subaru of America.
I didn’t grow up outdoorsy. My parents did not either. I recently had the chance to show my mom around Lake Tahoe. I’m lucky because my mom had to go along with whatever shenanigans I concocted. Most people are not as fortunate (or unfortunate?). After three days of making my mom try things out of her comfort zone, I have all the tips for you to successfully introduce a loved one to the outdoors. If I could do it again, these are the things that I would keep in mind.
This winter season, I decided that I wanted to get into splitboarding. The only problem is splitboarding is not an accessible sport. You can’t just go out and do it (especially this year, where the snowpack is all wonky in the Sierra!). There’s so much more knowledge, gear, and skill involved. I also don’t have many local friends who do backcountry snowsports, much less splitboarding. To safely learn the sport, I decided to take Alpenglow Expeditions’ Women’s Backcountry 1.0 and 2.0 course.
