A Weekend in Bend, Oregon
A weekend in Bend is not entirely improbable if you’re from the Bay Area. With daily flights from SFO to Redmond, it’s easy to escape to Oregon’s high desert for a few days.
Here’s how to spend a weekend in Bend.
hiking
Hiking Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve
Earlier this month, I had the chance to check out Bear Creek Open Space Preserve in Los Gatos. Up until recently, I didn’t know that this spot existed right off bustling Highway 17. It’s a chunk of land under the care of Midpeninsula Open Space Trust that’s currently not accessible to the public, except by permit.
Hiking the Dool-Middle Ridge-Meteor-Sequoia Loop, Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Big Basin Redwoods State Park is one of my go to hikes when I’m bumming around the Bay Area on the weekends. I never really venture away from the Berry Creek Falls loop though. It’s such a good one.
When my friend Brie vetoed Berry Creek Falls in favor of the Dool-Middle Ridge-Meteor-Sequoia Loop, I was skeptical.
My 5 Favorite Bay Area Hikes
The folks at Arc’teryx Stanford Center asked me to share a few of my favorite Bay Area hikes and nonprofits at their spring launch event. There’s nothing I love more than talking about outdoor adventure, so I happily obliged.
For this roundup, I only wanted to include hikes within an hour of the Bay Area. These are all places you can go and get in mileage but still make it back in time for dinner and drinks with friends.
These are the best Bay Area hikes that I return to time and time again.
Hiking the Heritage Grove, Sam McDonald County Park
I turned 28 on a quiet evening in the Sierra Club Hiker’s Hut. The next morning, we woke up to fog and the slow pitter patter of rain on the wooden hut. Josh had class in the afternoon and I had plans to curl up in bed for a lazy birthday. We packed up all our things to head back home.
Instead of retracing our steps, we opted for the Heritage Grove trail instead.