Get outdoors for Earth Day! 10 great hikes to get you started

  • Posted on 8 April 2013
  • By Mary Forgione

Each April, the Angeles Chapter Sierra Club celebrates Earth Day with more than one trail-thumping tribute to Club founder John Muir. Muir turns 175 this April 21, and the Chapter has organized special rendezvous hikes in his honor. Hikers start at different trailheads and meet up to toast the man whose name launched an environmental movement.

April 21: Join us on a series of hikes to 4,688-foot Muir Peak in the front range of the Angeles National Forest high above Pasadena and Altadena. Choose among various routes – moderate to hard – for a rendezvous around 12 to 12:30 p.m. on the peak.

April 28: It’s party time! The 30th Annual Great Rendezvous Hikes in the Santa Monica Mountains leave from 5 different hikes at five different trailheads. All hikers meet up for a celebration of the Sierra Club founder.

Of course, at Sierra Club, every day is Earth Day. Find more hikes and events at our website. Get details on where to meet and leader contact information for these hikes by searching the online Schedule of Activities.

5 great hikes for beginners

South Bay: Spend an evening walking the greenbelt and hills streets of Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach at 7 p.m. on April 9 and every Tuesday night.

Fullerton: Hit the city’s gentle hills on 4 – to 5-mile hikes that go at a slow to medium pace. April 9 and every Tuesday night.

Pasadena: Take a stroll on level trails along the Arroyo Seco and learn about the natural and human history of the area. April 10 and selected Wednesdays.

Orange County: Take a 5-mile hike and discover the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, one of the last remaining wetland ecosystems in Southern California on April 21, May 5 and June 6.

Santa Clarita: Take an easy 3- to 4-mile hike along the famed Pacific Crest Trail to Vasquez Canyon County Park. Vasquez Rocks has been a hideout for banditos and a star in Hollywood films. 9 a.m. on June 16.

5 great wildflower hikes

Trabuco Canyon ramble: Enjoy spring wildflowers on a relaxed pace hike of about 4 miles with 400 feet of gain at O’Neill Regional Park, a woodland filled with live oak, buckwheat, sagebrush and other native plants. The hike starts 8:30 a.m. April 7.

California’s State Flower: Climb Saddleback Butte (4 miles and 1,000 feet of gain) and check out the California Poppy Festival in Lancaster with music, activities and (hopefully) a golden carpet of poppies on April 20.

Malibu Creek State Park Wildflower Photo Hike: Wildflowers and great views are the start of this photography outing. Hike up to 5 miles with 700 feet of gain in the Reagan Ranch Meadow and Century Lake areas. It meets 8:30 a.m. April 20.

Dominguez Gap Wetlands Earth Day Celebration: Take an easy to moderate flat hike 21⁄2 miles long along the Los Angeles River in Long Beach. Learn about the rich biodiversity of this green oasis. It begins 9:30 a.m. April 21

Nature Knowledge Workshop: Spend two days in a streamside camp in the San Bernardino Mountains where you’ll take walks and hikes to learn about the natural surround- ings. Cost for the two-day event June 7 to 9 is $153 for members, $173 for non-members; must register in advance.


Top photo: Malibu Creek State Park. Credit: Mary Forgione

 

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