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A spot is the thing you actually walked out to see — a named waterfall, summit, viewpoint or swimming hole. Each one carries the trail that reaches it, what it looks like, and what people found when they got there.
22 spots
Joshua Tree National Park
A granite arch in the White Tank monzogranite, reached by a short sandy trail from the Twin Tanks parking area.
Joshua Tree National Park
A short desert trail to the historic Barker Dam water-storage structure in Joshua Tree National Park.
Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve
The highest named summit in San Mateo County, an open grassland top on Russian Ridge with views from the ocean to the Bay.
Eaton Canyon Natural Area
The waterfall at the head of lower Eaton Canyon, reached by a wide wash walk from the Eaton Canyon Nature Center and a final creekside scramble.
Angeles National Forest
The ruined mountain resort of the Mount Lowe Railway, on a front-range promontory above Altadena at the top of the Lower Sam Merrill Trail.
Escondido Canyon Park
A multi-tiered waterfall in Escondido Canyon above Malibu. The maintained trail ends at the base of the mossy lower tier.
Inyo National Forest
A chain of small alpine lakes at the head of Little Lakes Valley in the John Muir Wilderness, below the 13,000-foot peaks of the Bear Creek Spire cirque.
Angeles National Forest
A high saddle and five-way trail junction on the Cucamonga Wilderness ridge, at the top of the steady climb up Icehouse Canyon.
Mount Tamalpais Watershed
A winter-and-spring cascade on Cataract Creek just below the Laurel Dell picnic area, reached downhill along the Cataract Trail from Rock Spring.
Joshua Tree National Park
One of the best-preserved stamp mills in Joshua Tree National Park, at the site of the Lost Horse gold mine.
Angeles National Forest
A waterfall of about fifty feet filling the head of a narrow, shaded canyon, a short walk upstream from Millard Campground.
Mission Peak Regional Preserve
The bare grassland summit above Fremont, marked by the Mission Peeker sighting pole and climbed by the Hidden Valley Trail from Stanford Avenue.
Angeles National Forest
The highest summit of the San Gabriel Mountains, reached from Baldy Notch along the exposed Devils Backbone ridge.
Mount Tamalpais State Park
The summit of Mount Tamalpais, a short plank-and-rock climb from the East Peak visitor area to the fire lookout above the whole Bay Area.
Inyo National Forest
A quiet lake in the Ansel Adams Wilderness beneath Parker Peak, reached through sage and an aspen-lined creek canyon off the June Lake Loop.
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park
A 60-foot waterfall on Pfeiffer-Redwood Creek, reached through the redwoods of Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park on a trail twice rebuilt — after the 2008 Basin Complex Fire and again after 2023 storm damage.
Joshua Tree National Park
A signed summit trail in Joshua Tree National Park, climbing from Park Boulevard to Ryan Mountain.
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
The highest point in the Santa Monica Mountains, climbed from the Mishe Mokwa trailhead along the Backbone Trail at Circle X Ranch.
Angeles National Forest
A 50-foot single drop into a shallow plunge pool, 1.7 mi up Big Santa Anita Canyon. Shaded the entire way in. The work is all on the walk out.
Point Reyes National Seashore
The northern tip of the Point Reyes peninsula, reached across the open bluffs of the Tomales Point Tule Elk Reserve.
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
The ruins of the Roberts family ranch house at the end of the canyon-floor trail in Solstice Canyon, beside a small seasonal waterfall.
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park
An overlook above the Big Sur River valley, looking north over the redwoods toward Point Sur and the Pacific.