Within Natural Bridges State Beach, in Santa Cruz, you’ll find the Monarch Butterfly Nature Preserve, a grove of eucalyptus trees where thousands of Monarch Butterflies spend the winter each year. The butterflies may be viewed by taking a short 0.75 mile Monarch Trail loop through the Preserve, or by simply taking the short, wheel-chair accessibleContinue reading “Monarch Butterfly Nature Preserve, Natural Bridges State Beach, Santa Cruz”
Category Archives: Nature Exploration
Crissy Field, San Francisco
On Monday morning, my husband and I went for a run out at Crissy Field in San Francisco (while our so rode his bike). This is my absolute favorite spot to run in the Bay Area. Luckily, it’s also an awesome trail for kids to ride bikes! I took a couple photos from the EastContinue reading “Crissy Field, San Francisco”
Weekly Photo Challenge: Green
Photos taken November 18th, 2012 Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley *** Weekly Photo Challenge: Green
Silent Saturday: LaRiviere Marsh Trail, Don Edwards S.F. Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Photos from a hike I took this morning with my son at Don Edwards S.F. Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Newark, California . We walked the the short 0.7 mile walk around the LaRiviere Marsh Trail, beginning at the Visitor Center.
Silent Saturday: Trail Through Time, Rock City, Mount Diablo
Photos from a hike in Mount Diablo State Park earlier this week with my Nature Time playgroup. We hiked a section of the Trail Through Time, from the Rock City parking lot to (and up) Sentinel Rock, allowing the kids to climb and play on and in the limestone rock structures and caves as muchContinue reading “Silent Saturday: Trail Through Time, Rock City, Mount Diablo”
Take a “Signs of Fall” Walk
Saturday is the first day of Autumn. While it doesn’t quite feel like fall yet here in the San Francisco Bay Area, I know the seasons will begin to change soon. This is a great time to head outdoors with your child to look for the first signs of fall. This walk can be takenContinue reading “Take a “Signs of Fall” Walk”
Article: 6 Tips for Outdoor Adventures with Kids
My article about getting outside for a hiking adventure with the kids has been featured on The Roundup at Circle of Moms! To read the article and pick up some tips about how to have a fun family hike, click on over to Circle of Moms here… 6 Tips for Outdoor Adventures with Kids. HappyContinue reading “Article: 6 Tips for Outdoor Adventures with Kids”
Create-With-Nature Pathway
While visiting Redwood Regional Park in Oakland yesterday morning, I made a fun discovery. We were meeting friends for some nature playtime, and they were running a half hour late. While waiting, my son was having fun riding his bike up and down the paved path while I was strolling along behind him, enjoying thisContinue reading “Create-With-Nature Pathway”
Camping in the Redwoods, Butano State Park
Butano State Park… I love this place! It’s a short drive from our home in the San Francisco East Bay, as it takes us little over an hour to reach Pescadero. The campground is small, quiet, tucked away in a canyon filled with redwoods. Camping here is an annual tradition for us, and is usuallyContinue reading “Camping in the Redwoods, Butano State Park”
Stow Lake, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
On our way back to the car from the San Francisco Botanical Garden (see post from yesterday), we took a little detour to visit Stow Lake. We first discovered the lake on a visit to Golden Gate Park a few weeks ago. Now, how did we “discover” a lake that’s been there since 1893? LetContinue reading “Stow Lake, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco”
Exploring the Ringtail Cat Trail, Las Trampas, Alamo
Another great Outdoor Discoveries outing! Today, the naturalist took the kids up the Ringtail Cat Trail into Las Trampas Regional Park for a “beanstalk lunch hike” to learn about vines. This is another of my favorite trails in the area, especially on a hot summer day, as the trail winds above a creek through aContinue reading “Exploring the Ringtail Cat Trail, Las Trampas, Alamo”
Hiking and Playing, Coyote Hills, Fremont
If you read my post yesterday, you know we attended the Nectar Garden Fun Day at Coyote Hills Regional Park on Monday. I invited friends from my Nature Time! playgroup to attend with us, and the kids had a great time running around and playing after they were done with the butterfly activities. A favoriteContinue reading “Hiking and Playing, Coyote Hills, Fremont”
Nectar Garden Fun, Coyote Hills
Nectar Garden Fun Day As many of you already know, we’re in the process of creating a butterfly garden in our backyard. So I couldn’t resist attending the Nectar Garden Fun Day with my son yesterday morning at Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont. This is one of my favorite parks in the East Bay,Continue reading “Nectar Garden Fun, Coyote Hills”
Nature Time! Hike, Dublin Hills
We kicked off our Memorial Day weekend with a great hike with friends from our Nature Time! playgroup. The kids had fun on the trail, playing in the tall grass, and stopping to check out insects (mostly stink bugs). The weather was breezy and cool, but the children didn’t seem to notice. It makes meContinue reading “Nature Time! Hike, Dublin Hills”
Fossils, Flowers, and Fun! Dublin Hills
I thought we’d head to a museum today, but my son asked if we could go hiking instead. Great! When I asked him where he wanted to go hiking, he said, “Dublin Hills!” I liked that answer, as the official trail head (Donlon Point Staging Area) is only a few miles from our home. Easy!Continue reading “Fossils, Flowers, and Fun! Dublin Hills”
Nature Play, Roberts Regional Park, Oakland
One of our favorite parks for play is Roberts Regional Park in the Oakland Hills. This park, nestled in the redwoods, has something for everyone. First, if you have a child, the play structure here is among the best in the Bay Area (and it’s barrier free / wheelchair accessible). But other than that, theContinue reading “Nature Play, Roberts Regional Park, Oakland”
Look for Lizards
As the weather has been warming up, we’ve been seeing more and more lizards on our walks. I believe these little guys (they are about 3-5 inches long) are Western Fence Lizards. We have them all over the place here in the East Bay. Maybe your child(ren) would like to go on a walk toContinue reading “Look for Lizards”
Urbia Adventure # 1: Treasure in the Hills of San Francisco
Aargh, Batman… there’s treasure in yonder hills! OK, so pirate speak and Batman don’t really go together, but I can’t seem to get my little one out his Batman raincoat these days… not even for a bit of treasure seeking. We had an unexpected break in the rain today, so we drove into San FranciscoContinue reading “Urbia Adventure # 1: Treasure in the Hills of San Francisco”
Urbia Adventures: Exploring Nature in San Francisco
A friend recently told me about some fun-looking educational treasure hunting booklets created and sold through the Urbia Adventure League. These booklets were created based upon the concept of letterboxing (which I wrote about last week), but add so much more. Each booklet has at least ten pages packed full of information and activities designedContinue reading “Urbia Adventures: Exploring Nature in San Francisco”
Nature Walk, Redwood Regional Park, Oakland
My favorite spot in the San Francisco East Bay to take kids for a nature walk is Redwood Regional Park, but, for a variety of reasons, we haven’t visited the park for a few months. We had a break in the rain late this week, so we headed to the park for a walkContinue reading “Nature Walk, Redwood Regional Park, Oakland”
Suburban Nature Explorations 