New Year’s hikes
If getting out into nature and getting more exercise are on your New Year’s resolutions list, you can tick both those items off on Jan. 1. More than 50 California State Parks are offering special hikes and events as part of First Day Hikes, a program that encourages people to start their new year outdoors.
It’s an opportunity for families and friends to connect, says California State Parks Director Lisa Mangat, in public outdoor spaces that “support healthy, affordable, physical and social activities.” Consider First Day Hikes and these parks “a gateway to these benefits.” California has participated in the national First Day Hikes program for the last decade. Last year alone, some 2,400 Californians popped up for those New Year’s Day hikes — and you can, too. Here’s a sampling of Bay Area parks participating this year.
• Angel Island State Park, which is considered the Ellis Island of the West Coast, is doing a New Year’s Day hike to the 788-foot summit of Mount Livermore for spectacular views.
• Año Nuevo State Park is offering accessible walks to see the famed elephant seals near Pescadero.
• Big Basin Redwoods State Park, near Santa Cruz, boasts ancient coast redwoods, spectacular ocean views and lush waterfalls — and several different First Day hikes.
• Head for Salt Point State Park, 90miles north of San Francisco, and Carpinteria State Beach, near Santa Rosa, for coastal hikes with gorgeous views and the possibility of seeing seals, sea lions and gray whales.
• Go historical at the Burleigh H. Murray Ranch Property near Half Moon Bay, where an easy 2½mile stroll along Mills Creek Trail explores the lives of early pioneers and 19th-century settlers.
• Pescadero’s Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park is offering a short First Day Hike along the rocky coast.
Find a complete list at www.parks. ca.gov/firstdayhikes.
— Jessica Yadegaran and Joan Morris, Staff