Labor Day is just around the corner. If you’re looking to spend a beautiful Monday outdoors without facing the traffic to Lake Tahoe or Yosemite, check out these newly opened local trails across California — a lovely way to start your next adventure in the Golden State.
Santa Cruz County
This month marks the public opening of Cotoni-Coast Dairies, a 5,843-acre expanse of coastal land in Santa Cruz County that is more than five times larger than Golden Gate Park.
The property, acquired in 1998 through a $44.5 million purchase by the Trust for Public Land and its partners, spans six miles along Highway 1 near Davenport and is now managed as part of the California Coastal National Monument.
The site stretches from the Santa Cruz Mountains to oceanfront terraces, featuring streamside woodlands, wetlands and waterways that both sustain local fish populations and supply water to Santa Cruz and nearby communities. It’s a perfect place to explore the California coast while welcoming September.
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Bay Area
The Bay Area Ridge Trail, known for panoramic views from the Marin Headlands to East Bay parklands, expanded in May with a newly opened 14.1-mile stretch in South San Jose. The addition, which connects Calero County Park’s Rancho San Vicente trailhead to Rancho Cañada del Oro Open Space Preserve, brings the regional trail network to 427 miles, which is about three-quarters of its planned length.
The new segment is open to hikers, cyclists and equestrians, offering access to meadows and rolling foothills between Los Gatos and Morgan Hill. All age groups — and dog lovers — can enjoy various activities on this trail with a stunning panoramic view.
Sonoma County Regional Parks
Sonoma County Regional Parks opened eight miles of new trails at Taylor Mountain Regional Park in Santa Rosa in July, nearly doubling the park’s network and granting public access to hundreds of acres on its northeast side, according to the Sonoma County Regional Parks official website.
The expansion brings the park’s total trails to more than 15 miles, winding through oak woodlands, along seasonal creeks, and across ridgetops with panoramic views of Bennett and Sonoma valleys, the Santa Rosa Plain and the coastal mountains.
Visitors can have a unique experience exploring the park’s western grasslands by taking these new trails, including Kawana Terrace Trail, passing the ruins of a 19th-century hot springs resort; Colgan Highlands Trail, climbing to East Knoll overlook; and Lower Colgan Loop Trail, a gentler creekside path under oak and bay laurel canopies.
A stacked-loop design provides options of varying lengths and difficulty, with new entrances at Linwood Drive and Kawana Terrace Road. The trails are now open to hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians.
Sequoia State Park
For those wanting to avoid the heat, a cave is a great choice. According to the National Park Service, Crystal Cave, a marble cavern in Sequoia National Park, is open to visitors only through guided tours offered by the Sequoia Parks Conservancy from May 23 to Sept. 7.
Visitors will have a chance to see “glittering calcite formation” with clear steams running through marble bedrock, which is rare to see since marble only takes up a small portion of rocks in Sequoia, according to Sequoia Parks Conservancy. The route includes a steep half-mile walk, and temperatures inside remain around 50°F (10°C), so jackets are recommended.
Tours run daily between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and last about 50 minutes, but visitors should allow half a day for travel and hiking to the entrance. Tickets must be purchased online here at least 36 hours in advance and ideally two months ahead. Prices are $21.20 for general admission and $11 for kids 10 and younger. Tickets are not sold at the cave.
East Bay Regional Park District
The East Bay Regional Park District opened more than 3.5 miles of new trails in June at Sycamore Valley Open Space Regional Preserve in Danville, part of the 381-acre Magee Preserve. Among the new routes, the Sycamore Valley Short Ridge Trail is a popular 2-mile loop for hikers and dog owners, offering a moderate 320-foot elevation gain through grasslands with panoramic views of nearby hills and Mount Diablo, along with opportunities to spot deer, birds and other wildlife.