#piston-peak-national-park

#piston-peak-national-park

"At his peak, Dean Potter was a figure similar to Alex Honnold-the leading free-soloist in the game. But he was also a much more enigmatic and eccentric character than Honnold. It is also true that Potter remains one of the all-time great culture heroes of American rock-climbing."

Kirkwood has had a pretty solid past few days, seeing 42 inches of snow through the past 7 days, 31 of which fell in the past 48 hours. As of April 13th, Kirkwood has 5 lifts spinning with 45 of 84 trails open to skiers and snowboarders.

The nine national parks in the Golden State - including Yosemite, Death Valley and Joshua Tree - attracted nearly 12 million recreational visits in 2025, according to statistics from the National Park Service. That's up more than 800,000 visits from 2024 and up more than 300,000 from the previous record set in 2019, according to the data, which stretches back to 1979.

Get up early to drive into the hills and park in the main lot, which opens 30 minutes before sunrise. This will leave you with enough time to make your way to the peak through the wildflower-scattered trails and watch the sunrise over the Bay.

For 2025, there was good news and bad news: overall, these areas were visited 323 million times over the course of the year. That's the good news; the bad news is that this figure was down ever so slightly - specifically, 2.7% - from a record-setting 2024.

Spring in Tahoe rewards timing, and Truckee puts many good options within reach. From downtown, four major resorts sit just minutes away, and about a dozen ski areas are within roughly 45 minutes.

We really don't know how it happened. By the time the center's staff were able to reach the site of the Feb. 17 slide, three days had passed and several feet of snow had blanketed the area. Helicopter crews that dumped water and dragged a large, heavy bucket through the snow to prevent body-recovery teams from getting hit by additional avalanches had further obscured evidence of the deadly slide.

Named after the legendary Big Sur female pioneer and rancher, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park stands out even among the rest of the region's attractions. The park features stands of centuries-old redwood trees and provides a haven for a variety of California wildlife, though it's best known for the 80-foot-high McWay Falls, an impressive cascade that drops directly from a sheer cliff to the sandy beach below.

The reservation system will give skiers and riders more confidence that a parking spot will be waiting for them before they even leave home, helping reduce the uncertainty that can come with busy weekend and holiday visits.

The flurry of quakes rattled close to a relatively unknown fault called Blue Cut, according to Kate Scharer, a research geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey's Earthquake Hazards Program in Pasadena. "This happened in Joshua Tree National Park, a beautiful part of the world where many people have actually probably been and unknowingly traversed near this fault," Scharer told SFGATE. "This is a good reminder that there are many other faults besides the San Andreas in California that can give us a little jolt."

Tens of millions of tourists visit Las Vegas each year, spending billions of dollars in the city's casinos, entertainment venues, and attractions. Yet my move brought me to Reno, a seven-hour drive from the desert of Las Vegas. Although Reno still has its fair share of casinos, the city feels like a world apart.

As soon as he moved in, he started hearing babies crying under his floorboards. The renter called the group to help check on the noises he was hearing, and they soon confirmed it was Rose and her new cubs. The renter is now gearing up to spend the rest of the winter with his four furry roommates.

Not only do we have an amazing trail with 10 waterfalls (four of which you can walk behind), but it's a great place to see and learn about plants and wildlife. We also have several historic buildings that are open to the public-all built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s and 1940s.

After a mine cave-in revealed a rich vein of ore Bodie, California became a thriving town during the years of the California gold rush. It quickly exploded in size and at its pinnacle was home to around had around 2,000 structures and a population of 8,000 people. It went bust in 1881 and what buildings remain standing represents about 10% of its original structures.

Whitefish/Kalispell, Montana: United Airlines has expanded its direct service from San Francisco to Glacier Park International Airport, a short drive to world-class Whitefish Mountain Resort and the smaller, family-owned Blacktail Mountain Ski Area. You won't find either on the Epic or Icon passes, which means fewer skiers and shorter lift lines. The proximity to Flathead Lake, even larger in surface area than Lake Tahoe, also means stunning views and a phenomenon called snow ghosts when ice crystals form on the pines.

The Bridgeport Winter Trail System is a new winter recreation area in the region. Anyone hoping to explore scenic new routes and possibly take a dip underneath a natural thermal waterfall should add this groomed winter trail to their list.

When winter takes hold in the Eastern Sierra, the Bridgeport Winter Recreation Area (BWRA) becomes a popular destination for backcountry enthusiasts. Powderhounds flock to this area during the cold winter months, usually with snowmobiles. Shortly after you turn onto Highway 108 (Sonora Pass), the snow starts, and the journey begins. Located seven miles up the snow-covered highway, the BWRA is the gateway to remote and technical terrain in the heart of the Sierra.