BaySights

Parks & Nature

14 places · Redwoods, headlands & open space

All (14)Point Reyes Station (3)Berkeley (3)Richmond (1)Santa Cruz (1)Mill Valley (1)Santa Rosa (2)Oakland (1)Half Moon Bay (1)San Jose (1)
A calm blue lagoon fills the center of the frame, bordered by sandy dunes and tufted coastal grasses, with a lone heron standing near the left bank. Green hills and a few small buildings stretch across the horizon under clear golden-hour light.
Parks & Wilderness
32

Point Reyes Station, CA

Abbotts Lagoon

A pair of coastal lagoons connected by a narrow channel, separated from the Pacific by a thin strip of sand dunes. The 3.2-mile round-trip trail crosses open grasslands before reaching the lagoons and continuing to the beach. The lagoons support large populations of shorebirds, waterfowl, and raptors throughout the year.

golden hourwinter · spring
Sunlit grassy hilltop at Cesar Chavez Park with a stone-lined path and scattered boulders in the foreground, looking out over the Berkeley waterfront toward the hills across the bay. The wide sky is streaked with soft clouds in late-day light, and a few small figures dot the open parkland.
Parks & Wilderness
32

Berkeley, CA

Cesar Chavez Park

A 90-acre waterfront park on the Berkeley Marina peninsula built atop a former landfill, offering 360-degree views of the Bay, San Francisco skyline, and Golden Gate Bridge. The park is popular with kite flyers due to consistent winds. A network of trails circles the grassy hilltop.

golden hourspring · summer
Sunlit hillsides with pine trees overlook a calm blue bay, with the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge stretching across the right side and Mount Tamalpais rising in the distance. A small lagoon and grassy parkland sit below the viewpoint under a clear, bright sky.
Parks & Wilderness
32

Richmond, CA

Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline

A 307-acre regional park at Point Richmond combining hilltop views, a sandy beach, and lagoon. The Nicholl Knob summit at 322 feet provides panoramic views of the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge, Angel Island, and Mount Tamalpais. Historic railroad tunnels and remnants of the Santa Fe Railroad are found along the trails.

golden hourspring · fall
A quiet paved park road curves through dense eucalyptus and other tall trees, with a small trailhead pullout and signposts tucked beside a low stone retaining wall. The scene feels shaded and still, with muted late-day light on the cracked asphalt.
Parks & Wilderness
27

Berkeley, CA

Tilden Regional Park - Inspiration Point

A popular viewpoint within Tilden Regional Park offering views of the San Pablo Reservoir and the rolling East Bay hills. The Nimitz Way trail begins here, providing a paved path along the ridgeline. Wildflowers bloom along the hillsides in spring.

golden hourspring · fall
A narrow dirt trail clings to a rocky ridgeline on the left, with dense green chaparral and forested hills dropping away into layered blue mountains. In the distance, hazy ridges fade under a bright morning sky with scattered white clouds.
Parks & Wilderness
27

Santa Cruz, CA

Castle Rock State Park

This 5,242-acre park features dramatic sandstone formations shaped by tafoni weathering, creating honeycomb-like erosion patterns. Castle Rock Falls drops 80 feet into a forested canyon and flows most strongly during winter and spring. The ridgeline trails offer views extending to Monterey Bay on clear days.

morningspring · winter
A wooden boardwalk curves through a lush redwood grove beside Redwood Creek, with dense green ferns and understory plants filling the foreground. Visitors walk under the tall, shadowed trees, and a small bridge crosses the creek in the background.
Parks & Wilderness
24

Mill Valley, CA

Muir Woods National Monument

A 554-acre park protecting one of the last remaining old-growth coast redwood forests in the Bay Area, with trees reaching over 250 feet tall and some exceeding 1,000 years in age. Redwood Creek runs through the canyon floor beneath a dense canopy. Cathedral and Bohemian Groves contain the tallest and most impressive specimens.

morningspring · winter
A lone tule elk stands in profile on a grassy coastal bluff, its tan coat and dark neck sharply lit against a pale, overcast sky. Low wild plants and reddish vegetation fill the foreground, emphasizing the open, windswept terrain.
Parks & Wilderness
24

Point Reyes Station, CA

Tomales Point Trail

A 9.4-mile round-trip trail along a narrow peninsula between Tomales Bay and the Pacific Ocean, passing through the Tule Elk Reserve. The herd of over 400 tule elk can frequently be seen grazing on the open grasslands. The trail ends at the remote Tomales Point with views of Bodega Head and the open ocean.

morningfall · winter
A small ground squirrel sits among mossy boulders and dry leaf litter at the base of a tree, with another animal partly hidden in the shadows of the trunk. The muted winter tones and close framing highlight the rocky, oak-studded park floor.
Parks & Wilderness
24

Santa Rosa, CA

Spring Lake Regional Park

Spring Lake Regional Park encompasses 320 acres with a scenic reservoir surrounded by oak-studded hills in eastern Santa Rosa. The lake provides calm water for reflections of surrounding trees and hills, especially in early morning. A 2.3-mile paved path circles the lake with multiple vantage points.

morningspring · fall
Golden morning light washes over steep tan cliffs and a narrow coastal headland above a small sandy cove. Waves roll in from the open Pacific beside patches of green bluff vegetation in the foreground.
Parks & Wilderness
19

Point Reyes Station, CA

Chimney Rock Trail

A 1.8-mile trail along a narrow headland at the southeastern tip of Point Reyes, passing through coastal wildflower meadows that explode with color in spring. The trail offers views of Drakes Bay to the north and the open Pacific to the south. Elephant seals can be observed from the overlook at the trail's midpoint during breeding season.

morningspring · winter
A massive oak with thick, moss-covered limbs arches over a narrow dirt trail, creating a dramatic tunnel of branches and dappled morning light. Dense woodland surrounds the path, with sunlit leaves and shadowed undergrowth framing the scene.
Parks & Wilderness
19

Oakland, CA

Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve

A 928-acre preserve in the Oakland Hills featuring exposed volcanic rock formations from a 10-million-year-old volcano. Trails wind through eucalyptus groves and grasslands to labyrinths and geological formations. The Round Top peak at 1,763 feet provides ridge-top views of the surrounding hills.

morningspring · fall
Terraced rose beds fill the foreground, with pink, white, and yellow blooms leading down to a long redwood pergola and scattered visitors walking along the paths. Tall trees frame the garden, and a bright hazy sky opens the view toward the bay in the distance.
Parks & Wilderness
19

Berkeley, CA

Berkeley Rose Garden

A terraced amphitheater-style garden built by the WPA in 1937 containing over 3,000 rose bushes of 250 varieties. The semi-circular terraces frame views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. A redwood pergola crowns the upper level of the garden.

morningspring · summer
A narrow dirt trail winds through a dense redwood forest, with towering trunks rising on both sides and ferns covering the steep, mossy hillside. A lone hiker in a blue jacket walks through soft morning light under the dark green canopy.
Parks & Wilderness
19

Half Moon Bay, CA

Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve

This 4,711-acre preserve contains towering old-growth and second-growth redwood groves along Purisima Creek. Ferns, sorrel, and moss blanket the forest floor creating rich green compositions. The creek provides foreground elements and reflections beneath the dense canopy.

morningspring · winter
Wide panorama from a hillside overlook in Alum Rock Park, showing the green canyon in the foreground and the dense sprawl of Silicon Valley stretching to blue mountains under a clear afternoon sky. Sunlit dry hills contrast with darker tree-covered slopes, with long shadows adding depth across the landscape.
Parks & Wilderness
19

San Jose, CA

Alum Rock Park

California's oldest municipal park, established in 1872, features Penitencia Creek running through a steep canyon with natural mineral springs. Historic stone grottos built in the early 1900s mark several of the 27 mineral springs along the creek. The sycamore-lined canyon provides dramatic light and shadow during the afternoon.

afternoonspring · fall
Black-and-white architectural site plan of Luther Burbank’s gardens, showing a gridded landscape with labeled planting beds, greenhouse, cottage, and paved streets around the property. Thin linework and notes mark paths, beds, trees, and surrounding buildings in a circa 1925 layout.
Parks & Wilderness
19

Santa Rosa, CA

Luther Burbank Home & Gardens

Luther Burbank Home & Gardens preserves the home and experimental gardens of the famed horticulturist who developed over 800 plant varieties in Santa Rosa. The gardens feature a modified Greek Revival cottage surrounded by diverse plantings including Burbank's original Shasta daisies and experimental hybrid plants. A large greenhouse and heritage gardens provide year-round botanical subjects.

morningspring · summer