Adventures from the East Bay to the Sierra Crest

Across the bay from San Francisco, buzzing Oakland is one of the West’s busiest ports and an epicenter for global culture and cuisine. Start exploring in the food-forward Temescal neighborhood, where Tacos Oscar serves fried-egg tacos from a colorful shipping container. Shop the Rockridge neighborhood’s tony cluster of home goods boutiques, apparel shops, and bakeries on College Avenue between Broadway and Alcatraz. Take a walk along Lake Merritt’s festive lakeshore, where vendors sell jewelry, troubadours make music, and psychics tell fortunes. Survey Oakland’s trove of artifacts interpreting California history, art, and nature at the Oakland Museum of California. Make dinner reservations at The Rendez-Vous, a French bistro decorated with timeworn chandeliers and Jazz Age frescoes.

The East Bay city of Berkeley is distinguished by its University of California campus, where students have attended classes since 1868. So it’s no surprise that this erudite college town overflows with arts venues and bookstores—including Moe’s, Mrs. Dalloway’s, and Sleepy Cat. But Berkeley boasts abundant nature too. Close to town, five miles of paths at the University of California Botanical Garden skirt past 10,000 species of plants. A 20-mile string of East Bay parks is crowned by 2,000-acre Tilden Park, where ridgeline trails offer lofty views looking west to San Francisco and east to sparkling reservoirs. If you’d rather shop than hike, head to lively Fourth Street to browse premium shops like Topdrawer (hip travel and office gear), Earthsake (organic mattresses and natural-fiber bedding), and Marisa Mason (bohemian-style jewelry). Spend the night at the historic Berkeley City Club, then rise early to swim in the Julia Morgan–designed pool, its aquamarine tiles shimmering in Art Deco glory.

It’s hard to beat the panorama from the summit of 3,849-foot Mount Diablo, the centerpiece of Mount Diablo State Park. Take an easy walk on the summit-circling Mary Bowerman Trail, and your perspective changes with every step: You’ll see San Francisco, Suisun Bay, the Delta, the Altamont Pass windmills, and even the far-off Sierra Nevada Range. On the clearest days, you can spot the bald pate of Yosemite’s Half Dome, 100 miles east. Just driving to the mountaintop delivers scenic drama. Starting from North Gate Road in Walnut Creek or South Gate Road in Danville, zig-zag uphill to Summit Road, then steer through a series of final snaking switchbacks. At the Summit Visitor Center, admire sweeping vistas from the observation deck and learn about the plants and animals that make this mountain unique.

Highway 120 winds up Priest Grade to Groveland, where Gold Rush history mixes with modern comforts. Taste a Hetch Hetchy Haze IPA at the local brewpub, Around the Horn Brewing Company, or stop in to the 1852 Iron Door Saloon, one of California’s oldest watering holes. Behind its swinging, cast-iron doors, the tavern’s ceiling is plastered with wadded-up dollar bills. Next door, the Groveland Hotel gushes Victorian charm that’s upgraded with 21st-century appeal: reclaimed wood platform beds, sleek couches, and luxurious linens. Order a beer from the 14-handle taproom and hang out on the shady back patio, then walk across the road for fajitas and enchiladas at Cocina Michoacana. Don’t leave Groveland without taking a peek at Robb Hirsch’s amazing Yosemite photographs on display at Mountain Sage. 

Seven miles long and one mile across at its widest, Yosemite Valley contains granite cliffs, plunging waterfalls, verdant meadows, and dense forests bisected by the sparkling Merced River. Choose how you want to explore: Rent a bike and pedal the 12-mile Yosemite Valley bike path. Take an easy stroll through Sentinel Meadow or Cook’s Meadow, or make the challenging trek to the brink of Upper Yosemite Fall or Nevada Fall. Test your nerve with a rock-climbing lesson—Yosemite Mountaineering School offers classes for ages 10 to 100. Or simply kick back and ogle Half Dome, El Capitan, and other famous landmarks as you ride on Yosemite Valley’s open-air tram. The two-hour Yosemite Valley Floor Tour offers unobstructed, wind-in-your-hair views, and a knowledgeable naturalist narrates the trip.

Tuolumne Meadows stretches for more than two miles along the Tuolumne River, earning a top spot among the Sierra’s largest subalpine meadows. From its edges, hiking trails lead in all directions: to the alpine lakes nestled below the spires of Cathedral and Unicorn Peaks, to the roaring waterfalls on the Tuolumne River, and to the summits of lofty granite domes. The Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center, housed in a historic cabin, contains exhibits on the area’s geology, wildflowers, and wildlife. Although this high-elevation idyll is a focal point for hikers and backpackers, Tuolumne Meadows also welcomes visitors who simply want to sit at a picnic table and wallow in the beauty. You can spend the night too—in a rustic tent cabin at Tuolumne Meadows Lodge—but don’t forget your headlamp. There’s no electricity at this blissfully remote spot.

Mammoth Lakes is the beloved base camp for skiers and snowboarders who take to the white-frosted, winter-wonderland slopes of Mammoth Mountain. But summer attracts an even bigger crowd. When the snow melts, the outdoor fun switches to hiking and mountain biking, stand-up paddling and kayaking, camping in aspen groves, and fishing for rainbow trout. In the Mammoth Lakes Basin, five sparkling lakes are easy to reach by car, or you can pedal from lake to lake on the paved Lakes Basin Bike Path. Paddlers and anglers ply the waters of Lake Mary, the largest lake in the basin. Mountain bikers test their skills on Mammoth Bike Park’s 80-plus miles of zippy single-track. After playing hard in the alpine sun, Mammoth locals grab a cool, refreshing brew at Mammoth Brewing Company, makers of award-winning craft beer since 1995, or Distant Brewing, a casual spot pouring hazy IPAs, amber ales, and sours.

Highway 158 loops away from U.S. 395, then skirts along a horseshoe-shaped canyon dotted with four lakes—Silver, Gull, Grant, and June. Along the way, it bisects the alpine town of June Lake and offers unbeatable views of towering peaks, aspen groves, and shimmering Horsetail Falls. The area excels at quiet, reflective recreation—trout fishing on Silver Lake, reclining on June Lake’s white sand, jumping off the rope swing at Gull Lake, or hiking the steep trail to Fern Lake. But the town is no stranger to communal fun: At June Lake Brewing, a happy crowd fills the outdoor picnic tables, ordering from food trucks and sipping locally brewed ales, stouts, and hard seltzers. T-Bar Social Club’s bartenders whip up blood orange margaritas, and patrons nosh on pizza from next-door June Pie. Old-school Silver Lake Resort serves a mountain-sized breakfast, but for Carson Peak views from your table, head to Eagle’s Landing at the Double Eagle Resort.

The high-country ranching outpost of Bridgeport is only five blocks long, but it checks off the road-trippers’ wish list: quirky curiosities, worth-the-drive food, and soothing hot springs. Main Street, aka U.S. 395, is anchored by the 1880 Mono County Courthouse, a white, two-story Italianate structure that looks like it belongs in New England. Culinary landmarks include the Burger Barn (bison burgers and sweet potato fries), Jolly Kone (chili cheese dogs and milkshakes), and Big Meadow Brewing Company and adjacent Growlers Eatery (red ales, barbecue ribs, tater tots). A few miles from town, the steaming pools at Travertine Hot Springs entice you to soak your cares away in the big-sky, sagebrush-plains landscape. For a true West experience, book a stay at Hunewill Ranch, where generations of Californians have learned to ride horses. 

The Gold Country town nicknamed “The Queen of the Sonora Mines” was established in the 1840s by miners who migrated from Sonora, Mexico. Now a busy commercial hub and Tuolumne County’s seat, Sonora preserves its heritage along narrow Washington Street and surrounding blocks. See the red-brick Opera Hall, built from the ruins of an 1879 flour mill, and admire gold nuggets at the Tuolumne County Museum, housed in the old Sonora jail. Then explore Sonora’s hip, modern side: Get your caffeine fix at Revive Coffee, where pour-overs and oat-milk lattes are made with organic beans. Head to Inner Sanctum Cellars for friendly, no-fuss wine-tasting. Sample hand-crafted hard cider and organic apple brandy at Indigeny Reserve. At dinner time, spoon up tonkotsu-broth ramen with pork belly at Yoshoku, or tuck into a ribeye sandwich at Diamondback Grill.