Castle Rock Ridgelines & Santa Cruz Mountains Epic

Castle Rock State Park's 5-mile out-and-back to Goat Rock crosses the highest summit in the Santa Cruz Mountains (3,215 feet) through knobcone pine and manzanita chaparral, with dramatic sandstone tafoni outcroppings unique to the Skyline ridge environment. Goat Rock itself is a house-sized sandstone boulder with a 360-degree panorama across the bay to the Diablo Range — rock climbers work the 40-foot faces below the summit. The park has no food or water beyond the trailhead; bring everything.

A Silicon Valley institution since 1991, decorated with an eccentric collection of Americana — a full-size biplane hung from the ceiling, neon signs, and vintage patent models — that attracted the venture capital community in the 1990s for early-morning term sheet negotiations. The breakfast and lunch menus are solid California bistro fare; the context makes the meal worth more than the food alone.

A Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District preserve covering 534 acres of old-growth redwood, Douglas fir, and mixed-evergreen forest on a ridge above the Silicon Valley floor. The Coal Mine Trail passes through stands of coast redwood that survived because the terrain was too steep to log efficiently in the 19th century — the trees range from 500 to 1,000 years old. The ridge top has filtered views west toward the Santa Cruz Mountains through Douglas fir canopy.

California's most accessible northern elephant seal colony — 3,000 to 4,000 seals haul ashore annually, with bulls weighing up to 2,500 pounds competing for territory from December through March. Outside the breeding season, juvenile seals are year-round residents on the beach; the 3-mile round-trip trail through coastal scrub and dunes delivers consistent seal sightings at every season. The offshore Año Nuevo Island, visible from the trail, hosts the main bull colony and a historic lighthouse that operated from 1872 until automated in 1948.

A Pescadero institution since 1894, when Frank Duarte opened a saloon for the logging crews working the Santa Cruz Mountains. The fifth generation of the family still operates the restaurant, still serving the original artichoke soup recipe using locally-grown Pescadero artichokes, and the cream of green chile soup that has appeared in Gourmet, Sunset, and a James Beard Award nomination. The half-and-half soup (artichoke and green chile in one bowl) is the order.

Four connected beach sections covering 4 miles of Pacific coast at the mouth of Pilarcitos Creek — the beach is wide and sandy, the surf is reliable for beginners at Surfers Beach (the southernmost section), and the coastal trail north toward Miramar gives views back at the Half Moon Bay farmlands. The October Pumpkin Festival brings 250,000 visitors to the area; outside that weekend it's among the less-crowded Bay Area beaches.

A Princeton-by-the-Sea harbor institution since 1971, with outdoor deck seating directly above the fishing boat slips and a menu built around what arrived at the dock that morning. The fish and chips use Pacific cod or rock cod depending on the catch; the clam chowder is thick and house-made. The deck faces west into the evening sun over the harbor breakwater.