COMING SOON-- WORKSHOPS
What really goes in the blue bin
--and what doesn't
Deepen your outdoor experience
--Use a topo map and compass
COMING SOON-- PHOTO GALLERY
Browse photos of a coming tour
--or of the tour you just took
ARMCHAIR TOUR!
Movie: Monumental: David Brower's Fight for Wild America
--Chronicles the life and times of David Brower, the Sierra Club's legendary first Executive Director. --An avid mountain climber, he led campaigns to protect national parks and other wildlands in the 1950s through the 1990s.
-- He inspired millions of Americans to become environmentalists!
Book: California's Wild Gardens: A Living Legacy
--From the California Native Plant Society (www.cnps.org)
--If you lived to be 100 and hiked every day throughout California, you couldn't see as many species of wildflowers and different habitats as in this beautiful book. A biodiversity feast for the eyes!
Music: Beethoven's 6th Symphony, the Pastoral
--By Ludwig von Beethoven
--Portions of this symphony, composed two centuries ago, provide the soundtrack for parts of Walt Disney's animated 1940 film, Fantasia. Whether you've seen it or not, hear the entire masterpiece that paints a peaceful rural landscape in music, as a storm moves over it.
TOUR TIP
Summer in the San Francisco Bay Area means lower temperatures at the coast and hot temperatures inland. Always carry water, and dress in layers, because the day can warm up, then cool off again before sunset. It can be 60 degrees F., windy, and cool on the Golden Gate Bridge at the same time it's 97 degrees F., hot, and no wind at Mount Diablo, just 30 miles inland!
CUSTOMIZE
Not sure which tour is right for you? Special event coming up? A topic you're especially interested in?
Let us create a tour just for you!
Learn more today.
ECO-HISTORY FACT
Back in 1875 logger William Waddell became the San Francisco Bay Area's last man to be killed by a grizzly bear. You can retrace his final steps along the waterway named after him, Waddell Creek, on our Redwoods and Waterfalls Walking (or mountain bike) Tour.
No worries about marauding grizzlies, though -- the Bay Area's last grizzly was shot at Bonny Doon Mountain, only a few miles away from Waddell Creek, in 1886. The grizzly is California's official state animal, seen on the state flag, but it's been extinct in California since the 1920s!
Waddell Creek is also a great place for an easy 2-day backpack trip in the redwoods -- only three miles each way, and no uphill. If you're interested, let us know when you'd like to go.
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Sweeney Ridge Mountain Biking at CaliforniaNatureTours.com
Sweeney Ridge Mountain Biking
Sweeney Ridge, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Mateo County, has killer vistas on every side -- San Francisco Bay, the Pacific Ocean, the Santa Cruz Mountains, and Silicon Valley! This easy mountain bike tour takes the Sweeney Ridge Trail, where Spanish explorers discovered the Bay in 1769!
Sweeney Ridge Cycling
Pristine Pilarcitos Lake hidden near Crystal Springs
- Easy mountain biking trail
- Visit Bay Discovery site
- See serene Crystal Springs watershed
- View SF Bay, Pacific Ocean at same time!
- Ride on Sweeney Ridge
- 14yrs, 15m/25k, 5hrs
- $59 USD
- San Bruno CA
FAQ, Contact David
Sweeney Ridge Cycling
Don't miss this opportunity to take the high road along Sweeney Ridge -- overlooking San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. We'll see wildflowers, lakes, and the historic San Francisco Bay discovery site.
We'll pedal to the crest of Sweeney Ridge, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. On the ridge, we'll stop at a monument that marks where Spanish soldiers discovered San Francisco Bay in 1769. Then we'll head south on Sweeney Ridge, with vistas of lakes, mountains, valleys, and the ocean all around us.
Meet at: We provide transportation from any location in San Francisco, as well as SFO Airport, and back.
FAQ, Contact David
DON'T WANT A CALIFORNIA SWEENEY RIDGE CYCLING TOUR WITH LAKES, BAY, AND OCEAN VIEWS?
Below are the top six tours. Or see QuickView list of All Tours.
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Action Alert
Keep the Bay Area Beautiful, join Greenbelt Alliance!
If you live in California, join the Greenbelt Alliance. Since 1958, Greenbelt Alliance has been helping citizen groups all around the San Francisco Bay Area to limit sprawl developments and promote liveable, walkable cities. The Bay Area didn't have to be this way. It could have gone the way of Los Angeles. But thanks to the Greenbelt Alliance and its local partners, the Bay Area's hills (and some of its valleys) are still green.
The redwoods were AMAZING! . . . a truly magical experience . . . I felt transported to another world, every step
yielding amazing sights, and
David has so much knowledge
about the flora and fauna
as well as local and national history . . .
I highly recommend David's unique personalised tours . . .
You'll remember it always, I know I will!
Kim H.
Manchester, England
I was thrilled to find
California Nature Tours--
a San Francisco Bay treasure!
My tours to Muir Woods and
Point Reyes National Seashore
were relaxing, educational, and just magnificent.
I highly recommend David Schmidt and California Nature Tours.
You will come away feeling great and knowing you have seen California through the eyes of someone extraordinary.
You will love it!
Ms. G. K.
Washington, D.C.
We really loved your wildflower tour, it was
a FANTASTIC day.
Beth M., Australia
In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.
John Muir
The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.
John Muir
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