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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S.F. South Bay Backcountry Hike at CaliforniaNatureTours.com
San Francisco South Bay Backcountry Hike
South Bay's huge back country opens to you at Northern California's largest state park. Oak-studded hills and valleys, bursting with wildflowers in April following last September's fire, bring joy to the heart. We'll picnic at the old swimming hole on Coyote Creek.
South Bay Backcountry at Henry Coe State Park
Henry Coe State Park's endless hills are delightful
- Wildflowers on rolling hills
- Old growth oak forest, creeks
- Refreshing swimming hole
- Great wild turkeys!
- Seasonal: March-June only
- 12yrs, 9m/14k, 6hrs
- $49 USD
- Henry Coe Park in Morgan Hill CA
FAQ, Contact David
Henry Coe State Park's South Bay Backcountry
Henry Coe, Northern California's largest state park, will be especially beautiful this Spring, thanks to last September's wildfire clearing the brush to make way for wildflowers. There are endless hills and valleys, and creeks shaded by oaks, and abundant wildlife, including deer, coyotes, and wild turkeys. It's just a few miles from Silicon Valley, but it's the biggest wilderness in the Bay Area.
Join us for a journey into the real Old West, starting at the old Coe Ranch House and following the trails where Henry Coe raised his daughter Sada Sutcliffe Coe in the saddle, herding cattle. She loved the ranch so much that she donated it for a state park in memory of her father. Later, the state (taxpayers) bought many square miles of adjacent hills and valleys to make the park even bigger. It gets very hot here in the dry season and very cold in the winter -- but in May it's just right.
Meet at: Dead-end of East Dunne Avenue at Henry Coe Park Headquarters in Henry Coe State Park, Morgan Hill CA. PLEASE NOTE: "B" on the map.
FAQ, Contact David
DON'T WANT SAN FRANCISCO SOUTH BAY BACKCOUNTRY HIKE IN HENRY COE PARK?
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Action Alert
Help Save Bay Area's Greenbelt!
If you enjoy the San Francisco Bay Area's natural beauty, you should find out how local residents have been working together to preserve it since 1958 with the Greenbelt Alliance -- and if you live in California, get involved!
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.
Thank you David, for your
hike at China Camp.
It was a beautiful setting and we saw deer at close range.
But what made it especially interesting & memorable was your knowledge of the area.
Thanks again and regards,
Ms. A.V.
Oakland, CA
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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