Day Trips

Trail purists, those for whom asphalt is anathema, would scoff at calling any trek "great" if it consists entirely of paved pathways.

With its massive maze of waterways – 1,000 miles can be navigated by boat – the California Delta is one of the great places to kick back, slow down and stay awhile.

Today through Sunday in Placer County, art lovers can visit creative types in their natural habitat as part of the Autumn Art Studios Tour.

There will be moments among the rolling hills, the blue oaks, dry brush, deep red manzanitas and the ghostly remains of century-old mining towns when you'll stop and wonder: Wait, where am I again?

It is truly a bird's view.

Ah, the Pacific Crest Trail, a ribbon of beauty and adventure from Mexico to Canada.

A 64-mile road bike course that starts and finishes in the lovable little Amador County town of Ione may be one the best all-around rides you ever tackle.

A Desolation Wilderness hike from Echo Lake to Lake Aloha can make a hiker gasp -- and not because of the altitude.

Our "Great Rides" have taken us on long, moderate climbs around Folsom Lake. We've tackled punchy climbs in and around the Loomis-Newcastle area.

Triple digits loomed, so I opted to do what many wise Sacramentans do every summer weekend – flee to the cooler, often fog-shrouded Bay Area.

Want to burn 3,000 calories? Looking to travel by bike from the crowds and cars and traffic signals to a place that belongs in a travel brochure for Belgium or the north of France?

While you and yours are choosing from the menu of summertime activities at Lake Tahoe – beaching, boating, hiking, sightseeing – don't forget to eat.

The world's traveling community knows something we locals so often overlook: Lake Tahoe is a year-round playground with endless possibilities.

If you live in or around Sacramento and you're a cyclist, you can ride hundreds of miles a month and never encounter a hill.

Seen from a car headed north on Interstate 5, Mount Shasta is elusive. It ducks in and out of view like a collapsible picture book, riding the dips and turns of the landscape until finally, it sneaks up on you.

I have a long, ignoble history of getting lost, especially going solo on trails. Directionally challenged, you might say.

Lush, green and spectacularly beautiful, San Francisco's Lands End feels like it has been one of the world's most scenic spots forever.

SONOMA COUNTY – There's one rule when you go on safari in the wine country: Should you drop something, do not jump out of the rumbling Dodge Power Wagon to retrieve it. Your guide will get it for you.

The high canyon walls, deep pools and dancing trees make Salmon Hole's beauty hard to beat.

If you've never driven around Lake Tahoe, or haven't done so in awhile, you might take along Darin Talbot's self-guided tour, "Around Tahoe."

Walking up and down S.F.'s Telegraph Hill takes some effort, but the views are the payoff.

Once upon a time, before global positioning systems, maps, compasses and bread crumbs, trekkers still had to find their way from point A to point B.

Editor's note: When The Bee's Sam Stanton volunteered to offer advice to beginning kayakers, we didn't hesitate to put this package together.

As the notorious Sacramento summer heats up, we'll all look for travel destinations where the term "triple digits" refers to a three-legged race at a picnic and not the local weather.