Nice hike in Malibu with great views of the ocean (once you hike to the top of the hills of the canyon).  We tried to follow modernhiker's guide, but didn't go all the way to the end of the Deer Valley Loop (which was more of an out-and-back). It can get hot and windy here, so be sure to bring enough water. The ruined mansion was interesting.

Truthfully, we weren't too impressed with this hike, but that might have had to do with the circumstances of the day.  It was hot with no clouds in sight, and virtually no shade, except for a couple of small groves of oak trees.  We had our dog Flora with us and she was wanting to stop to rest at every small shady spot she could find.

We started going on hikes in July 2011 (and discovered EveryTrail) to get in shape for a trip to Peru including a 4 day hike on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.  40 hikes later we finally did it!I tracked each day with my Garmin 450 and then merged the 4 gpx tracks into this one.

We started going on hikes in July 2011 (and discovered EveryTrail) to get in shape for a trip to Peru including a 4 day hike on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.  40 hikes later we finally did it!I tracked each day with my Garmin 450 and then merged the 4 gpx tracks into this one.

We really enjoyed this hike.  You'll need a permit to park on Welch Creek Road at or near the trailhead.  There's a Lower and an Upper Maguire Peaks trailhead.  We chose the upper because it was a little longer, but the lower (being lower) probably has more elevation gain.To get the permit, from I-680 take Calaveras Road past Welch Creek Road and turn left on Geary Road.

This was a great hike.  Parts of it reminded me of the East Bay Parks hikes with rolling hills.  It's a multi-use trail so you'll encounter mountain bikers and equestrians, but all were very nice.  There are a series of loop trails here, so you can pick and choose the ones you want to make as long or short a hike as you like.  We hiked around the circumference, which was about 6.4 miles.

My wife and I have just started hiking in preparation for a Machu Picchu trip next May (2012).  We thought this was a beginner-to-intermediate trail, so we did the loop trail to Blue Ridge. It was a lot more strenuous than we expected, but maybe we're just out of shape.  We'll try this one again once we've trained some more.

This was a very pretty hike, 3 miles north of Arnold, CA.  We decided to try this after viewing chris' trip.
 The giant sequoias were amazing.  There were scenic streams and foot
bridges. The trail was a little dusty, but very well groomed.  Should be
great for hikers of all ages (and we saw them).  We arrived with a flat
tire and chose to do our hike first and then change tire after.

I would call this hike moderate, at least the route we took.  We took the Pyramid Creek trail and tried to follow the "Horsetail Falls, Lake Tahoe" Everytrail Guide by Trailspotting.  But this gave us an awesome view of the falls with the water rushing by us.  And it was good place to rest and eat a snack while enjoying the view.

2.5 x 2 mile trip from the Gold River community along the American River bike trails to a sandwich deli in Old Fair Oaks (and back).