Need a challenging new neighborhood route in L.A.? Head to Silver Lake for this tough 16-mile walking/running route that includes 40 historic staircases. And it counts only if you go
up the stairs. Cameron Kruse, 31, created the route (and the rules) because he was looking for close-to-home adventures to get him through the pandemic.
His quests usually take him to rock faces to climb, or the Himalayas, where he photographs and works on digital storytelling, something he calls “scrollytelling.” “My day job is a creative technologist. I figure out ways to tell stories with technology, but I moonlight as a National Geographic explorer,” the rock climber and runner said.
When will your favorite California attractions reopen?
Wondering when your beloved Golden State destinations will reopen? Times assistant travel editor Mary Forgione and travel writer Christopher Reynolds have teamed up to tell readers when more than 50 of the state’s top visitor destinations
Hoping to stop by
Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace on your next trip to Joshua Tree National Park? It’s open, but live music is limited, Forgione and Reynolds report. Meanwhile, you’ll soon be all clear to visit the
Monterey Bay Aquarium, which opens to the public May 15.
What’s still closed? Hearst Castle, Coit Tower and Exploratorium in San Francisco and Big Basin Redwoods State Park, which is closed because of damage from the CZU Lightning Complex fires.
✨ No wildflowers this year? Catch a different sort of flower field in Paso Robles
The “Field of Light” in Paso Robles is back this time with a sister exhibition called “
Light Towers,” recently captured by Times photographer Francine Orr.
I was dazzled when I first visited the “
Field of Light” in 2019, a lifetime ago. The 58,800-plus lights, gently oscillating from green to purple to orange and back again, felt like a hidden treasure and I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Dhaval Patel, another Angeleno visiting the exhibition, told me that his friend asked him not to tell anyone about the “Field of Light” for fear of word getting out.
My suggestion for Earth Day: Go outdoors and seek new places that expand your understanding of what it is to be a good steward of the Earth. Put nature preserves in California on your list. When you visit, pay close attention to the landscape and think of it the way you would when considering remodeling a room. What would you do to restore the site to the way it once looked?
That’s why preserves exist: to manage lands thoughtfully and purposefully with endangered species and/or cultural treasures in mind. A few weeks ago, I explored a handful of nature preserves in Southern California. Many have short, easy trails and are good places to be