Tag Archives: ocean

California

Los Padres National Forest

October 8, 2025 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Los Padres National Forest

California

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region

1,963,836 acres (1,762,767 federal/ 201,069 other)

Website: http://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/lospadres

Overview

Los Padres National Forest stretches more than 200 miles from Monterrey south beyond Santa Barbara. It contains most of Big Sur, a name that conjures images of craggy cliffs dropping precipitously into white-capped ocean waves. This sparsely inhabited stretch of coastline is known as much for its historic bohemians as its coast redwood trees. It is home to multiple rare tree species with limited native ranges, especially those that can tolerate serpentine soils. As the only National Forest in California that touches the Pacific Ocean, a road trip down scenic Highway 1 should be on everyone’s bucket list, including stops at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Bixby Creek Bridge, Hearst Castle State Park, and the elephant seal rookery at Piedras Blancas. We have hiked many trails here since Scott taught for three years at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo.

Highlights

Big Sur, Sykes Hot Springs, Salmon Creek Falls, Jade Cove, Cuesta Ridge Botanical Area, Figueroa Mountain, Mt. Pinos, Knapp’s Castle, Seven Falls, Sespe Hot Springs

Must-Do Activity

Los Padres National Forest is 48% designated Wilderness, so the recommended activity is to hike into those natural areas. The Matilija Wilderness is in the Santa Ynez Mountains that loom above the coastal city of Santa Barbara, home to a university, art museum, and historic Presidio built in 1782. If you go to hike to the ruins of Knapp’s Castle in the National Forest, also make a quick stop at Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park, which contains colorful pictographs dating back to the 1600s. Another popular U.S. Forest Service trailhead located closer to town goes either to Inspiration Point or Seven Falls, the latter a better choice on foggy days, which are common on the coast.

Best Trail

There are 323 miles of incredible hiking trails throughout Los Padres National Forest, including a few that access hot springs. Our favorite trails are in the Santa Lucia Mountains that tower above Big Sur. One pinnacle accessible by trail is Cone Peak at 5,155 feet in elevation. The access road is typically closed in the winter, but when it is open the trail is only 2.3 miles to the summit with a vertical gain of 1,400 feet. Do not expect any shade since multiple fires have burned most of the mountain, although there are still a few surviving examples of the rare Santa Lucia fir tree. Although some areas are no longer vegetated, the plentiful sunshine above the fog belt means there are often incredible displays of wildflowers along the trail early in summer, including lupine, sticky monkeyflower, and yucca.

Watchable Wildlife

There is a wide range of wildlife found here from sea level up to 8,847 feet in elevation, and the most famous is the reintroduced California condor that nests in the Sespe Condor Sanctuary. Other birds include barn owls, great horned owls, red-tailed hawks, bald eagles, California quail, and California scrub jays. Coyotes, black bears, bobcats, mountain lions, black-tailed deer, bighorn sheep, and raccoons are common large mammals. Species of concern include the foothill yellow-legged frog and California mountain kingsnake. Look for California newts and banana slugs in the moist understory of coast redwood forests.

Photographic Opportunity

Even if you are not spending the night at Kirk Creek Campground, you can park and walk down the trail to the south that goes past redwood trees to the beach where there is a sea arch and tidepools.

Peak Season

Fall and winter

Fees

$5 per vehicle Adventure Pass (or America the Beautiful pass) required at most trailheads

Road Conditions

There are some steep unpaved roads in Los Padres National Forest, which can be impassable in wet or snowy conditions. Portions of the unpaved Tassajara Road to Chews Ridge are narrow and steep, requiring a four-wheel-drive vehicle to reach Tassajara Hot Springs.

Camping

A night spent listening to the ocean waves breaking far below the U.S. Forest Service’s clifftop Kirk Creek Campground is enchanting, which is why it made it on our list of Top 10 Campgrounds in National Forests. There are 11 campgrounds in total, and a free campfire permit is required if you use a camp stove (which can be obtained online). Sespe Hot Springs is a popular ten-mile one-way backpacking destination.

Wilderness Areas

Chumash Wilderness

Dick Smith Wilderness

Garcia Wilderness

Machesna Mountain Wilderness

Matilija Wilderness

San Rafael Wilderness

Santa Lucia Wilderness

Sespe Wilderness

Silver Peak Wilderness

Ventana Wilderness

Related Sites

Angeles National Forest (California)

Muir Woods National Monument (California)

Point Reyes National Seashore (California)

Channel Islands National Park (California)

Nearest National Park

Pinnacles

Scott’s mother and aunt in the redwood forest

Conifer Tree Species

coast redwood, Monterey pine, Coulter pine, gray pine, Jeffrey pine, ponderosa pine, limber pine, bigcone Douglas-fir, Sargent cypress, Monterey cypress, white fir, Santa Lucia fir

Flowering Tree Species

coast live oak, California black oak, tanoak, western redbud, Pacific madrone, manzanita

Explore More – What is the name of the nomadic group that lived in Big Sur dating back 5,500 years ago?

itinerary, Louisiana

Louisiana Road Trip Itinerary

February 12, 2025 Raven About The Parks 9 Comments

27,650,496 acres

Statehood 1812 (18th)

Capital: Baton Rouge

Population: 4,657,757 (25th)

High Point: Driskill Mountain (535 feet)

Best time of year: Winter and spring

Last year we published our guidebook 50 States of Great: Road Trip Guide to America, so we decided to start a new type of blog post where we create a travel itinerary for all 50 states, in addition to our usual National Forest and National Park entries. After starting by jumping around to Kansas, Georgia, Idaho, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Hawai’i, and Arizona, we headed back to the south for Louisiana. Just in time for Mardi Gras, we made an ambitious seven-day plan starting in New Orleans, with plenty of options to extend the trip.

Day 1

Café du Monde

Eating beignets is a great way to start your trip to Louisiana, and this is the most touristy place to get them, located on the Riverwalk in New Orleans.

National WWII Museum

It is easy to spend an entire day here (fee) because of all the interactive exhibits and informational touchscreen kiosks. You do not even have to leave for lunch, since the Soda Shop and American Sector Restaurant & Bar are on site. We recommend you purchase a ticket including the 4-D film Beyond All Boundaries and the submarine experience based on the final mission of the USS Tang. This is our vote for #1 museum in the entire U.S.

French Quarter

Every American needs to visit the French Quarter at least once in their life (although whether that’s during the wildness of Mardi Gras is up to you), and it is walkable from the National WWII Museum. Consider stopping by iconic Lafayette Square, Old Ursuline Convent Museum, or the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum.

Ghost Tour

We have heard rave reviews about the ghost tours offered in New Orleans, and hope to attend one someday to compare it to the others we have done.

Optional stop at Mardi Gras World Museum

Visit this warehouse (fee) where floats are made for Mardi Gras parades, situated right along the Mississippi River.

Optional stop at Bayou Segnette State Park

We camped here and it felt like we were off in the wild while still within the city’s suburbs.

Day 2

New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park

The New Orleans Jazz Museum (fee) is located in the old U.S. mint building right in the heart of the historic French Quarter. Check the online schedule for musical performances put on by the National Park Service (NPS) and enter the free visitor center shared with Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve.

Go out to lunch in New Orleans

Louisiana is famous for its Cajun food, including gumbo, étouffée, jambalaya, po’boys, and red beans and rice.

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (click here for our blog post)

Make sure you visit the 24,000-acre Barataria Preserve to experience the bayous of Louisiana, whether you hike or take a boat tour (fee). South of downtown New Orleans off Highway 45, keep your feet dry by hiking the boardwalks on the Bayou Coquille Trail. In addition, this park includes three Acadian Cultural Centers spread throughout southwestern Louisiana.

Optional stop at Chalmette Battlefield

Another part of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve encompasses the land where Andrew Jackson led the defeat of the British to retain New Orleans for the U.S. after the end of the War of 1812.

Day 3

Baton Rouge

Check out the art-deco capitol building where you might see white pelicans floating on the lake next door. We read that the pelican on the state flag is supposed to be a brown pelican (the official state bird) even though the artist made it white so it stood out against the blue background. Also consider visiting the Old State Capitol, Old Governor’s Mansion, or USS Kidd destroyer ship.

Optional drive along the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway

Not the most direct route between New Orleans and the capital city, this 23.8-mile causeway is considered the longest continuous bridge over water in the world. It is free to drive northbound, but don’t attempt it when it’s smoky or foggy, as it becomes very dangerous to drive.

Optional stop at LSU Tigers game

Louisiana State University is located in Baton Rouge and they are famous for their tailgating scene and raucous fans who support their perennially excellent football, women’s basketball, and gymnastics teams.

Day 4

Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge

Northwest of Baton Rouge, the largest of all baldcypress trees in the U.S. is found at the end of a flat, half-mile trail, where there is a new boardwalk built around the tree to protect its roots. This area is located down six miles of dirt road full of potholes (and is sometimes flooded).

Optional stop at Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge

Louisiana is home to 24 National Wildlife Refuges, many found in its southern half where bayous are full of alligators and mostly uninhabited by humans, like this one west of Baton Rouge.

Day 5

Creole Nature Trail All-American Road

In southwest Louisiana, this route traverses 180 miles of pavement around Calcasieu Lake and the Gulf of Mexico coastline. Much of the state’s oceanfront is inaccessible swamp, but in this corner of the state there are 26 miles of beautiful sandy beaches where ocean waves and seashells await. Consider spending the night in Holly Beach.

Sabine National Wildlife Refuge

Further inland, there are 700,000 acres of wetlands that attract waterfowl to Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, while the surrounding area is used by farmers to grow rice and raise crawfish.

Optional stop at Tabasco Brand Factory Tour and Museum

Before you head west, consider a stop in Avery Island where they have been bottling Tabasco Hot Sauce for over 150 years.

Day 6

Kisatchie National Forest (click here for our blog post)

There are eight parcels that constitute the sprawling 603,360-acre Kisatchie National Forest, which has over 40 developed recreation sites and 100 miles of trails. It encompasses lakes for boating and swimming, plus baldcypress-lined bayous for canoeing and fishing. Old-growth longleaf pine forests can be accessed by the paved Longleaf Trail Scenic Byway, just off Interstate 49. A 1.5-mile interpretive loop at Longleaf Vista is a good place to start.

Red Dirt National Wildlife Management Preserve

Camping is allowed in this area next to the 8,700-acre Kisatchie Hills Wilderness where you can backpack along trails. Kisatchie National Forest also offers several lakefront camping areas elsewhere. Lake Fausse Pointe, Lake Bistineau, and Chicot State Parks all have campgrounds with lake access, as well cabins available for rent.

Optional stop at Creole Nature Trail Adventure Point

The Creole Nature Trail Adventure Point is a self-guided audio tour and starts off Interstate 10 in Sulphur, where a museum has hands-on displays that introduce visitors to local wildlife and Cajun culture.

Day 7

Poverty Point National Monument (click here for our blog post)

Settled 3,700 years ago by hunter-gatherers, this ancient city with a population estimated at 1,500 was situated along Bayou Macon in northeast Louisiana. The inhabitants constructed several mounds, the most impressive is 72-feet-tall in the shape of a bird, which required approximately 15-million basket-loads of soil to complete.

Optional stop at Cane River Creole National Historical Park (click here for our blog post)

Oakland Plantation survived the Civil War intact, but in the wake of Reconstruction tenant farming created a new form of indentured servitude. Self-guided tours of the site take you through the mule barn, several cottages, and an old general store that still looks open for business along Highway 494. Slave/tenant quarters are also preserved at Magnolia Plantation downstream, but the main house is closed to the public.

Optional stop at Sci-Port Discovery Center in Shreveport

This science museum in northwest Louisiana is great for kids and adults with hands-on exhibits, a planetarium, and IMAX theater.

Day 8+

Rayne Frog Festival or Mudbug Madness

Festivals dedicated to celebrating and eating frogs and crawfish; it does not get any more Louisiana than that! Also, consider arriving during one of the many music festivals dedicated to jazz, zydeco, or other regional musical styles.

Port Hudson State Historic Site

An annual battle reenactment takes place at the site of a siege during the Civil War; further north, another Civil War reenactment is held at Pleasant Hill.

J.C. “Sonny” Gilbert Wildlife Management Area

This forested Wildlife Management Area is located between Monroe and Alexandria in central Louisiana. It includes Rock Falls, which at 17 feet in height is the tallest waterfall in the state, accessible on a seven-mile trail.

Learn more about Louisiana’s Most Scenic Drive, Top State Park, and other categories in our new travel guidebook 50 States of Great: Road Trip Guide to America.

New York

Castle Clinton National Monument

November 13, 2024 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Castle Clinton National Monument

New York

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1946

1 acre

Website: nps.gov/cacl

Overview

The U.S. military constructed South-west Battery off Manhattan Island’s southern tip by the beginning of the War of 1812, although it never fired a shot in battle. It was renamed Castle Clinton in 1817 to honor former mayor (and future governor) DeWitt Clinton, then once again to Castle Garden only seven years later. After a roof was added in the 1840s, it hosted concerts, including the American debut of Swedish opera diva Jenny Lind in 1850 (tickets cost $225 or equivalent to $8,240 in 2023). The island was joined to the mainland with landfill in the early 1850s, creating Battery Park. From 1855 to 1890, Castle Garden processed approximately eight-million immigrants before the establishment of Ellis Island offshore. Six years after the closing of the immigration station, Castle Garden was converted into the New York City Aquarium, which closed in 1941.

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments. It is now available for sale on Amazon.com.

Highlights

Castle Clinton, Battery Park

Must-Do Activity

Much of Castle Garden was destroyed during a tunnel construction project in the 1940s, but Castle Clinton remained and was restored three decades later. Today it serves as a National Park Service visitor center, gift shop, and ticket office for ferry trips to Statue of Liberty National Monument. There are also exhibits along the perimeter of the D-shaped fort, including a display with cannon. Ranger-guided tours of the site are offered daily.

Best Trail

There are sidewalks and a seaside promenade in ——-24-acre Battery Park. Be sure to check out the bronze sculpture “The Immigrants” outside the fort.

Photographic Opportunity

There once were “28 guns” facing New York Harbor from within Castle Clinton, and one display cannon remains.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/cacl/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Roads are heavily trafficked and there is no designated parking for the National Park Service site, so we recommend you take the subway.

Camping

None

Related Sites

Statue of Liberty National Monument (New York-New Jersey)

Governors Island National Monument (New York)

Stonewall National Monument (New York)

Explore More – Today, what percentage of Americans can trace their roots to one of the nearly eight-million immigrants processed at Castle Garden from 1855 to 1890?

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments

South Carolina

Francis Marion National Forest

July 12, 2023 Raven About The Parks 3 Comments

Francis Marion National Forest

South Carolina

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Southern Region

414,700 acres (258,864 federal/ 155,836 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/scnfs

Overview

Located on South Carolina’s coast between Myrtle Beach and Charleston, Francis Marion National Forest was devastated by the 130-mile-per-hour winds of Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Young and damaged trees have grown back in the subtropical coniferous and maritime forests, although some attractions like the Sewee Shell Ring Boardwalk have never been rebuilt. Other historic sites in the National Forest include the 1768 St. James Church, Battery Warren from the Civil War, and Watahan Historical Area, which has colonial plantations and the site of a 1782 Revolutionary War battle. On the Santee River, Guilliard Lake Scenic Area has three trails that visit an old-growth baldcypress forest, but the National Forest’s four Wildernesses are mostly inaccessible wetlands.

Highlights

Sewee Visitor and Environmental Education Center, Buck Hall Recreation Area, Battery Warren Historic Site, Huger Recreation Area, Honey Hill Recreation Area, I’on Swamp Interpretive Trail, Shell Ring Trail, Palmetto Trail

Must-Do Activity

Sewee Visitor and Environmental Education Center is a good place to start a visit, and includes an exhibit on reintroducing red wolves. Not far away, Sewee Shell Ring Boardwalk was never rebuilt after Hurricane Hugo in 1989, but the trail to the boardwalk remains open (despite what you might read online). A one-mile loop trail takes visitors to a 4,000-year-old ceremonial ring made of oyster shells and a 600-year-old shell midden, but no longer out into the salt marsh. Another historic walk is the I’on Swamp Interpretive Trail where signs explain the embankments and ditches built by slaves to create rice paddies.

Best Trail

A free permit is required to backpack the Palmetto Trail on its 47-mile stretch through Francis Marion National Forest. The easternmost seven miles of this statewide trail was opened in 2003 running from the Swamp Fox Trailhead to Buck Hall Recreation Area (fee) on the Intracoastal Waterway bordering Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge. Both trailheads are easily accessible from Highway 17. This sandy section of the Palmetto Trail is known as the Awendaw Passage because it follows Awendaw Creek for most of its length. There are bridges and boardwalks built over the wettest areas, but very few good places to set up a campsite due to the density of the forest understory.

Watchable Wildlife

We saw a variety of wildlife in Francis Marion National Forest, including coastal species you do not find in any other National Forest, like crabs and mussels. The salt marshes provide habitat for large birds like Mississippi kites, ospreys, little blue herons, and great egrets. We spotted red-headed woodpeckers and pileated woodpeckers, and there are also endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers. While backpack camping, we saw fireflies, bats, fox squirrels, and a seldom-seen whippoorwill, a bird known for its distinctive, repetitive calls at night. In Awendaw Creek, we saw a muskrat and four-foot-long rat snake, but did not find any alligators or river otters.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Battery Warren was built by slaves during the Civil War so soldiers could defend the railroad bridge across the Santee River. The earth embankments are still visible at the end of a short trail maintained by the U.S. Forest Service.

Peak Season

Spring

Fees

There is a fee to park and launch a boat at Buck Hall Recreation Area. A free permit (available online) is required to backpack camp on the Palmetto Trail in Francis Marion National Forest.

Road Conditions

The main roads cutting through the National Forest are paved, and even the unpaved roads we drove were flat, packed sand.

Camping

Buck Hall Campground is located at a boat launch on the Intracoastal Waterway, while scenic Edmund Campground has Spanish moss-draped trees near the northern end of Wambaw Creek Wilderness. Huger Campground and Halfway Campground are located along the Palmetto Trail. Extensive wetlands and thick woodlands make dispersed camping and backpacking difficult in Francis Marion National Forest.

Wilderness Areas

Hell Hole Bay Wilderness

Little Wambaw Swamp Wilderness

Wambaw Creek Wilderness

Wambaw Swamp Wilderness

Related Sites

Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park (South Carolina)

Reconstruction Era National Historical Park (South Carolina)

Charles Pinckney National Historic Site (South Carolina)

Croatan National Forest (North Carolina)

Nearest National Park

Congaree

Conifer Tree Species

baldcypress, longleaf pine, shortleaf pine, loblolly pine

Flowering Tree Species

tulip-poplar, sweetgum, American holly, yaupon holly, live oak, overcup oak, water oak, cherrybark oak, willow oak, southern red oak, white oak, American beech, green ash, red bay, red buckeye, swamp cottonwood, water tupelo, water locust, water hickory, bitternut hickory, sweet bay magnolia, Carolina willow, titi, southern bayberry

Explore More – What was Francis Marion’s nickname earned by employing guerilla tactics against the British during the American Revolutionary War?

Learn more about this and the 154 other National Forests in our new guidebook Out in the Woods

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Puerto Rico

San Juan National Historic Site

May 10, 2023 Raven About The Parks 4 Comments

San Juan National Historic Site

Puerto Rico

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1949

75 acres

Website: nps.gov/saju

Overview

San Juan, Puerto Rico was established in 1509 as a military outpost by Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León and 30 years later construction began on the Castillo San Felipe del Morro to guard San Juan Bay. Starting in 1634, Castillo San Cristóbal was added to the east, eventually becoming the largest fortification built by Europeans in the Americas (covering 27 acres). The city was captured by the English in 1598, but quickly abandoned due to disease and lack of provisions. U.S. warships destroyed the fort’s lighthouse during the 1898 Spanish-American War, after which the U.S. seized Puerto Rico and Guam, gained protection over Cuba, and bought the Philippines. The U.S. military turned over the San Juan forts to the National Park Service in 1961, and 22 years later they were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Highlights

Castillo San Felipe del Morro (El Morro), Castillo San Cristóbal, Paseo del Morro

Must-Do Activity

It does not matter which fort you start with, but both are unique and worth exploring with plenty of interpretive signs found throughout. It is about a one-mile walk between the two forts on a sidewalk that follows the wall and bastions protecting the north side of Old San Juan (and providing a great overlook of the Cementerio Maria Magdalena de Pazzis). Most visitors arrive by cruise ship, so drivers are very aware of pedestrians, and the whole area has sidewalks and crosswalks.

Best Trail

The Paseo del Morro follows the shoreline outside the walls surrounding the western edge of Old San Juan, only accessible from Castillo San Felipe del Morro or further south through the San Juan Gate. Watch for friendly feral cats, huge orb-weaver spiders, and anole lizards along the paved route.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The forts’ sentry boxes (garitas) are the symbol of Old San Juan and all of Puerto Rico. We had to add this park to the list of Top 10 National Park Service License Plates.

Peak Season

Year round

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/saju/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

$10 per person or America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

Street parking is always full around the forts, but there is a parking deck with reasonable hourly rates. The free White Trolley runs between the two forts and the cruise ship piers.

Camping

There are no campgrounds in San Juan, but plenty of other accommodations. Camping on the island of Puerto Rico is permitted at Bosque Estatal de Cambalache, Bosque Estatal de Río Abajo, and Reserva Forestal de Carite.

Christiansted National Historic Site (U.S. Virgin Islands)

El Yunque National Forest (Florida)