Ready for a challenge? This 4,000-acre park above the San Mateo coast is a former Spanish colonial land grant. It boasts miles of winding public trails, important watersheds, diverse wildlife, and, atop 2,000-foot Montara Mountain, a breath-taking 360-degree view from the Bay to the Pacific.

Imagine yourself on the coast of Scotland. At this glorious, rocky bluff off Highway 1 near Stinson Beach you can park and hike down to Red Rock Beach. The Pacific roars, winds stir the chaparral, and if you make reservations far in advance you can spend the night at rustic cabins here.

Windswept, exhilarating, and covered with unique red and green pebbles, this beach is just three miles northwest of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Rich with wildlife habitats, Rodeo Valley winds through the heart of the Marin Headlands and is edged by grassy, wind-swept hillsides. Where it descends to the Pacific, there is a lagoon and shallow wetlands home to shorebirds including egrets and ducks, as well as butterflies and occasional bobcats.

Amble along the alabaster sands here, one of the most perfect beaches on the California coast. Find it 35 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge via Highway 1, which unwinds atop heart-stopping cliffs. 

Infamous for its maximum security prison, Alcatraz is also known for remnants of an 1850s military fort, the West Coast's first lighthouse, the birthplace of a Native American movement, an important bird-nesting locale, and the historic Alcatraz Gardens.