A Wondrous World of Family Hiking in Muir Grove

Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world

~ John Muir ~

Have you ever seen a child romp through the forest? Have you listened to a child talking while walking through the mountains? Sure, hiking with children is difficult, slower, tedious and harder on your back, but there is a different level of wonder that is seen through a child's eyes.

Muir Grove in

Sequoia National Park

might not be a big attraction but it truly is a nice hike.  The great thing about Sequoia National Park is that there are Sequoias very near the General's Highway.  This gives great accessibility BUT this also means very large crowds which is something my family is not a big fan of.  We wanted to see the Sequoias but wanted the solitude of the "Outdoors", so off we headed hiking to Muir Woods near Dorst Creek Campground.

Hiking to the Sequoias

This is a moderate, family-friendly, 4.2 mile round trip hike to Muir Grove, but in all reality we added a little over 2 miles for a total of 6.3 miles from our campground in Dorst Creek.  We walked from our campsite to the trailhead but we got a little confused about where it was, we eventually found the Muir Grove trailhead but added two miles over all to the hike.  Every step adds up when you think about it.  The trailhead is

near the campsite #178

, which crosses a little bridge over Cabin Creek.

Immediately on the trail, we enjoyed the sounds of the flowing Cabin Creek and were glad the creek was not dried up yet due to

California's severe drought

.  It was quite refreshing to hear water flowing and to see the greenery all around us.

The hike has a slight uphill trail to Muir Grove with sections of flat and down hill sections.  The trail is a very shaded with just one section of exposed granite halfway to Muir Grove.  There were signs of bears everywhere....almost every fallen tree had been shredded by bears so we made sure our son never ran ahead.  I happily told my son to blow his whistle as much as he wanted!  Thankfully we never saw a bear while hiking to Muir Grove.  All we saw was lush beautiful forest greenery!!

Ferns galore...

Just hiking along...

My daughters view point from down below...

I would suggest taking a kid carrier for little ones who can't hike this distance.  My 4 year old son was able to hike the entire 6.3 miles but my 2 year old could not.  Of course when we saw the Sequoias down the trail, everyone got excited to see the REALLY BIG TREES!!

Entering Muir Grove

Doesn't matter how many times I see Sequoias I'm always blown away by their sheer size.  They provide a perspective that only Sequoias can provide.  Just seeing the Sequoias brought back my happy childhood memories of endlessly running around the base of the trees with my older brother. I was very happy we had hiked out to Muir Grove with my children.

"Daddy, Mommy! Those trees are REALLY BIG! And they have caves!" my toddlers squealed.  Now I understand why my parents brought my brother and me to Sequoia National Park so much.

When we arrived to Muir Grove, a couple of hikers were having lunch but they quickly packed up and left.  We packed our lunch as well: Bolillo sandwiches.  We enjoyed a picnic all by ourselves in the middle of Muir Grove.  After lunch, my son and I explored the "caves" and I happily listened to my son imagining finding bears in the tree hollows and pretending to scare them.  A little bit of family time at Muir Grove....

Time to EXPLORE....

Daughter hugging daddy, surrounded by the Sequoias hugging us....

Always look up....

The world from inside the tree, from my daughters eyes....

I must say this might not be a popular hike in Sequoia National Park but it was my family favorite.  Muir Grove...where we played hide and seek, had Bolillo sandwiches and pretended we were giant bears in the tree trunks.  Welcome to the world of family hiking, it's more fun this way.

Trail Report Detials

Who: Two Adults, Two Toddlers

Family Friendly: Moderate

Mileage: 4.2 miles from Trailhead, 6.3 actual from campsite

Elevation Change: 896 ft

Trails Description: Out and back trail, slight uphill hike

What's your favorite day hike in Sequoia National Park?

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Related Posts and Links:

1. The Amazing Crystal Cave at Sequoia National Park
2. Sequioa & Kings Canyon National Park ~ Official Website

The Amazing Crystal Cave at Sequoia National Park

One of my childhood dreams was to visit the, Crystal Cave in Sequoia National Park. Unfortunately the one time my parents tried to take us to the Crystal Caves the trail was covered with ice (during summer time!), so the National Park Service wasn't allowing visitors due to the slippery trail.

Years had past and I never visited, so we when we were planning our Sequoia trip this past June I made sure we were going to visit the beautiful stalactites and stalagmites!  There are really no words to describe the wonderful underground world but here are some tips and information about the Crystal Cave.

There is a little bit of hiking to get to the cave 1/2 mile for a total of a 1 mile hike roundtrip, this does not include the walking inside the cave. Very easy hike down to the cave but that means a steep hike up to the parking lot.

Tips for Families with Children

• Soft Kid Carrier ~ A full blown kid carrier is probably over doing it for this 1-mile hike since ANY type of kid carrier is not allowed into the caves.  All bags, backpacks, kid carrier (fabric too) has to be left at the cave entrance.
• Water ~ Bottled water is not allowed inside the cave but you can take the water and leave at the entrance of the cave.  We didn't bring any water which wasn't a big deal on the way down but we all got a little thirsty on the hike up.  Bring water down and leave it at the entrance before entering the cave.
• Extra Layer ~ The cave is ALWAYS 50 degrees Fahrenheit, no matter what the weather is outside the cave.  It was in the 80's when we visited in late June, at first it felt great to be in this "natural air conditioned" cave but the change it temperature does make it chilly after a sweaty hike.  Take sweaters for the whole family especially for little ones who cool off quicker.
• Darkness ~ Caves are dark, but they do have lighted areas or else we could not see all the great rock formations.  My toddlers enjoyed the semi-darkness but at one point of the tour, the guide turned off all the lights and it was completely dark.  Make sure you are holding your child, especially if they are scared of the dark.  No flashlights or flash photography is allowed.
• Pricing and Ticket Location ~ Adults were $15/ticket, 5-12 years $8/ticket and under 5 years $5 ticket.  Tickets are not sold at the actual Crystal Cave bookstore.   Purchase tickets at one of the visitor centers.

The Crystal Cave Tour

The tour actually starts half an hour BEFORE the schedule ticket, i.e. 3:30 pm ticket time, meetup with guide at the book store at 3:00 pm to have enough time to hike down to the cave entrance.  If you get down early there is a beautiful waterfall and creek to relax by. Traffic to the Crystal Cave can be quite a hassle due to all of Sequoia's road construction, so we left 2 hours before our schedule time per the docents suggestion.  Photography is allowed but with NO FLASH, fortunately my camera had a nifty nighttime feature that allowed my pictures to come out.  I can describe the caves to you but I'd rather show pictures!

Walking through the first level....

My kids thought these were icicles and everything was snow to them...

The cave family...

Fairyland, those little stalactites were 100 years old....

Stalagmite (coming from the ground) aka Jabba the Hutt...

 Chasqui Mom Last Thoughts.....

I truly was beyond amazed by Crystal Cave, I couldn't even pay attention to the guide explaining how this beautiful place was created because I was so mesmerized by this place.  Something about the water flowing above and through the cave created it, over thousands and thousands of years. It was a family favorite during our week-long vacation at Sequoia National Park and my kids definitely have a fascination with caves now!

It might be a little touristy location for an outdoor enthusiast but I highly recommend visiting this Crystal Cave.  I'm glad that many years ago some National Park Rangers slid down this mountain on their butts and found the beautiful California treasure by accident.  Now thousands of people can experience this amazing place in addition to everything else Sequoia National Park has to offer.

Have you visited Crystal Cave or a similar marble cave? What did you love?

Join in on the conversation by leaving a comment here! You can also join in on the conversations on Chasqui Mom's Facebook, Instagram and Twitter that is updated daily with outdoor activities and other wonderful posts and links from #OutdoorFamilies!

Related Posts and Links:

1. Crystal Cave ~ Sequoia Natural History Association
2. Pinnacles National Park ~ Bear Gulch Caves

Spring Time Camping in the OC ~ O'Neill Regional Park

On our most recent trip to Southern California, we decided to add a little Orange County (OC) camping to my husband's business trip.  Thankfully, through my blogging connections, I have met many wonderful #OutdoorFamilies like Traci of Walk Simply, whose outdoor playground is The OC!  She recommended that we camp at O'Neill Regional Park as her family did!

We were not planning on a full blown camping trip, since we traveled by plane but we love to find any excuse to camp.  It was our first time ever camping at a regional park, aka a LOCAL park!  We've camped in National Forests, National Parks, State Parks but never a regional park (county-run), not even in my regional parks in the San Francisco East Bay!  So this was the first time ever camping in a regional park, OC Parks.

The Campgrounds

Location: Trabuco Canyon, California - 7 Miles East of Lake Forrest

Reservations: Orange County Parks (ReserveAmerica.com), Year-Round

Daily Price: $20/night - (Date Camped March 2014) - 79 campsites

Facilities: Drinking Water, Restrooms, FREE showers (hot water), Playground, Campsite Tables, Fire pit w/grill

We stayed at Arroyo Campground Loop, Site 66, which was very spacious and had trees nearby large enough to support our hammock.  Trabuco Creek (seasonal creek) runs along the backside of half of the campgrounds.  As you can see, the creek was completely dry but that allows for dry creek-bed explorations for little ones!

Close to Everything

Normally when we camp we like to "get away" from it all, but it's a little difficult when we are hybrid traveling (business/pleasure), since we flew down to Southern California and did not have all our regular camping gear.  We were close to everything but still far enough that I could feel the outdoor fresh air.  My main concern was food, since we did not have a means of refrigerating our food.  That was one of the reasons we picked O'Neill Regional Park because everything was a 10 minute drive to Lake Forest and Rancho Santa Margarita:

• Supermarkets 
• Drugstores
• Banks
• Shopping Centers
• Restaurants
• Churches
• Playgrounds (in the park)

Playground: We've never been camping at a park with an actual playground.  I'm normally not too fond of playgrounds, but in this particular case I really loved having a playground, we could burn off our kids energy since we were not hiking at this campground.  It was a small plain EMPTY park.

Food/Restaurants: I love eating out and on this particular trip, I was in the mood for Peruvian food and lo and behold, there was Inka Mama's Peruvian Cuisine down the hill from O'Neill Regional Park in Foothill Ranch.  The food there was delicious, if you are ever in this area I highly recommend eating there. There is every kind of restaurant that you can think of 10 minutes away from O'Neill Regional Park, so you can find anything, even for picky eaters.

Wildlife at O'Neill

Even though O'Neill Regional Park is very close to the city, there is wildlife.  As we were eating breakfast at our campsite we heard a VERY loud squawking from the trees.  I told my husband that those noises sounded like the tropical birds we heard in the Peruvian Amazon jungle.  So of course, I had to investigate the empty campsite across from us and I found bright two bright green red-headed birds or a Red-Crowned Parrots (popping out from the center tree hole).  I even tweeted it out to the Audubon California to try to figure out what these birds were.

O'Neill, like many other California parks, has larger wildlife like mountain lions, bobcats, rattlesnakes and mule deer.  Of course we didn't see any of those animals, only the Red-Crowned Parrots and angry red ants!!

O'Neill at a Glance....

We used O'Neill as a "base camp" for other OC outdoor adventures to the beach and hiking.  It was very well maintained campgrounds and facilities.  By Friday, the campground was completely full but everyone one there respected the "camping rules" and we enjoyed our family time at O'Neill.  Camping might be a little more difficult than staying at a hotel because there is setup involved, but over all I feel more relaxed camping than staying at hotels.  Plus it creates beautiful family memories with our little ones.  

Sometimes as outdoor enthusiasts we look over our local regional parks and we might be missing out on some great locations to enjoy the outdoors.  I love National Parks, National Forests, State Parks but they are a little far from us, so I'm really learning to find great outdoors in regional parks even when we are traveling!


Have you camped at a local regional park? Give a little shout out to your regional parks!


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California Winter Family Camping: El Capitan State Beach

I mean really, sometimes I almost feel bad for living in California while the rest of the United States of America is in the Polar Vortex.  Middle of "Winter" camping on the California coast isn't really all that bad.  We take any opportunity to head outdoors whether, hiking, camping, backpacking or just a day outdoors.

Over Valentine's Day weekend we extended a Southern California business trip to include a two-night camping trip at

El Capitan State Beach

.  We were hoping to find a more "Hiking" place to camp but most of my husband's co-workers recommended El Capitan, a place along the coast where they all like to escape to.  We were sold on El Capitan because it was by the beach and I really wanted to drive home to San Francisco by the Pacific Ocean.

El Capitan State Beach Campground

Location: Goleta, California off of Highway 101- 17 miles North of Santa Barbara

Reservations: Only seasonal on Reserve America, otherwise Walk-up

Daily Price: $35-45 a individual site (depends on the season). Winter Walk-up Rate we paid $35/night

Facilities: Drinking water, Restrooms, Showers, Camp Store, ATM, Picnic Tables and Grills

Campsite Visited: Campsite No. 29 (Shaded, partial Pacific Ocean View)

We arrived at El Capitan shortly before sunset, and set up camp: our large family camping tent, hammock and camp gear.  I knew by the time we finished setting up camp it would be dinner time and after my husband working all day, driving a few hours, neither my husband nor I would want to cook, so we planned to head into Goleta for some Mexican Food.  We normally don't eat out while camping but it had been a very long day for both my husband at work and as well as me dealing with preparing for our camping trip from our hotel!

Oooh! The Ocean!!

After dinner we headed back to El Capitan and went straight to bed.  There was so much excitement during camp setup that the kids (and us) were exhausted, so we all headed into our mansion of a tent for a good nights rest.  If you follow my blog, you know that my daughter is a TERRIBLE sleeper but our first night at El Capitan my daughter slept ALL night long and I actually got to sleep very well for once!

My kids knew we were camping near the ocean, but we never had a chance to go down to the beach when we arrived.  The second my kids woke up, they heard the ocean and wanted to see it so we just opened our tent window and let them see it.  It is awfully nice to camp on the California Coast!

Valentines Day at El Capitan State Beach

The two times we've been camping this "winter", 

Half Moon Bay State Beach

and El Capitan State Beach have been beach locations.  We normally like to hike during our camping trips but we haven't done any hiking in either of these trips because the beach being steps from out tent!  I love the ocean and my kids love ANY water source so to incorporate the beach into our camping is wonderful.

There are 10 miles of hiking trails at El Capitan but on this occasion we just walked down to the rocky beach.  At first there was actually no beach in sight, just small waves crashing onto the the rocks but we found a tiny sandy spot and as the hours went by the sandy beach grew.  The kids splashed and ran away from the waves, my husband sat on the rocks and enjoyed reading his books and I explored the tide pools.  We all eventually were splashing in the waves but I LOVE exploring tide pools.

During our little lunch break we had pleasure of seeing dolphins and even brown pelican making amazing dive into the water.  There was a large patch of seaweed/kelp floating by so I'm assuming there were fish for the dolphins and pelicans to eat!

We had a great day splashing at the beach but after a "tragedy" struck (a small toy was washed away at sea) it was time to say goodbye to the beach.  We retreated back into our giant mansion tent so the kids could play and my husband and I could doze off in our warm tent.  After we had recharged a bit, we took a trip into Goleta to get a few more food supplies and ice cream to soften the blow of the lost toy at sea.

After returning to camp, we started preparations for our dinner when all of a sudden we heard helicopters above and a crowd had formed by the cliff.  I investigated with my kids and there was a Search and Rescue effort for our kayaking camp neighbors.  A couple hours later, our camp neighbors returned obviously with their spirits down....they had shown up midday, quickly setup camp and headed out to sea.  Another camper came over a little later and offered them beer and I could see they were definitely "deflated".  Worst camping trip ever for them, the "mom side" of me wanted to go console them but then I thought if I were in their position I wouldn't want anyone to ask me ANYTHING, so I let them be.  They didn't seem happy.

It was Valentines Day, normally my husband and I go out for Round Table Pizza but since we were camping, I wanted to do something special, ala Jesse and Melissa Style!  We love steak, so why not get a heart shaped steak?!  It was one of the most delicious steaks I've ever eaten, in addition to mashed potatoes and dutch oven peach cobbler!

Get in my belly you rib eye steak!

After dinner the kids and I laid in the hammock and stared at the almost full moon and stars, while my husband cleaned up.  The kids get very clingy when night falls because they are scared of the dark.  The only time I like it because I get to cuddle with my babies.  The kids fell asleep very quickly and my husband and I enjoyed sitting by the fire and laying in the hammock in peace....silence.

Something I will never forget from this trip is my daughter waking up around 2 or 3 a.m. in the morning on our last night and said "Mommy, those trees are amazing...." in regards to the tree branch shadows on the tent ceiling. Just a random thought she woke up to tell me and then passed out again.  That's my girl.

I love my family, I love California and I love camping.

Related Posts and Links:

1. Wave Crashing Family Camping & Mavericks at Half Moon Bay
2. El Capitán State Beach - California State Park Website

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Out of this World: Vasquez Rocks & The Pacific Crest Trail

Vasquez Rocks, the Pacific Crest Trail and this hiking family. On a quick trip down south to the greater Los Angeles area I decided to do a little solo hike with my toddlers at Vasquez Rocks.  All I knew about

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park

was that an episode of the original Star Trek was filmed there a long time ago.  FYI, I only knew that fact because I watched a Big Bang Theory episode that was fake filmed at Vasquez Rocks so I researched it and Vasquez Rocks was a real location.

Vasquez Rocks is part of the

Department of Parks and Recreation County of Los Angeles

but it is a 20-30 drive east of Santa Clarita, California.  You can't really tell that Los Angeles is a desert until you leave the main metropolis area and can see the natural environment and really enjoy the beauty of  it, like Vasquez Rocks.  You can see this parks main features from the freeway and it is actually on the outskirts of Agua Dulce, California.  Off the freeway the drive to Vasquez Rocks is very rural and ranch-like, we even saw a buffalo on one of the ranches.

The Interpretive Center looked like a space ship to my kids.  It has a modern look to it, I'm assuming it was designed to compliment the rock formations but not only was the design modern it had a

LEED Platinum Certification

.  Layman's terms means that this center has the highest level of being "Green" which is fantastic!  The Interpretive Center had a diagram of Vasquez Rocks, a few reptiles and spiders, as well as a Hollywood history of all the movies that had been filmed at Vasquez Rocks.  Outside the center was a small area that housed some native birds.

The Pacific Crest Trail at Vasquez Rocks

The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a trail that runs from the border of Mexico/California to just across the Canadian border.  Almost every hiker that I know dreams of hiking the PCT, so any time I get a chance to hike on it, I do! Even just one mile on the PCT with my kids, satisfies my future dream just a little bit.  I didn't even know that the PCT went through Vasquez Rocks until the day before visiting so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it on the map.  FYI: I brought EXTRA snacks and food just in case I ran into a PCT thru-hiker but I didn't run into anyone except some tourists.

We started out on the PCT (AKA the Geology Trail - 0.9 miles) near the Interpretive Center.  From the beginning there were giant rocks right along the trail which made the hike terribly slow because my kids had to explore every rock, hole and "mini-cave."  I'm not complaining, I want my kids to explore but I'd prefer they explored at least 100 ft down the trail vs. 10 feet down the trail! But alas the caves must be explored and my patience must be tested constantly on the trail.

We hope that someday we can do hike the entire PCT as a family, but probably not all in one sitting! PCT section hiking is more up our alley, but it won't be for a few more years until our little ones can hike longer distances and carry a pack.  Either way, I was getting a little nostalgic with the idea at some point in the future I was to return to Vasquez Rocks and remember that I had been there before with my babies.

It took a little while to get into the groove of hiking but everyone enjoyed the little 0.9 mile hike on the PCT.  There was exploring of the caves, playing with the sandy trail and even touching of the spiky Yucca Whipple-Our Lord's Candle.  My son has a fascination with prickly plants, I just make sure they aren't poisonous before he touches them.

The Geological Trail had many markers with the descriptions on the pamphlet, sadly I'm so busy with the kids on the trail I never get a chance to see what the markers are all about, but the geological formations are just amazing to see all along this tiny section.  When we had reach the famous section of the Vasquez Rocks, my kids starting yelling with glee, "Those rocks are Crocodile Rocks!!" and indeed they did look like crocodile heads.  One of the great things about hiking with kids is the fact that they help you view the world in a beautiful imaginative way.

The famous Vasquez Rocks are really neat, they are giant slabs of rock shooting out of the ground!  We hiked along the back side of the rocks and I was a little saddened by the graffiti and trash I found along there.  I picked up as much trash as I could but still I don't understand why people have to put "I was here" on these beautiful rocks.

The Pacific Crest Trail continued but my children could not, so once we reached the picnic/parking lot area for viewing the rock formations, we headed down another trail back to the Interpretive Center.  There is a dirt road which you can take to iconic Vasquez Rocks but we opted to hike on the PCT.  I almost took the dirt road back but decided to stay on the trail and I'm glad we did because we saw some hieroglyphs and a Road Runner, which of course was too fast to snap a picture of it!

Vasquez Rocks is a great park, truly felt like I was in a different planet! Great rock formations, family friendly trails, a great "green" center and it has the wonderful Pacific Crest Trail.  My suggestions would be:

• Take lots of water! We visited on a cool day but it is still in the desert and it got very warm.
• If you have time check out more of the longer trails, such as in SoCal Hiker's visit.
• Visit the Interpretive Center! It's a really neat place and the employees are very informative.
• Please take children on the Pacific Crest Trail.  You don't have to be a backpacking ninja to hike on the PCT.  Even a 0.9 mile hike is worth enjoying the PCT with your family.

Trip Report Details

Who: One Adult and two toddlers

Mileage: 1.8 miles (0.9 miles on the PCT)

Time: 1 hour (51 minutes to be exact)

Elevation: 7 ft - very flat

Family Friendly: Very Easy

I truly had lots of fun with my kids at Vasquez Rocks, knowing that it was a hideout for the California Bandido 

Tiburcio Vasquez

 (hence the namesake) and with all the Hollywood film history, makes hiking at Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park out of this world!

Join in on the conversation by leaving a comment here! You can also join in on the conversations on 

Chasqui Mom's Facebook

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Instagram

 and 

Twitter

 that is updated daily with outdoor activities and other wonderful posts and links from #OutdoorFamilies!

Related Posts and Links:

1. Family Desert Hiking: Devil's Punchbowl Natural Area
2. The Pacific Crest Trail Association
3. SoCal Hiker: Hiking the PCT in Vasquez Rocks