
While Davis itself may be flat, it is quite close to some killer areas for backpacking and other outdoor activities. Newcomers to the area should be aware that poison oak is common in areas below 5,000 feet elevation and hikers can easily contract contact dermatitis even when the shrubs are leafless. Also see Camping and Climbing.

 Trails and Hiking Areas 

 Hiking Trails in Yolo County 
  Blue Ridge/Rocky Ridge Blue Ridge can be accessed only via trailheads at the north end of the ridge.
  Cache Creek Nature Preserve
  http://www.yolocounty.org/Index.aspx?page379 Cache Creek Regional Park
  Davis Wetlands  At the site of the Waste Water Treatment facility, the wetlands provide a scenic, if somewhat flat, opportunity to view local Davis Wildlife wildlife.
  http://www.ecoanimal.com/dogfun/ca/north.html#yol Dog Park Directory  Yolo County
  Fremont Weir State Wildlife Area
  Frog Pond Trail
  Yolo County Grasslands Regional Park Grasslands Regional Park
  http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/154977/littlebluepeak.html Little Blue Peak. Highest point in Yolo County (elevation 3120 ft).
  Pierce Canyon Falls Trail
  Putah Creek Riparian Reserve
  Putah Creek South Fork Preserve
  Sacramento Bypass Wildlife Area
  Vic Fazio Yolo Wildlife Area  Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area
  http://www.summitpost.org/object_list.php?parent_id171146&object_type1 SummitPost, Yolo County. Trails to the peaks: Fiske, Glascock Mountain, Little Blue Peak, Lowrey.
  http://www.yolohiker.org/sitemap/index.html YoloHiker  Hiking Trails in Yolo County. Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, Pierce Canyon Falls Trail, Frog Pond Trail, Blue Ridge Trail, Rayhouse Road, Fiske Creek Trail, Putah Creek Reserve, Fremont Weir, Valley Vista Regional Park Trails.
  Urban hiking in City of Davis: The Greenbelt, Arboretum, Fitness Trails, Davis Bike Loop, Covell Drainage Channel Trail, Wildhorse Agricultural Buffer, Willowbank Ditch, Julie Partansky Pond, West Pond.

Within two hours one can be at many excellent backpacking and hiking areas. If youre willing to drive a little more the wilderness opportunities are endless. Its a little impossible to list all of the local destinations but here are a couple of ideas. See the Adventures Outside of Davis, Camping, or Climbing page for more places.  Dog owners should visit our Dogs page for petfriendly hikes.

 Hiking Trails in Colusa County 
  Bear Valley (Colusa County) Bear Valley has one of the most spectacular displays of spring wildflowers in Northern California.
  Cache Creek Ridge Trail
  http://www.dfg.ca.gov/lands/wa/region2/cachecreek.html Cache Creek Wildlife Area
  http://www.dfg.ca.gov/lands/wa/region2/colusabypass.html Colusa Bypass Wildlife Area
  Colusa National Wildlife Refuge
  ColusaSacramento River State Recreation Area
  Colusa Weir Recreation Area
  Delevan National Wildlife Refuge
  Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge
  wiki:napa:Snow_Mountain_Wilderness Snow Mountain Wilderness Snow Mountain has the highest point of elevation in Colusa County (7,056 ft).
  http://www.yolohiker.org/sitemap/index.html Hiking YoloHiker  Trails in Colusa County. Billys Hill, Brophy Canyon, Cache Creek Ridge Trail, Cowboy Camp, Craig CanyonThompson Canyon Trail, High Bridge Trail, Lynch Canyon Trail, Signal/Eagle Rocks Loop on Walker Ridge.

 Hiking Trails in Other Counties 
  Hiking Trails in California Statewide lists of trails, parks and hiking areas organized by county.
  wiki:sacramento:Hiking Sacramento County Hiking Trails  Sacramento Wiki. Includes: American River Bike Trail & more.
  wiki:vacaville:Hiking Solano County Hiking Trails  Vacaville Wiki. Includes: Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve, Lake Solano County Park, Jepson Prairie Reserve & more.
  wiki:napa:Hiking Napa County & Lake County Hiking Trails  Napa Wiki. Includes: Long Canyon, Lake Berryessa trails & more.
  wiki:lincoln:Hiking Placer County Hiking Trails  Lincoln Wiki.
  wiki:sonomacounty:Hiking Sonoma County Hiking Trails  Sonoma County Wiki Includes: Mount Saint Helena & more.
  wiki:yubasutter:Hiking Yuba, Sutter, Sierra & Nevada County Hiking Trails  YubaSutter Wiki
  http://brtinsights.blogspot.com/2010/02/californiahikingtrailsdirectory.html California Hiking Trails Directory National, State & County Parks, Hiking Trails List, Hiking Groups, & Photos.
  wiki:PCT:Hiking Pacific Crest Trail Wiki describes the Pacific Crest Trail, which stretches from Mexico to Canada.

 Resources
Listed here are some great free resources for hiking and backpacking
  http://brtinsights.blogspot.com/2010/02/californiahikingtrailsdirectory.html California Hiking Trails Directory
  http://www.ndparks.com/camping/topcampingtoolspeopleforgetbringtrip.php Camping Tools and Equipment that People Forget to Bring on Their First Trip
  http://www.medicalofficer.net/wildernesssurvival/aboutwildernessfirstaid.php Basics of Wilderness First Aid
  http://www.medicalofficer.net/campingsafety/survivaltipsforcampinginthewilderness.php Survival Tips for Camping in the Wilderness

 Maps 
One really doesnt need to buy maps with these available, however, common sense dictates that you should bring a printed copy of the map of your hiking destination with you on the hike.
  http://brtinsights.blogspot.com/2013/04/hikinginyolocountycamapto.html Yolo County Trailheads Map, http://brtinsights.blogspot.com/2013/04/hikingincolusacountycaliforniamap.html Colusa County Trailheads Map
  http://www.mapsofworld.com/usa/countymaps/california/yolocountymap.html Yolo County Map http://www.mapsofworld.com/usa/states/california/californiacountymap.html California County Map
  http://brtinsights.blogspot.com/2008/01/usingtopographicmapsfromacmemapper.html Acme Mapper provides dynamic online road, topographic and satellite maps. It shows coordinates for any point on the map. Enter coordinates or a landmark name and jump to that location on the map.
  Outdoor Adventures has a massive collection of maps, ranging from common topo maps, to guide books to a cool wallsized popup map.
  http://casil.ucdavis.edu/mapsurfer/ Mapsurfer   Hosted by our very own UC Davis, this map tool is truly awesome for the hiker.
  http://www.topozone.com TopoZone  Lets you search by location names which is very helpful.
  Shields Library Shields Library Map Room  Located in the basement is a complete set of California topographic maps to look at and photocopy. You dont even have to put them away once you are done looking at them!
  http://earth.google.com/ Google Earth  Satellite imagery of the entire planet.

 Libraries & Websites 
  Outdoor Adventures has an entire bookshelf devoted to local, regional and national recreation areas.
  Shields Library  sections F859.3, F868 and GV199 contain an amazing array of hiking guides to the Sierra, the coast and beyond
  Davis Branch Library  has a large selection of recent trail guides
  http://brtinsights.blogspot.com/2010/02/californiahikingtrailsdirectory.html California Hiking Trails Directory
  http://kevingong.com/Hiking/ Kevin Gongs Hiking Page  trip reports of many local backpacking destinations
  http://www.waterfallswest.com/index.shtml Waterfalls West  good hiking directions to local (and not local) waterfalls
  http://www.sierranevadawild.gov Sierra Nevada Wild  current information and recent news about the 28 designated Wilderness areas in the Sierra Nevada
  http://www.highsierratopix.com HighSierraTopix.com  excellent internet community for everything Sierra Nevada
  http://mgordonphotography.com/sierra/sierra_new.htm Gordies Ramblings in the High Sierra  contains a good set of links to follow for more information

 Places to rent gear 
  Outdoor Adventures

 Places to buy gear 
  Kens Bike & Ski
  Outdoor Davis
  Outdoor Adventures has a biannual Equipment Swap in October and April. OA sells their used gear, vendors sell sample items, and the general public is allowed to sell or trade their goodquality used equipment and clothing.
  Big 5 Sporting Goods
  REI in Sacramento, Roseville, Folsom or Berkeley

 Clubs and Organizations 
  Capay Valley Hiking Club (aka http://yolohiker.org/ Yolo Hiker)
  DOERS  Devoted Outdoor ExploreRS, sometimes also Davis Outdoor ExploreRS
  EEB Club
  Outdoor Adventures
     Users/MarieHuynh Marie Huynh and Users/RevChad Chad Van Schoelandt went on the weekend Outdoor Adventures OA backpacking trip to the Sierra over the summer of 2004. They thought it was awesome. http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/dreameroflight/album?.dir3bfa&.srcph&store&prodid&.donehttp%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos Photos
     Outdoor Adventures also offers a Wilderness Navigation course, which can be very helpful for the navigationally impaired hiker
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sacramento_Hiking_Group/ Sacramento Hiking Group
  http://hiking.meetup.com/20/ Sacramento Hiking Meetup Group
  Sierra Club has many organized outdoor activities.


20080413 13:59:14 nbsp Can anyone recommend a good backpacking location near Davis (an hour or two away) that has some sort of water nearby to frolic in? Users/Ash
 You might want to check out the Sierra Club http://motherlode.sierraclub.org/deltasierra/GSPAGES/gspage0.htm scrambles. They are a combination hike and air mattress float trip.  My wife has done a couple of them and had a great time users/jimstewart

20090625 01:00:07 nbsp Where was the picture at the top of the page taken? Users/IDoNotExist
