The fertile Earth reveals herself in lush woodlands, streams, and lakes. Moose wander a forest thick with ferns and moss-covered boulders. Beaver ponds and the lake’s glassy water reflect mountains and sky. Life abounds – almost erupts – as geese honk, ducks quack, and loons call across the distance. Beaver and otter patrol the shoreline as eagle and osprey dive for fish. Hiking assessment: Moderate – about 2-1/2 miles, rolling to mostly flat.

Immense, grand vistas, land of Gold Rush stories and geological oddities. Graveled washes in rocky canyons, sand dunes, silence, vast sky, sparse vegetation. Time stretches into the distance, stars brilliant in the wide sky overhead… the stillness punctuated by calls of coyote or raven…

An area of great geological and biodiversity. Rugged mountains descend through grass and wildflower meadows to lush river-bottom land. Cottonwoods, oaks, and other deciduous trees line the rivers, while ponderosa pine forests and pinion-juniper cactus zones characteristic of high desert thrive close-by. Cliff dwellings and caves, pictographs, and shards of ancient pottery coexist with a wide range of wildlife. Hiking, moderate, doable by an average person. No campground fees.