Hiking and Backpacking

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.

• Blue Ridge can be accessed only via trailheads at the north end of the ridge.
  

• Cache Creek Conservancy
  

• 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 wildlife.
  

• Dog Park Directory - Yolo County
  

• Fremont Weir State Wildlife Area
  

• Frog Pond Trail
  

• Grasslands Regional Park
  

• Little Blue Peak. Highest point in Yolo County (elevation 3120 ft).
  

• Putah Creek Riparian Reserve
  

• Putah Creek South Fork Preserve
  

• Sacramento Bypass Wildlife Area
  

• Vic Fazio Yolo Wildlife Area - Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area
  

• SummitPost, Yolo County. Trails to the peaks: Fiske, Glascock Mountain, Little Blue Peak, Lowrey.
  

• 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.

Within two hours one can be at many excellent backpacking and hiking areas. If you're willing to drive a little more the wilderness opportunities are endless. It's 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 pet-friendly hikes.

• Bear Valley (Colusa County) Bear Valley has one of the most spectacular displays of spring wildflowers in Northern California.
  

• Butte Sink Wildlife Management Area
  

• Cache Creek Ridge Trail
  

• Cache Creek Wildlife Area
  

• Colusa Bypass Wildlife Area
  

• Colusa National Wildlife Refuge
  

• Colusa-Sacramento River State Recreation Area
  

• Colusa Weir Recreation Area
  

• Delevan National Wildlife Refuge
  

• Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge
  

• Snow Mountain Wilderness Snow Mountain has the highest point of elevation in Colusa County (7,056 ft).
  

• Hiking YoloHiker - Trails in Colusa County. Billy's Hill, Brophy Canyon, Cache Creek Ridge Trail, Cowboy Camp, Craig Canyon-Thompson Canyon Trail, High Bridge Trail, Lynch Canyon Trail, Signal/Eagle Rocks Loop on Walker Ridge.

Desolation Wilderness can be a beautiful nearby escape once you lose the crowds that belie its name. Fido can help haul people trash down for you once his water's gone, too!

• Hiking Trails in California Statewide lists of trails, parks and hiking areas organized by county.
  

• Sacramento County Hiking Trails - Sacramento Wiki. Includes: American River Bike Trail & more.
  

• Solano County Hiking Trails - Vacaville Wiki. Includes: Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve, Jepson Prairie Reserve & more.
  

• Napa County & Lake County Hiking Trails - Napa Wiki. Includes: Long Canyon, Lake Berryessa trails & more.
  

• Placer County Hiking Trails - Lincoln Wiki.
  

• Sonoma County Hiking Trails - Sonoma County Wiki Includes: Mount Saint Helena & more.
  

• Yuba, Sutter, Sierra & Nevada County Hiking Trails - Yuba-Sutter Wiki
  

• California Hiking Trails Directory National, State & County Parks, Hiking Trails List, Hiking Groups, & Photos.
  

• PCT Wiki is a wik all about the Pacific Crest Trail, which stretches from Mexico to Canada.
  

Listed here are some great free resources for hiking and backpacking
* California Hiking Trails Directory
* Camping Tools and Equipment that People Forget to Bring on Their First Trip
* Basics of Wilderness First Aid
* Survival Tips for Camping in the Wilderness

One really doesn't 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.

• Yolo County Map California County Map
  

• 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. Instructions for using Acme Mapper.
  

• Outdoor Adventures has a massive collection of maps, ranging from common topo maps, to guide books to a cool wall-sized pop-up map.
  

• Mapsurfer - Hosted by our very own UC Davis, this map tool is truly awesome for the hiker.
  

• TopoZone - Lets you search by location names which is very helpful.
  

• Shields Library Map Room - Located in the basement is a complete set of California topographic maps to look at and photocopy. You don't even have to put them away once you are done looking at them!
  

• Google Earth - Satellite imagery of the entire planet.

• 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
  

• California Hiking Trails Directory
  

• Kevin Gong's Hiking Page - trip reports of many local backpacking destinations
  

• Waterfalls West - good hiking directions to local (and not local) waterfalls
  

• Sierra Nevada Wild - current information and recent news about the 28 designated Wilderness areas in the Sierra Nevada
  

• HighSierraTopix.com - excellent internet community for everything Sierra Nevada
  

• Gordie's Ramblings in the High Sierra - contains a good set of links to follow for more information

• Outdoor Adventures

It's important for everybody to be properly equipped so they can carry their own load.

• Ken's Bike & Ski
  

• Outdoor Davis
  

• Outdoor Adventures has a bi-annual 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 good-quality used equipment and clothing.
  

• Big 5 Sporting Goods
  

• REI in Sacramento, Roseville, Folsom or Berkeley

• Capay Valley Hiking Club (aka Yolo Hiker)
  

• EEB Club
  

• Outdoor Adventures
  

• Marie Huynh and Chad Van Schoelandt went on the weekend OA backpacking trip to the Sierra over the summer of 2004. They thought it was awesome. Photos
  

• Outdoor Adventures also offers a Wilderness Navigation course, which can be very helpful for the navigationally impaired hiker
  

• Sacramento Hiking Group
  

• Sacramento Hiking Meetup Group
  

• Sierra Club has many organized outdoor activities.

Comments:

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2008-04-13 13:59:14   Can anyone recommend a good backpacking location near Davis (an hour or two away) that has some sort of water nearby to frolic in? —Ash

You might want to check out the Sierra Club scrambles. They are a combination hike and air mattress float trip. My wife has done a couple of them and had a great time —jimstewart

2009-06-25 01:00:07   Where was the picture at the top of the page taken? —IDoNotExist