I'm attending the GGG at Coe this year and will have a few days free before I head back to the Bay area Tuesday afternoon for my return flight Wednesday AM. Looking for ideas on an overnight close by - so far Ventana Wilderness looks appealing. I am partial to hot springs so Sykes seems an obvious choice, except for the crowds. If I was going there I'd probably wait until Monday, with the idea that more people would be heading out at the end of a long weekend. Another hike that seem worth checking out from reading the trip reports here is Botchers Gap to Pat Springs, and maybe beyond that to Ventana Double Cone - that seems to be a 2-3 day trip.

Any other suggestions?

Edited by munnin on 01/10/2012 11:31:12 MST.

Ventana is nice, but why not stay in Coe? There's a lot more to the park than what we will be seeing at the GGG. If you have a few days, I would recommend going to Mississippi Lake and/or the Orestimba Wilderness. It would be easy to spend a 2-3 day trip at Coe.

Andrew

Another option is Point Reyes. It can get a bit crowded on weekends when the weather is nice, but I would imagine you'd have the place to yourself if you went during the week. One nice 3 day/2 night loop there is Bear Valley Visitor Center > Coast Camp > Wildcat Camp > Bear Valley. Not a lot of mileage though (I think only around 6 miles per day). I was just there this past weekend and I'll probably post a short trip report tonight.

Thanks Chris. I was at Point Reyes last August and hiked from Bear Valley to the coast trail, and from there past Wildcat Camp to Bass Lake for a swim, finishing the day by heading up hill to Glen Camp for the night. It was somewhat chilly and mostly foggy. I imagine it will be less crowded in February, less foggy (and warmer) too?

Michael - hadn't considered Coe - it looks like there are a lot of loop possibilities. And since I'll already be there, that cuts down on the driving, always a good thing.

I second the recommendation to stay at Coe. It's not as dramatic as Big Sur or Coastal Marin County because it doesn't have the ocean, but it's a darn nice place for backpacking, with lots of Oak Savannah and Oak/Pine woodlands. If we continue our current drought conditions, it won't be very green, but it is a very nice time of year for hiking there.

Plenty of options for 3-4 day hikes. Order the fine map and head on out. http://www.coepark.org/map-intro.html

AmyL
Palo Alto (but Coe is my home away from home)

http://amyl.smugmug.com/Backpacking/BayArea/200911-Coe-Thanksgiving/11956599_pvxBXv#!i=847109683&k=MsXeC