If it isn't the most popular attraction at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim and EPCOT in Florida -- wow, those lines are intensely long -- "Soarin' over California" is most definitely one of the most exciting. For those who haven't had the chance to ride, it's a hang glider simulation in an IMAX theatre, complete with redwood forest smells and wind. more ›

Millions of people live around the Santa Monica Mountains yet few know the range and the surrounding beaches -- even as far as the Santa Monica Pier -- are included in a federal designated National Recreation Area that is administrated by the National Park Service. One of their more fun outreach tools has been Facebook, where Ranger Mike posts mystery photos from field and asks fans to identify them before he chimes in to confirm or correct guesses. For fun, below are a handful from the past year. more ›

A litter of three mountain lion kittens were born late last month and a new adult mountain lion living locally has been discovered, the National Park Service has announced. Since 2002, biologists having been tracking and studying the movements of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains, Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains to better understand how they live surrounded by development. more ›

Take a hike with Tony Valois in the Santa Monica Mountains and you're likely to see things much differently than the average hiker. For Valois, a volunteer with the National Park Service, the mountains are a living, breathing and ever-changing landscape of beauty, wonder and excitement. What's this flower? He has the answer. How about this grass? Yeah, he knows it. What can be said about this tree? Nothing gets beyond him and if he doesn't know, he'll be quick to figure it out. more ›

A hike through the National Park Service's property in the Simi Hills will give you a different perspective about the surrounding landscape of Los Angeles. Recent rains help green the area in the Winter and Spring, but the soft and gentle rolling hills found within Cheeseboro and Palo Comado Canyons offer a chance for peaceful and calm hikes in a beautifully serene landscape. Although these two canyons are officially part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, it's just one of many gateways into this less-than talked about outdoors spot. more ›

Now here's a reason for L.A. politicians to finally pay attention to the unfinished Core Trail plan, which would giver hikers and equestrians the right-of-way along Mulholland Drive through the city (are you listening Sierra Club member Paul Koretz?). A report released today by the National Parks Conservation Association says visitors drawn to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area--it spans 153,000 acres from Runyon Canyon to the Santa Monica Pier and Point Mugu--spent more than $17 million in 2008. more ›

The largest urban national park is partly within Los Angeles, yet so many don't know it. Perhaps one of the reasons can be blamed on where the National Park Service set up its visitor center and headquarters 11 years ago this week: in Thousand Oaks. Take a look at the over 153,000 acres that make up the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, which basically spans the range from Runyon Canyon in Hollywood to the beaches of Malibu, and you'll see that the suburban Conejo Valley floor is not ideal. more ›