Kirby Cove Beach is at the base of the Marin Headlands north of the entrance to San Francisco Bay. The view from the beach is stunning with the city of San Francisco framed under the wide span of the Golden Gate Bridge. The steep, mile-long trail to the cove begins at the parking area above Battery Spencer on Conzelman Road—eye-level with the bridge’s towers—and descends through a grove of cypress, eucalyptus, and pine.
Winter is a particularly beautiful time at Mono Lake. The crowds are gone, a quiet stillness prevails, and snow crystals sparkle on the tufa towers. Mono Lake is a majestic body of water in California covering about 65 square miles. It is an ancient lake, over 1 million years old -- one of the oldest lakes in North America. Many columns of limestone rise above the surface of Mono Lake. This type of limestone rock is referred to as tufa, which is a term used for limestone that forms in low to moderate temperatures.
