Russian Gulch State Park - California

Located in both Sonoma and Napa Valleys, Robert Louis Stevenson State Park is named for the author of the well known, Treasure Island, who spent his honeymoon in a cabin in an old mining building here. The Park is rich with evergreen forests in north-facing canyons as well as chaparral on the south-facing side of the park. Nature enthusiasts will love the five-mile hike to the 4,304-foot summit of Mt. St. Helens, from which the Bay area and Mt. Shasta are viewable in all of their beauty, on clear days. On the way up, keep your eyes peeled for knobcone pine, yerba santa, California Coffeeberry, and Manzanita, which are common here. Though no camping is available, there is a fantastic area lodging where you can relax, soak your feet and take in the amazing time had by all at Robert Louis Stevenson State Park.

This park is known for the heavily forested Russian Gulch Creek Canyon, a headland that features the Devil's Punch Bowl (a large, collapsed sea cave with churning water), and a beach that offers swimming, tide pool exploring, skin diving and rock fishing. Inland, there is a 36-foot-high waterfall. Hikers enjoy miles of hiking trails. The park also has a paved three-mile bicycle trail.