Pleasanton Ridge Recreation Area – Explore More Together (One Hundred Dollar Days)

This is the kind of stuff that makes my heart full! Setting out on a trail with wide open spaces… the kids trekking in front of me. One of the things that I committed my heart to this year was to seeking beauty and adventure locally… taking day trips for our kids and I both to go to places where we can be our best with fresh air in our lungs and adventure in our hearts. And the second part of that commitment is to capture it and bring those places and adventures to you so you can enjoy those adventures with your crew too. We believe in connecting with your crew through adventure… and capturing some cuteness along the way! So thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read this post from our “Explore More Together” series! This adventure was one of those free adventures… just needed the gas to get here and we packed our own food from home! I like those days that don’t cost us much! No excuses not to get out and adventure!

One of my favorite quotes right now is…

” Love begins at home (or out on the trail :),

and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the action that we do.

If you want to bring happiness to the whole world, go home and love your family.”

– Mother Teresa

About This Adventure:

We hiked the Pleasanton Ridge Recreational Area (see link for a google map- we wanna make it easy on you!!!) Which was crazy because I grew up spending time at my dad’s miles from here. I felt like this trail was a hidden gem! I also included for you a little map of what we hiked. We did not have the map before we hiked and it totally would have been helpful because we ended up turning back and coming back the way we came just to make sure we made it back to the car while it was still light out. Had I known there was a full circle and just how far it was we probably would have done the whole Oak Tree Trail. (next time!)

I clocked that we hiked just over 3 miles that day which was totally doable for our crew (with a few complaints – just keeping it real!) in about 2.5 hours which allowed us lots of leisure time to climb trees and run through fields.

We started in the Parking lot and the kids chose to take the woodland trail. It was the most scenic walk but it is pretty much straight up the mountain side. It’s a good one to get that heart rate up!

Investment:

No fee for parking

Just the cost of gas to get you there

And snacks!

I just adore this photo R captured of me for two reasons. 1- I always love seeing things from their perspective and 2- captures me climbing back up the hill after “fetching” the perfect walking stick for them – so they could fight over it. I know they are still little and we always talk about safety as we adventure… but I want them to challenge themselves. Push their limits. Test what they are made out of and surprise themselves. This shortcut up the mountain was a super steep angle but they did it and I loved seeing their faces when they did!I also love how little personalities shine as we adventure… these quick trailblazers waited for us at the top! Once we made it through the Woodland Trail it was views for days! I saw old dead tree and they saw a jungle gym. I seriously did a tick check back at the car! This kid always impresses me with the things he puts his mind to! No matter what I pack – Gpops’s stuff is always better than moms! Little hands holding mine never get old! It’s moments like these that I want to just soak in this year!I bet this view is even more amazing when it has leaves!