For more than a century the incomparable beauty of Point Lobos has drawn admirers from around the world. The jagged rock outcroppings, driftwood-strewn beaches, and silhouetted cypress trees, twisted grotesquely by the wind, were favorite subjects for photographers Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. Point Lobos is also a favorite playground for seals, sea lions, and otters, and migrating grey whales pass just offshore. Barking sea lions reminded 18th-century Spanish explorers of sea wolves, in their tongue, lobos marinos, and so they named it Point of the Sea Wolves. Now a California State Reserve, Point Lobos draws hundreds of thousands of visitors a year.

• 125 of the best trails throughout the Los Angeles metro area • Easy-to-use, well-organized guide to hiking in the greater Los Angeles area • Hikes feature ocean views, waterfalls, coastal canyons, native grasslands, rocky peaks, desert wildflowers, and more In Southern California, the city of Los Angeles alone covers more than 500 square miles. Yet beyond the freeways and suburbia, there is a surprising amount of hikeable green space and wilderness. This new guide details trails in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, the world’s largest urban national park stretching from the Pacific Coast right into Hollywood itself; the Santa Susana Mountains in Los Padres National Forest; Angeles National Forest, including the San Gabriels and Mount San Antonio, the highest point in Los Angeles County; the striking desert landscape of Antelope Valley; the Santa Ana Mountains; portions of the San Bernardino Mountains; Chino Hills State Park; and slivers of green space and city parks such as famed Griffith Park.

Looking for his lost fish trap, Ben sees something dark moving under the water and dives in to explore what it is, and discovers a hidden forest of kelp and the creatures that live nearby.