"The Land Trust really prides itself in the art of trail design," says Ann Cole of the Mendocino Land Trust. The private non-profit organization has just completed the two-mile Pelican Bluffs Trail in Mendocino County, complete with new steps and benches — all part of the California Coastal Trail. Careful attention was paid to how a visitor experiences the trail, from the trailhead to the glimpes of the ocean through the bishop pine forest.

The organization hopes that the California Coastal Trail will one day stretch from Mexico to the Oregon border. "That's a challenging process because there are a lot of land owners who don't like public access," Ann adds, "but everyone's pecking away, and inch by inch, it's coming together."