I haven’t always been a hiker. In fact, when I moved out to the San Francisco Bay Area, a 5 mile hike sounded like a huge challenge. Anything over 5 miles required a day-pack filled with water, snacks, first aid, emergency supplies, an emailed itinerary to friends and family … you know, preparation.But now that I can safely call myself a (very slow) intermediate hiker, anything under 5 miles feels like a walk in the park (literally – ever tried walking through Golden Gate Park??). So after a few years of experiential research (there were spreadsheets) I’ve put together a list of my favorite intermediate level Northern California hikes! I bet you haven’t heard of some of these!