Welcome to The Meyer Life!

We are the Meyer’s, an adventure loving family of five from California. We love spending time together hiking, camping, exploring, playing, and having fun. Our goal is to provide inspiration and the tools you need to Get Up, Get Out, and Create an Adventure!

Connect With Us!

themeyerlife

A family of five, getting outside everyday
Kayaking, hiking, camping, dirt road driving
📍South Bay Area, California
Check out our blog 👇🏻

Did you know that September and October is tarantu

Did you know that September and October is tarantula mating season in central California? 🕷
I have been on a mission to see a tarantula in the wild for a few years now and this year we really ramped up our efforts.
🗺We found a trail where tarantulas have been seen and we went at dusk, when you are most likely to see them.
Sadly all we found were tarantula homes (holes in the ground covered in webs) and a dead tarantula.
⛺️But we did find a new place to explore, and maybe camp and kayak at so I’ll call this one a win!
Scroll through the photos to see the tarantula we found and what their homes look like.
Have you seen a tarantula in the wild!? Tell me all about it!

The perfect place to watch the sunset 🌅The Cre

The perfect place to watch the sunset
🌅The Creamery Meadow Trail at Andrew Molera State Park in Big Sur
📕 We found this trail with our @50hikeswithkids book!
🛻Parking: $10 entrance fee or use your California poppy pass or you can park across the highway and walk in…be super careful crossing!
🚽Bathrooms: nice flush toilets at the trailhead
🥾Trail Deets: Creamery Meadow trail is 2.3 miles to the beach, is super flat and other than the creek crossing with a seasonal bridge is stroller friendly.
🐕 Dogs: no dogs allowed beyond the day use parking lot
📌This trail leads to a beach that is covered in driftwood and rocks, the kids had a great time adding to the driftwood structures along the shore. Check tides before you go, this beach is mostly covered at high tide. This would be an amazing place to watch the sunset over the ocean, just bring a light so you can hike back to your car safely.

Where is your favorite place to watch the sunset!

The fog rolling in under Bixby Bridge at sunset.

The fog rolling in under Bixby Bridge at sunset.
Nature photography isn’t really my thing but this view is pretty magical!

Partington Cove Trail: 📌save this post for all

Partington Cove Trail:
📌save this post for all the details
Right off of highway 1, north of Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and south of Pfeiffer State Beach there is a dirt pull out next to a gate.
-parking is limited and right next to the road so use caution
-There are no bathrooms at the trail head.
-The trail is about 1 mile out and back with 340 feet change in elevation, walking back up will get your heart pumping.
-The trail leads down with one big switch back. At the first fork in the trail turn right, then stay to the left. Cross the bridge, go through the tunnel and emerge in Partington cove. At the end of the trail you can climb out on the rocks or sit in the bench and admire the ocean. We headed back up the trail then took the fork to the left, it leads down hill next to a flowing stream and to a rocky shoreline. We spent some time climbing around the rocks and feeling the massive waves crash against the rocks.
-The trail is open from 8am to sunset
-dogs aren’t allowed
We have driven past this trail a few times and always wondered what was down there, it was so fun to find out!
Remember to leave no trace and
let me know if you check it out!
*we found this trail using our @50hikeswithkids California book*

This weekend we took a road trip to Big Sur with o

This weekend we took a road trip to Big Sur with our new @50hikeswithkids book! We did two hikes from the book and really enjoyed the scavenger hunt and extra information that the book brought to our hikes.
We learned about tan oaks and how they were used for curing leather and we learned about a creation legend from the local indigenous people.
This book features 50 hikes located all around California, all the them are under 5 miles and doable with kids in tow. The book gives you all the info you need for a successful hike, where to park, points of interest, and where to grab a snack afterward. I would still probably google the hike just to verify the details before you head out.
We have gone all over California and hiked a lot and we have only hiked three trails in the whole book, well five now. On our way to completing all 50!
This is a series of books, they have them for multiple states and are adding more all the time. @50hikeswithkids books will be one of my first stops when researching a new state and places to hike!
Would you use a book like this when you travel or just to help you get outside easier with your kids?
(Full disclosure we were sent this book to review.)

Hike to Maple Falls! 📌Save this post for all th

Hike to Maple Falls!
📌Save this post for all the details
Where: The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Aptos, Ca.
Fee: $8 entrance fee or a state parks pass
Parking: Drive as far down Aptos Creek Fire Road as you can and park near the Porter Family Picnic Area.
Bathroom situation: There is one very rustic pit toilet in the parking area
Trail Details: Walk along the Fire Road for a bit, watch for the trail sign on the left and take the Bridge Creek Trail all the way to Maple Falls. The trail is just over 6.5 miles long and has 778’ in elevation gain.
The trail is shaded most of the way and the last half mile is hiking up the creek, climbing over rocks and downed trees. Which is why we love this trial! But it is definitely not ADA compliant.
Dogs: are not allowed on this trail. On leash, they are allowed in other parts of the park.
Remember: This trail crosses water so, it can get hot so make sure you bring water and make sure to leave no trace!
This is such a fun trail! Make sure to tag me if you check it out!

Story time: This campsite wasn’t our planned des

Story time: This campsite wasn’t our planned destination, we had a trip to South Lake Tahoe planned but it was busy being surrounded by fire, so we changed our plans. Because we changed our plans so close to our trip there really weren’t any camping reservations available where we wanted to go. No worries we thought we’ll just go back to the great, first come first serve spot we went to last time! So we packed up our trailer and drove four hours up highway one (a super pretty, very curvy road right on the coast) just as we were backing into a spot the camp host runs out and tells us, “before you get all set up, I just wanted to let you know, we close for the season tomorrow.” 😱 well that was news to us. We had a whole week to camp and didn’t want to set up and tear down every morning. So we kept heading up the coast. I knew of a few campgrounds in the area because I like to research places and stock pile camping options. We checked them out but nothing felt right. A couple people recommended a campground on the bluffs north of Fort Bragg so we kept driving, and driving and driving. The sun was dipping low as we pulled into the campground (the 6th one we had pulled into that day 🤦🏼‍♀️) I made sure there was beach access ✔️, and that the campground wasn’t going to close ✔️. We found a spot with this amazing view an raced to set up and make dinner before it got too dark. As we were making dinner the sky put on the most amazing show and we were so glad we drove all day down a curvy road to find this magical place.
Would you drive 7 hours on a two lane curvy road to get here?

📌Save the post for Campground details: Westpor

📌Save the post for
Campground details:
Westport-Union Landing State Beach
It’s located about 20 minutes north of Fort Bragg right off of highway 1.
There are three campgrounds and 86 campsites to choose from all of them are first come first serve. There are pit toilets and potable water available. Also, a slow electric vehicle charger at the first campground. The campsites are fairly close to the road but the ocean drowns out most of the noise. The sites are right out on the bluffs so it has the potential to get windy. There is a beautiful black sand beach to play on and the sunsets can’t be beat! It’s $35/night and would make an excellent pit stop on a road trip up highway 1. We stayed for 4 nights and it was so magical. There’s nothing like unzipping your tent window and seeing the ocean!
Would you stay here?

Load More... Follow on Instagram

Categories

Menu

Follow Us

© All rights reserved The Meyer Life 2018.