Weekend Runs: Salinas Valley Hills

One of the best perks of living in the San Francisco Bay Area is proximity to endless hills (and valleys) to escape to on the weekends. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll happily run my Twin Peaks climb every week, but there’s something different in heading out of the city to a severely opened and exposed countryside.

This past weekend we decided to do just that. Loading up the Outback and heading from the city down to Monterey for the day meant we could stop off in Salinas for an open trail run. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Salinas it’s the largest city in Monterey county and is commonly referred to as “The Salad Bowl of the World“.

Despite having only slightly over 150,000 residents, Salinas is one of the leading agricultural centers in California providing an abundance of fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Next time you’re buying those fresh veggies take a closer look and chances are they’ve come from the Salinas Valley. Driving along the coast you’ll frequently see trucks selling a dozen lemons for a dollar or five avocados for the same price – truly a bargain.

All of this lush and open farmland made up of rolling hills provides the perfect scenery for those long weekend runs. Check out some vids and pics from the run (and lunch shortly after) below!