Experience the West

The West is best experienced in person. We invite you to use the resources below as a guide to activities and events in the San Francisco Bay Area, California and the American West.

The local West: Around the San Francisco Bay Area

• Walking the Farm
  Author Tom DeMund has written a book that includes eighteen guided hikes of the Stanford campus and the surrounding area. Walking the Farm is a great way to explore local history.
• Stanford Outdoor Education
  SOE provides students with the opportunity to explore the outdoors with group trips, get training in wilderness first aid and related skills, and lead outdoor trips across California. 
• Field Learning with the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
  The Doerr School offers field learning on all seven continents and oceans, but some of this work is concentrated on the west coast. Any Stanford student may join a variety of programs, from two-day coastal geology field courses to Sophomore College field studies. Doerr also offers a quarter-long field course in social and biophysical systems in Hawaii. 
• Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
  This greenbelt system offers myriad options for hikes across the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit their website for information about the District, trail maps, and further information for exploring the preserves. 
• Stanford to the Sea
  Each spring, the Center hosts its annual Stanford to the Sea hike. The 22-mile trek begins at the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve and winds through various San Mateo County parks before ending at San Gregorio State Beach. Each year, experts in water, land use, and local history join us to provide short information presentations along the way. Stanford to the Sea is open to friends of the Lane Center by invitation only.

Beyond the Bay

• U.S. National Scenic and Historic Trails
  The National Park Service maintains an impressive network of trails across the nation. David Kennedy, director emeritus of the Bill Lane Center, currently sits on the advisory council of one of these trails, the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail. The PNT is in the process of being further developed and formalized, and Prof. Kennedy and the council are working to create a vision for the trail that includes the involvement of multiple stakeholders, from hikers to rural communities across the trail.

Other Centers of the West

Our colleagues at universities elsewhere in the West and beyond are working on their own courses, programs, and research about the region. See below for a list of other university centers organized around themes and issues of the American West.