Days on campus have started to blend together in an unsettling way. A break from midterms is imminent. It must be time to get out of town, even for just a day trip.

The real reason you enrolled at Sacramento State is becoming obvious. Sacramento is close to anything and everything you could want to do with your spare time.

Day trips out of town are what make this city a great place to live. We are close to hiking, skiing, camping, lakesides, beaches and the allure of metropolitan San Francisco.

What follows is a quick guide to some great spots in Northern California that can help you restore your sanity. Whether you need some peace and quiet out in nature or revel in high culture and the nightlife, this guide can help you make it happen.

Getting Back to Nature

After a few weeks in the smog and cement, getting back to a simpler life with the trees, rocks and fresh air is intoxicating. Fishing, swimming and bouldering barely scratch the surface of activities in the Sierra Nevada.

The Desolation and Tahoe Wilderness Areas are amazing natural landscapes carved over millions of years by glaciers and volcanic forces. There are day hikes for people of any skill or fitness level, and trailheads along U.S. 50 and 80, as well as several along the shores of Lake Tahoe.

Traveling towards Tahoe, you will find that stopping at a U.S. Forest Service office in either the town of Camino — on 50 — or in Big Bend — on 80 — can make your trip safer and more enjoyable. The rangers have maps, great advice about good day hikes, avoiding giardia and dealing with injuries; and on occasion will be able to tell you where you might meet other groups.

The forest service in California has great information on the Internet to get you started. Tahoe and El Dorado National Forest maps and information are easily accessed at www.r5.fs.fed.us/maps or you can use your favorite search engine. The staffs at Peak Adventures or REI are also good resources.

Good beginners starting spots are near the Icehouse and Union Valley Reservoirs, which are about 30 minutes past Placerville. The trailhead outside the Big Bend Ranger Station up to the Loch Laven Lakes is an easy couple of miles that end at a secluded place for a swim. Due to a very recent snowmelt, hikers might do best to wait until May to do any actual swimming. It’s so cold that guys will climb out with ovaries instead of the more familiar equipment.

Skiing and Tahoe

The most exhilarating day trip near and dear to Sacramento is hitting the slopes, either skiing or boarding. The fresh air, views of Tahoe and the springtime California corn snow are worth the $40 to $60 a day of skiing will set you back.

Spring skiing is a great workout and on the right sunny day, you can get started on your summer tan, too. Don’t forget that sunlight reflects up off the snow, as well as hitting you from above.

Sunscreen will keep you from impersonating a boiled lobster.

Squaw Valley, Heavenly, Sugar Bowl and Boreal are all popular ski resorts. But with crowds and long lift lines, it’s best to check out a smaller resort.

You can avoid traffic on the way to Kirkwood up Highway 88. Highway 16 will take you from Folsom Blvd. through Jackson and onto 88. In snowy conditions, this road doesn’t get plowed as often as U.S. 50, so check the weather.

Homewood has the best views of Lake Tahoe. It is just south of Squaw Valley and Tahoe City. Drive the extra 15 minutes and you will be rewarded with slopes that seem to plunge into the lake.

Mt. Rose is another secret spot that will quench your desire for powder and tree runs. Drive all the way to Reno and then south on Highway 395. It will take you to 431 and up to the resort. Or you can go through Truckee and past Northstar (another place to beat the crowds) to the lake road headed east.

These resorts all will offer some great turns down the mountain. Checking the Web for discounts can pay off. Students can find great deals, especially late in the season.

Art in The City

San Francisco is without an equal when it comes to beautiful cities. Gorgeous Victorian architecture, parks and the bay make the view from almost everywhere simply stunning. The clubs, restaurants, boutiques and great museums and galleries are of high culture on a European scale.

Sparing no expense for a night on the town here can require a second mortgage, or if you’re a student, the sale of a vital organ. But do not fret, as an experience in The City can be had for less than you might imagine.

Instead of going to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art or the Palace of Legion of Honor and paying $6 or $10 to get in, check out the free galleries on Geary Post and Sutter Streets near Market Street. Admission is free and the art is apt to be fresher and more interesting than what you could ever find in a museum.

Gallery Paule Anglim (14 Geary Street), George Krevsky Gallery (77 Geary Street), the Haines Gallery (49 Geary Street) and the John Pence Gallery (750 Post Street) are good places as well. Keep in mind that the area is littered with galleries. 49 and 77 Geary have five or six floors, each with its own gallery.

This cluster of galleries is downtown and close to Union Square (a great place for shopping). Streets will be crowded and parking is either scarce or expensive, so BART is a great alternative. The Powell and Montgomery Street stations are a short stroll away, and you can catch BART in Richmond, Berkley or Walnut Creek. There is free parking near all these stations, easily accessible from I-80.

Other San Francisco Diversions

After a morning of galleries, you can window-shop around Union Square or hop a cable car. If shopping is your idea of a great afternoon, jump on the California Street line in the direction of the Filmore District.

These street-side shops are a few blocks west from the end of the line. You will find furniture, clothes, decor and restaurants, and in the process, be rubbing elbows with the neighborhood residents. Danielle Steele, Robin Williams and Don Johnson all live in the neighborhood.

Standing on the outside rail of the Powell & Hyde line from Union Square over the bay is a great way to check out ritzy Nob Hill on your way to Fisherman’s Wharf and the Chrissy Field. Buy some French bread and fresh-caught crab for an easy gourmet lunch.

Driving out to the beach and absorbing the sun and surf is a peaceful way to recharge your addled brain, if you brought your car into town.

“Bring a picnic lunch and relax,” freshman Allison Barnhardt suggests. “It’s so much fun and it’s cheap.”

Get a map and pick a side street headed west to the Cliff House. The neighborhoods on your way to the ocean are filled with the best examples of Victorian architecture in the world. Driving through Golden Gate Park is another good route.

Attempting to find secluded Baker Beach — also called China Beach – will bring you past some of the most expensive private homes in the world and close to Lincoln Park. The views of the Golden Gate Bridge will make you think you are in your own movie.

Pacifica also has a secluded strand, about 30 minutes south on Highway 1. A drive across the Golden Gate and 30 minutes north on US 1 drops you in Stinson Beach. This sleepy, little weatherworn burg can make you forget the massive city to the south.

End of the Day

If you made it through your day either in the mountains or on the Coast, the time has come to enjoy the nightlife. Tahoe offers casinos on the South Shore and near Incline Village. The low-key watering holes in Tahoe City and Truckee might also be your style; check out a pizza joint or enjoy turn-of-the-century elegance at the Bar of America, in Downtown Truckee.

In San Francisco, the club scene is more diverse than you can imagine. There are dance clubs, like Sound Factory at 1015 Folsom, south of Market. The legendary concert halls, like Filmore West, the Warfield and the Great American Music Hall, are all near Market Street.

“Catching punk bands at Slim’s is the main reason I go to San Francisco,” freshman Nick Rabon says. “They have the best venue anywhere.”

Great bars and late-night eats abound on Union Street in Pacific Heights. North Beach has great Italian restaurants and low-key bars, and you can check out Yoshi’s for jazz. The Mission District is an up-and-coming club scene with lots of young people. The Beauty Bar, The Albion and Jack’s Elixir push a fun and conversational scene.

Here’s a toast to hoping you’ll have fun, unwind and that you can do both before that next set of midterms.

Click here to send private feedback about this article to the State Hornet’s Features staff.