Happy 80th birthday to the Golden Gate Bridge. On this day in 1937, this iconic bridge first opened. With towers extending 700 feet into the sky and over 100 feet beneath the San Francisco Bay, the bridge is an engineering marvel. In addition to driving, you can walk or bike the entire length of its 1.2-mile expanse, bounded on either side by spectacular scenery. Photo from Golden Gate National Recreation Area courtesy of Bruce Getty.

Less than 100 miles north of California’s Bay Area, Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument sweeps down from the Snow Mountain Wilderness to the cool blue waters of Lake Berryessa. Established in July of last year, this secluded, hilly expanse of oak woodlands, grasslands and flowery meadows is a gorgeous and peaceful place for all kinds of outdoor recreation. Photo by Jim Eaton, @mypubliclands.

Here’s a beautiful night shot of the Golden Gate Bridge in California. Duane Jurma took this photo from Marshall Beach in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Last year, Golden Gate was the most visited national park location with more than 15 million visits. Visitation at America’s national parks broke all-time records in 2014 – topping 292.8 million visits to national parks.

Photo courtesy of Duane Jurma.

The Golden Gate Bridge opened to vehicles on this date in 1937. Here is an amazing photo of of the bridge taken from the Golden Gate National Recreation Area by Dave Gordon.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area chronicles two hundred years of history, from the Native American culture, the Spanish Empire frontier and the Mexican Republic, to maritime history, the California Gold Rush, the evolution of American coastal fortifications, and the growth of urban San Francisco. Plus it has killer views like this one.

Photo: David Roof (www.sharetheexperience.org)

Happy first day of spring everyone! We can’t think of a better way to celebrate than this cute photo from the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Complex in California.

Photo: USFWS