Take in some breathtaking beauty. As John Muir said, “Keep close to Nature's heart, break clear away once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” Here are four of our favorite Bay Area trails. Make sure to hydrate and bring your dog.

Listen to the podcast Extra Spicy: The Fight to Save Chinatown. SF Chronicle food critic Soleil Ho deciphers the happenings in the restaurant world with a mix of fascinating folks. In this episode, she lays out the drastic impact a full year of the pandemic has had on San Francisco’s Chinatown. 

Escape to the Livermore Valley Wine Country. A 40-minute drive leads to a luscious valley of vineyards and one of California’s oldest wine regions. Book an outdoor tasting and bring a gourmet picnic for a romantic rendezvous.

Go on a backstage tour at the Lesher Center. Join General Manager Scott Denison t find out what goes on behind the scenes at Walnut Creek's premier arts and entertainment facility. Select Saturdays each month. 

Schedule ‘me time.’ Even at home in hibernation mode, make time for a long luxurious soak with a CBD bath bomb.

Support the "Be at the Heart of Art" Scholarship Campaign. With a donation of any size, you can help the WC Community Arts Foundation continue to offer families financial aid for art classes. #artsforall 

Ring in the Year of the Ox with Oakland Museum of California. The Lunar New Year kicks off this week with a virtual celebration featuring Bay Area children's book author Oliver Chin, fun at-home art projects, and a series of short videos highlighting Taiwanese culture.

Celebrate the “Year of the Ox” with a feast. There’s no question San Francisco has some of the best dim sum in the Bay Area, drawing lines of people to this culinary tradition. A symbol of wealth and good fortune, ring in the Chinese New Year with shrimp dumplings and sui mai. 

Learn about Oakland’s quest for civil rights. In a revealing virtual exhibit, OMCA explores how the Black Power movement evolved and the Bay Area’s role in drawing national attention to the civil rights story. 

Learn how to grow weed in your garden. Join former Sunset Magazine garden editor, Johanna Silver, for a Ruth Bancroft Garden webinar on February 13 that brings cannabis out of the dark.

Take a virtual cooking class. Learn how to make Spanish tapas and Coq au Vin from the comfort of your kitchen with chefs from Berkeley's Kitchen on Fire. They do teen classes too.

Take the Cleaner Contra Costa Challenge. Join your neighbors in creating healthier communities by lowering your emissions, conserving resources, cutting energy costs, and decreasing the use of dirty fuels.

Devour Gott's latest delicious creation. The new crispy tofu sandwich will forever change how you feel about vegetarian food. Golden-fried and topped with crazy good slaw, eat it on the covered outdoor patio or take it to-go. 

Explore beautiful wildlands and hidden open spaces with Save Mt. Diablo. Some of the East Bay’s best hiking trails are right here in our backyard. Trailblazers of all ages and skill levels are invited to ‘Discover Diablo’ on hikes and walks with experts who share the history of this magnificent region.

Listen to NPR’s “How I Built This” podcast. Find out how the founders of Seventh Generation products turned a scrappy mail order catalog into a green household hit. 

Talk with the animals. The Oakland Zoo has reopened for daytime visits and the return of its nighttime lantern light festival "Glowfari." Online reservations required. 

Stream Spike Lee's American Skin. With his new movie, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker once again taps into the rawest emotions and realities of Black life in a fictionalized take on race relations and police brutality.  

Meet the man behind Honey Bear. Join the Commonwealth Club on February 25 for a lively lunchtime discussion with fnnch, the elusive artist behind the vibrant bears all over San Francisco.

Treat your sweetheart to lunch. Outdoor dining is back, so make a reservation and grab a spot for a romantic meal on one of Walnut Creek’s heated restaurant patios. 

Enjoy the blooming of more than 100 magnolia trees. Towering above the San Francisco Botanical Garden, these rare and historic trees erupt in pink and white blossoms during winter.  

Elevate your spirits and celebrate Black History Month. Join the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir on February 20 in a musical revue hosted by Terrance Kelly and special guests.

Read about the gals passing down soul food secrets. With nearly 50,000 members, Eater goes inside the Facebook group Black Girls Cook& Meal Plan who are preserving soul food traditions in healthier recipes for a new generation of home cooks.

Fill your garden with cool-season flowers and lettuces. Plant calendulas, Iceland poppies, pansies, spinach, and Swiss chard. And don’t forget to feed your roses.

Work up a sweat. Whether it's cycling, yoga, dance, or lunging, local studios are streaming live workouts online. But if you really want to get a heart-pumping hit, climb stairs outside.