SUPERTRAINS To Nature

Once nice thing about Yurp is that civilization and nature are often a bit more integrated, which means that one can do things like take public transit to small towns and then go hiking from place to place without worrying about getting stranded or having to somehow find your way back to the car. This is a nice idea.

In a region famous for nurturing nature and high technology, Bay Area conservation and transit groups have unveiled the first interactive Web site for planning how to take public transit to trails, parks, beaches and campgrounds.

Now available for public use, the site acts as trip planner to reach the 1.2 million acres of parks and protected space in the Bay Area without an auto.

Anyone can use the free site — accessible at www.openspacecouncil.org — to get routes, fares and schedules to take the bus and trains to trails leading to Mount Diablo near Walnut Creek, Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, Ocean Beach in San Francisco, and other popular outdoor spots.