Must-see attractions in California

  • General Grant Grove

    Kings Canyon National Park

    This sequoia grove off Generals Hwy is astounding. The paved half-mile General Grant Tree Trail is an interpretive walk that visits a number of mature…

  • Watts Labor Community Action Committee

    Los Angeles

    Watts was around the epicenter of two sets of LA riots – first in 1965 and then in 1992 – when this vibrant community and cultural center was burned to…

  • Masonic Auditorium & Temple

    San Francisco

    Rock stars and conspiracy theorists alike are mysteriously drawn to the Masonic – a major concert venue and the Masons' main temple for California…

  • Tourists walk across a bridge on the Redwood Sky Walk in the Sequoia Park Zoo.

    Sequoia Park

    North Coast & Redwoods

    A 67-acre old-growth redwood grove is a surprising green gem in the middle of a residential neighborhood. It has biking and hiking trails, a children’s…

  • Castle Crags State Park

    Mt Shasta Region

    The stars of this glorious state park alongside Castle Crags Wilderness Area are its soaring spires of ancient granite formed some 225 million years ago,…

  • Inspiration Point

    Yosemite National Park

    Some of Yosemite's best vistas are granted to those who hike the steep, 1.3-mile trail up to this viewpoint. Inspiration Point used to be a spot along an…

  • Fort Mason Center

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    San Francisco takes subversive glee in turning military installations into venues for nature, fine dining and out-there experimental art. Evidence: Fort…

  • Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge

    North Coast & Redwoods

    This pristine wildlife refuge protects wetland habitats for more than 200 species of resident birds and their feathered friends migrating annually along…

  • Beat Museum

    North Beach & Chinatown

    The closest you can get to the complete Beat experience without breaking a law. The 1000-plus artifacts in this museum's literary-ephemera collection…

  • Sentinel Dome

    Yosemite National Park

    The hike to Sentinel’s summit (8122ft) is the shortest and easiest trail up one of Yosemite’s granite domes. For those unable to visit Half Dome’s summit,…

  • Integratron

    Joshua Tree National Park

    It may look just like a white-domed structure, but in reality it's an electrostatic generator for time travel and cell rejuvenation. Yup! At least that's…

  • General Sherman Tree

    Sequoia National Park

    By volume the largest living tree on earth, the massive General Sherman Tree rockets into the sky and waaay out of the camera frame. Pay your respects to…

  • Main Meadow

    Yosemite National Park

    Stretching nearly 3 miles from Pothole Dome in the west to Lembert Dome in the east, Tuolumne’s main meadow is beautiful to behold, especially at sunset,…

  • Leimert Park

    Los Angeles

    The soft lilt of a saxophone purrs from a storefront. Excited chatter streams from a coffee house. The savory aroma of barbecue wafts into the steamy…

  • Tenaya Lake

    Yosemite National Park

    Just east of Olmsted Point, the shiny blue surface of Tenaya Lake (8150ft) looks absolutely stunning framed by thick stands of pine and a series of smooth…

  • Chinese Culture Center

    North Beach & Chinatown

    You can see all the way to China from the Hilton's 3rd floor inside this cultural center, which hosts exhibits ranging from showcases of contemporary…

  • Zen Center

    The Haight & Hayes Valley

    With its sunny courtyard and generous cased windows, this uplifting 1922 building is an interfaith landmark. Since 1969, it's been home to the largest…

  • Randall Junior Museum

    San Francisco

    While adults are asleep downhill, eight-year-olds are making scientific discoveries atop Corona Heights Park. After Josephine Randall became a pioneering…

  • GLBT History Museum

    San Francisco

    America's first gay-history museum showcases a century of San Francisco LGBTQ+ ephemera – Harvey Milk's campaign literature, matchbooks from long-gone…

  • St John Coltrane Church

    The Haight & Hayes Valley

    When the bass thumbs out the opening notes to 'A Love Supreme,' you'll know the Sunday liturgy has begun at San Francisco's legendary Church of St John…

  • Schramsberg

    Napa Valley

    Napa’s second-oldest winery, Schramsberg makes some of California’s best brut sparkling wines, and in 1972 was the first domestic wine served at the White…

  • Lembert Dome

    Yosemite National Park

    Prominently marking the eastern end of the main meadow, Lembert Dome towers about 800ft above the Tuolumne River. Its summit, which chalks in at 9450ft…

  • Internet Archive

    San Francisco

    Follow trails of deleted White House tweets, lost Grateful Dead tapes and defunct Nintendo gamer magazines to this 1923 Greek Revival landmark. In a…

  • Jack Kerouac Alley

    North Beach & Chinatown

    'The air was soft, the stars so fine, the promise of every cobbled alley so great…' This ode by the On the Road and Dharma Bums author is embedded in his…

  • Mist Falls

    Kings Canyon National Park

    One of the most popular destinations for a day hike from the Cedar Grove area of Kings Canyon, Mist Falls is an Edenic spot, with massive boulders,…

  • Pride Mountain Vineyards

    Napa Valley

    High atop Spring Mountain, cult-favorite Pride straddles the Napa–Sonoma border and bottles vintages under both appellations. The well-structured Cabernet…

  • Ina Coolbrith Park

    San Francisco

    On San Francisco's literary scene, all roads eventually lead to Ina Coolbrith. She was California's first poet laureate, editor of Mark Twain, colleague…

  • Front St

    San Diego

    Old Town Front St’s turn-of-the-last-century storefronts and wooden sidewalks make for an attractive stroll – pick up the Historic Old Town Temecula…

  • Human Rights Campaign Action Center

    San Francisco

    Harvey Milk’s former camera storefront was featured in the Academy Award–winning movie Milk, and now it's home to the civil rights advocacy group…

  • Lands End

    San Francisco

    Looking out from Lands End feels like surveying the edge of the world. Nestled on the point of land between Golden Gate Park and the Presidio, the park's…

  • Zumwalt Meadow

    Kings Canyon National Park

    This verdant meadow, bordered by the Kings River and soaring granite walls, offers phenomenal views. In the early morning, the air hums with birdsong, the…

  • Filbert Street Steps

    North Beach & Chinatown

    Halfway through the steep climb up the Filbert St Steps to Coit Tower, you might wonder if it’s all worth the trouble. Take a breather and notice the…

  • Tactile Dome

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    Slide, climb and feel your way – in total darkness – through the labyrinth of the Tactile Dome at the Exploratorium, the city's standout science museum…

  • Southern Exposure

    The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill

    Art really ties the room together at nonprofit arts center Southern Exposure, where works are carefully crafted not just with paint and canvas, but a…

  • Long Meadow Ranch

    Napa Valley

    Long Meadow stands out for olive-oil tastings ($10), plus good estate-grown cabernet, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and pinot noir, served inside an 1874…

  • National AIDS Memorial Grove

    San Francisco

    This peaceful, 10-acre living memorial ringed by redwoods and graced with poetic paving-stone tributes was founded in 1991 to commemorate millions of…

  • Cade

    Napa Valley

    Ascend Mt Veeder for drop-dead vistas, 1800ft above the valley, at Napa’s oh-so-swank, first-ever organically farmed, Leadership in Energy and…

  • LA Louver

    Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey

    The best art gallery in Venice, and arguably the best in LA, LA Louver was established by Peter Gouls in 1975, and since 1994 has been housed in a…

  • Lava Beds National Monument

    Mt Shasta Region

    Perched on a shield volcano, Lava Beds National Monument is a truly remarkable 47,000-acre landscape of geological features – lava flows, craters, cinder…

  • Hosfelt Gallery

    The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill

    Trancelike states are often induced by Hosfelt, where visitors step from gritty sidewalks into dreamy, finely detailed interior worlds. Close inspection…

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