Maritime National Historical Park
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Five historic ships are floating museums at this maritime national park, Fisherman's Wharf’s most authentic attraction. Moored along Hyde St Pier, the…
Must-see attractions in Northern California
Yosemite Conservation Heritage Center
Yosemite National Park
Built by the Sierra Club in 1903, this small, rustic, granite-and-wood lodge offers a glimpse of a relatively unknown chapter of California architecture…
Berkeley
Officially called Sather Tower, the Campanile was modeled on St Mark’s Basilica in Venice. The 307ft spire offers fine views of the Bay Area, and at the…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Welcome to paradise in a parking lot. When the local Pepsi bottling plant closed in the 1970s, neighbors wouldn't let urban blight take over the block –…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
A project of the Exploratorium, the Wave Organ is a sound sculpture of PVC tubes and concrete pipes capped with found marble from San Francisco's old…
Santa Cruz
Great for sunsets, this sandy beach fronted by a natural sandstone bridge is a family favorite and tops for wildlife viewing. Scan the bay for whales,…
Sequoia National Park
Discovered in 1918 by two parks' employees who were going fishing, this unique cave was carved by an underground river and has marble formations estimated…
San Jose
Opposite Plaza de Cesar Chavez, San Jose's excellent technology museum examines subjects from robotics to space exploration, and genetics to virtual…
Oakland
Franklin D Roosevelt’s ‘floating White House,’ the 165ft USS Potomac, is moored at Clay and Water Sts by the ferry dock, and is open for dockside tours…
San Francisco
Populist millionaire Adolph Sutro imagined the Cliff House as a working man's paradise in 1863, but Sutro's dream has been rebuilt three times. The latest…
San Jose
West of downtown, this educational Egyptian museum is one of San Jose’s more unusual attractions. Its extensive collection includes statues, household…
North Coast & Redwoods
Coastal bluffs jut out to sea at this 640-acre state park, where sandy beaches abut rocky headlands. Easy access to dramatic coastline makes this is a…
Yosemite National Park
Chilnualna Creek tumbles around 2200ft over the north shoulder of forested Wawona Dome in an almost continuous series of cascades. The largest and most…
Sequoia National Park
Said to have been described by John Muir as the ‘gem of the Sierra,’ this lush meadow is buffered by a forest of firs and giant sequoias. High grass and…
Lake Tahoe
Good for hikes in summer and skiing and snowshoeing in winter; there's also a sledding hill.
Big Sur
Named after the farmer who first planted artichokes in California, this oft-overlooked park is a trail-laced pastiche of grassy meadows, ocean bluffs and…
Tolowa Dunes State Park & Lake Earl Wildlife Area
North Coast & Redwoods
Two miles north of Crescent City, this state park and wildlife area encompasses 10,000 acres of wetlands, dunes, meadows and two lakes, Lake Earl and Lake…
Big Sur
The tortuously winding 40-mile stretch of Hwy 1 south of Lucia to Hearst Castle is sparsely populated, rugged and remote, mostly running through national…
Old St Mary's Cathedral & Square
North Beach & Chinatown
California's first cathedral was started in 1853 by an Irish entrepreneur determined to give wayward San Francisco some religion – despite the cathedral's…
North Beach & Chinatown
What's that – your hometown doesn’t have a street named after an African American Catholic-Jewish-voodoo anarchist street poet? Revered in France as the…
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley
'Cal' is one of the country's top universities, California's oldest university (1866), and home to 40,000 diverse, politically conscious students. Next to…
Redding & Around
On Hwy 299, 6 miles west of Redding, this state historic park preserves the ruins of an 1850s Gold Rush mining town called Shasta – not to be confused…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Founded on a grant from Bay Area cartoon legend Charles M Schultz of Peanuts fame, this bold museum isn't afraid of the dark, political or racy – cases in…
San Francisco
Grassy dunes up to 200ft high at Fort Funston give an idea of what the Sunset District looked like until the 20th century. A defunct military installation…
Lake Tahoe
DL Bliss State Park has the western shore's nicest beaches at Lester Beach and Calawee Cove. A short nature trail leads to the Balancing Rock, a giant…
Kings Canyon National Park
More than 15,000 sequoias cluster in Redwood Canyon, making it one of the world’s largest groves of these giant trees. In an almost-forgotten corner of…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Radical ideals in the form of distinctive buildings make beloved SF landmarks; this standout 1894 example is the collaborative effort of 19th-century Bay…
UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley
Berkeley
With 34 acres and more than 10,000 types of plants, this garden in the hills above campus has one of the most varied collections in the USA. Flora from…
North Beach & Chinatown
Wild parrots, tai chi masters, and nonagenarian churchgoing nonnas (grandmothers) are the local company you'll keep on this lively patch of lawn. This was…
Oakland
The area where writer and adventurer Jack London once raised hell now bears his name. The pretty waterfront location is worth a stroll, especially when…
Sequoia National Park
For a primer on the intriguing ecology and history of giant sequoias, this pint-sized modern museum will entertain both kids and adults. Hands-on exhibits…
North Beach & Chinatown
Dragons bring this shadowy brick byway roaring to life. The narrow entryway is illuminated with 'Dragon Boats Chasing Moonlight,' a new mosaic mural…
McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park
Mt Shasta Region
Fed by a spring, the splashing 129ft-tall waterfalls flow at the same temperature, 42°F (6°C), year-round. Rangers are quick to point out that it might…
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
The 20ft-high Chicago Stump is all that’s left of the once-mighty, 3200-year-old General Noble tree. The 285ft giant was cut into sections and transported…
Yosemite National Park
Few know about it, but original Ansel Adams photographic prints are shown at Yosemite Valley's Ansel Adams Gallery. A number of walks and classes are also…
Kings Canyon National Park
Six miles east of Cedar Grove Village is the end of the road for cars. A seasonal ranger station issues wilderness permits, sells maps and hiking guides,…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
An 1890s military barracks in the Presidio houses 10 galleries that chronologically tell the exhaustively long story of Walt Disney's life. Opened in 2009…
Kings Canyon National Park
A five-minute walk on a paved trail (0.3 miles) leads to one of the park’s most accessible waterfalls, a 40ft chute gushing into a granite bowl. In late…
Kings Canyon National Park
About 3 miles northeast of the park’s Big Stump Entrance, Grant Grove Village is the park’s main tourist hub year-round, with lodge and cabin…
Yosemite National Park
The Yosemite Museum has Miwok and Paiute artifacts, including woven baskets, beaded buckskin dresses and dance capes made from feathers. Native American…
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