California

1. San Francisco Bay Area

San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, ..

The magic of the San Francisco Bay Area has mesmerized families for generations. Old favorite attractions are the cable cars, Alcatraz, Golden Gate Park, and Chinatown. More than 200 parks and...

2. Greater Los Angeles (Disneyland)

Anaheim, Los Angeles, Hollywood, ..

Say it like a native—L.A.—and you’re already on the road (or freeway, as it were) unlocking the mystique of one of the most fascinating places on earth. For L.A. is many different...

3. San Diego County

San Diego, Carlsbad, La Jolla, ..

What does summer vacation mean to your family? How about one with plenty of outdoor recreation—boating, hiking, biking, picnicking, swimming, golfing, baseball, surfing, or sunbathing on miles...

4. Southern Central Coast

San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Paso Robles, ..

5. Northern Central Coast (Carmel, Monterey)

Monterey, Santa Cruz, Gilroy, ..

Tracing the coastline south from San Francisco to Big Sur, Highway 1 is one of the most spectacular and diverse scenic highways in the world. Sandy beaches, rocky promontories, coves and harbors,...

6. Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park, Mammoth Lakes, Mariposa, ..

Midway in the 400-mile wave of California’s great Sierra Nevada Range, Yosemite National Park is a jewel box of granite monoliths sparkling with some of the highest waterfalls on the continent....

7. Lake Tahoe

South Lake Tahoe, Truckee, Tahoe City, ..

A sapphire gem sparkling across the California and Nevada borders, Lake Tahoe lies above 6,000 feet in the icy embrace of the Sierra Nevada Range. In a dreamlike setting of snow-frosted peaks and...

8. Wine Country

Sonoma, Santa Rosa, Calistoga, ..

9. The Deserts

Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, ..

The California deserts conjure up different images for different people. To some they suggest glittering resort cities, brilliant skies, and the verdant greens of impressive Palm Springs golf...

10. Sacramento and the Gold Country

Sacramento, Folsom, Woodland, ..

The foothills of the California Gold Country stretch more than 300 miles along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevadas, all the way to the southern gate of Yosemite National Park. Fed by snowy...

11. The Central Valley

Fresno, Visalia, Clovis, ..

12. Shasta Cascades

Redding, Mount Shasta, Lassen Volcanic National Park, ..

Where the Sierra Nevada Range ends and the Cascade Range begins, two colossal glaciated volcanoes are visible for hundreds of miles. Dormant 14,162-foot Mount Shasta and still active 10,457-foot...

13. Redwood Country

Eureka, Orick, Weott, ..

The largest and oldest trees in the world live in a narrow band along the Northern California coastline and a few miles inland, with magnificent groves clustered in the “Redwood Empire”...

14. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park

Sequoia National Park, Kings Canyon National Pk, Lone Pine, ..

15. North Valley

Merced, Stockton, Modesto, ..

16. Death Valley National Park

Death Valley, Shoshone, Tecopa, ..

17. Mojave National Park

Kelso, Camino, Amboy, ..