| Why
Travel to California?
This is the wealthiest
and wackiest state in the country with three great tourist-friendly
cities.
California has a feast of geographically interesting features, a
beautiful coastline with plenty of surf, big trees, bigger mountains
and awesome deserts.
Add friendly people and an excellent climate and this has to be
the most fun place to play in the USA with loads of options and
few downsides.
Downside:
- Cars are vital to California travel
yet roads are crowded and signs often poor - information
on a small sign at the last minute [a recent bugexperience], necessitating
emergency swerving across 4 lanes of hi-speed traffic.
Drivers, however, are tolerant [the intolerant ones are dead].
- Fog is common along the north coast during the summer, spoiling
the views and making driving hazardous.
- Rip tides are much in evidence along the more surfy beaches so
swimming can be tricky though signs will usually warn you; lifeguards
watch the more popular beaches.
Recreational
Activities:
Hiking:Yosemite,
Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, Sierra Nevada Mountains;
Marin Headlands [Mt Tamalpais State Park, Muir Woods National Monument,
Point Reyes National Seashore]; Death Valley and Joshua Tree
National Parks, Mojave Desert.
Climbing: Joshua
Tree National Park, Mojave Desert; Yosemite [and nearby Mammoth],
Sequoia and King's Canyon National Parks and Lake Tahoe,
Sierra Nevada Mountains; Pinnacles National Monument, Castle Crags.
Mountain biking:
Mt Tamalpais State Park, Marin Headlands; Joshua
Tree National Park, Mojave Desert.
Skiing and snowboarding: Mammoth
Mountain, Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park,
Sierra Nevada Mountains; Mt Shasta, Cascade Range.
Surfing: Hungtington
Beach, Long Beach.
Skateboarding and inline skating:
San Francisco, let gravity do the work; Venice,
Los Angeles, to hang out and look cool, but watch out for local
restrictions.
Birdwatching: Sonny Bono Salton Sea
National Wildlife Refuge.
California
Pictures above:
Santa Monica night by Ramus Rasmussen
Yosemite Park by Julian Loader
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USA
Tours
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tour operators offering tours to the USA can be found in our listings
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Pictures | Joshua
Tree NP Pictures | SW
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USA
'The
only state in the union where you can fall asleep under a rose bush
in bloom and freeze to death.' W. C. Fields
When
to Travel to California:
Best:
Sept-Oct for the north coast,
anytime of the year for the mountains as a whole.
June-September for the south, except the deserts which are best
visited in the spring for coolness and flowery bloom.
Worst: June-August intense heat in
the deserts, Nov-March mountains, esp. north get chilly or impassable.
Where
to Go:
It's a big state with broad geographical possibilities,
so either pick the top spots and be prepared for fairly lengthy
and/or expensive travel in between, or stick to your favourite zone
and explore more thoroughly.
Coast Range - San
Francisco, Los Angeles,
San Diego, for beautiful green and
watery scenic vistas while hiking or biking, marine wildlife in
abundance, good surfing, more
info
Sacramento
and San Joaquin Valleys -
for the state capital Sacramento and
a rush of gold, more info
Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains
- for excellent hiking, mountainbiking,
lava flows, real big trees and skiing, more
info
Mojave and Sonoran Deserts -
a desert with a real hot spot and another even hotter desert for
hiking and biking, laying in the pool or playing golf, more
info
Main
Festivals and Parades:
1st
January, Tournament of Roses, Pasadena, Los Angeles,
an immense flowery spectacle and games.
May, Cinco de Mayo, City Hall, Los Angeles,
colourful stateside representation of Mexico's biggest celebration.
May, Chinese New Year, Chinatown, San Francisco,
mythical beasties and other oriental stuff.
October, Halloween Costume Parade, The Castro,
San Francisco, mad deathly costumes abound.
December, Christmas Parade, Hollywood, Los
Angeles, celebrities start the season off officially.
Coast/Central
Valley | Mountains/Deserts
| USA Map
| South West | California
Map | USA
Travel | SW
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