Best Places to Travel in California
From the sun, surf, and cinematic history of Los Angeles to the colossal redwood forests along the North Coast, California is a dynamic state with a multitude of unique sights to experience. I’ll tell you about the best places to travel to in California.
Ecologically speaking the Golden State is one of the most varied states in the nation. California is home to four of the major ecosystems – forest, grassland, desert, and coastal areas. It’s one of the most diverse racially as well.
Keep scrolling and I’ll give you an overview of the best places to visit for each region and the natural wonders that you can observe. Plus you can click through for more information to help you plan your trip with a more detailed guide and travel articles about the region.
Southern California
Including Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego
0 – 305 ft / 0 – 93 m
Southern California: Year-Round Warm Weather, Beaches, and Hollywood History
Southern California undoubtedly invokes images of year-round warm weather, sandy beaches, jam-packed theme parks, and Hollywood blockbuster movies.
Los Angeles itself offers all of the above plus the Santa Monica Pier, world-class concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, countless museums, shopping at The Grove, the historic Venice canals, and so much more.
If theme parks are your thing, head south to Orange County, the home of Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm. A bit further south, there’s also Legoland in Carlsbad, California.
San Diego’s Balboa Park is home to multiple museums and the San Diego Zoo. Belmont Park is an amusement park on the beach complete with a 1925 wooden rollercoaster. Learn about the indigenous people in the San Diego area and what early European life was like at the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.
Read more about Los Angeles in these articles:
Central Coast
Including Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, and Santa Cruz
0 – 36 ft / 0 – 11 m
Central Coast Beach Cities and Redwood Forests
Heading up to the central California coast, you’ll find a quieter pace in cities like Santa Barbara, Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, Cambria, Big Sur, Carmel, Monterey, and Santa Cruz. Gorgeous Highway 1 / Highway 101 connects them all with spectacular ocean views and cliffs.
Don’t miss the redwood trees in the Santa Cruz mountains. If you don’t have a lot of time, these forests are easier to access than the ones seven hours north in Humboldt County.
San Francisco Bay Area
Including the San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland
0 – 26 ft / 0 – 8 m
San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland
Filled with parks, museums, coastal views, and impressive architecture, the San Francisco Bay Area is a much loved destination with people around the world. The iconic Golden Gate Bridge connects San Francisco to Marin County to the north. Oakland and Berkeley are accessed via the Bay Bridge to the east.
Sprawling Golden Gate Park is home to museums, botanic gardens, multi-use trails for hikers, cyclists, horseback riding. There’s sports, activities, free live music and so much more to explore. Popular historic neighborhoods include Chinatown, Haight-Ashbury, The Castro, and the Mission District.
Sierra Nevada Mountains
Eastern California mountain range including
Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park, and Sequoia National Park
~500 – 14,500 ft / ~152 – 4,400 m
Granite Mountains and Towering Sequoia Trees
A narrow mountain chain varying between 50 to 80 miles wide, the Sierra Nevada Mountain range stretches 400 miles north to south at the eastern edge of California near Nevada.
The southern end of the mountains are home to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. A massive sequoia tree, General Sherman stands at 275 feet / 84 meters tall and 36 feet / 11 meters in diameter in the park.
Heading north are the Sierra, Eldorado, Tahoe, and Plumas National Forests.
The clear blue water of Lake Tahoe is divided between California and Nevada near Reno, Nevada.
North Coast Redwoods
Including Avenue of the Giants, Arcata, Trinidad,
Redwood National & State Parks, and Crescent City
0 – 535 ft / 0 – 163 m
Known for: Redwood trees
Where the Redwoods Meet the Pacific:
Remote Redwood Forests on California’s North Coast
The highlight of California’s north coast is undoubtedly its abundant redwood forests. Remote Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte Counties are home to dozens of state parks and natural reserves housing the tallest trees in the world.
Larger cities on the north coast include county seat Eureka, the hippie and university town of Arcata, and coastal Fort Bragg and Crescent City.
Driving north from San Francisco, you’ll reach the Gateway to the Redwoods in Willits, California in about a 2-1/2 hour drive up Highway 101.
Just off Highway 101, you’ll find tourist attractions like the Chandelier Drive-Thru Tree in Leggett; Avenue of the Giants Alternate Route paralleling Highway 101 whisking you under giant redwood trees; elevated redwood tree walkways at The Trees of Mystery in Klamath; and the Redwood Sky Walk in Eureka.
The North State
California’s North including Mount Shasta, Burney Falls,
McCloud Falls, Castle Crags State Park, and Lassen Volcanic National Park
564 ft – 14,129 ft / 172 – 4,300 m
Known for: 14,000 foot mountain, forests, and waterfalls
Mountains, Lakes, and Waterfalls Await at the Top of California
Few people realize the beauty that awaits them at the top of California. There are two mountains in the area standing at over 14,000 and 10,000 feet respectively, and amongst them an array of waterfalls, lakes, forests, and small towns to explore.
Some favorites in the area include Mount Shasta (14,179 ft / 4,322 m), Mount Lassen (10,457 ft / 3,187 m) in the Lassen Volcanic National Park, McArthur-Burney Falls, Upper, Middle, and Lower McCloud Falls, and Castle Crags State Park.
California Articles
Below you can filter the articles based on city. For Los Angeles, you can specifically filter on the neighborhoods Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, and Santa Monica.
Mount Shasta is at the top of California, an 11-hour drive north of Los Angeles, that includes a 14,000 foot mountain, numerous waterfalls, and many forests to explore.
