Located just below the California-Oregon border, Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park features fairytale rainforest trails through towering redwood groves and winding creeks. It’s also home to the Smith River, California’s longest river.
Once home to the world's most winding railway and hiking trails, Mount Tamalpais, north of San Francisco, now tempts visitors with sweeping views of the region. It also hosts the annual outdoor Mountain Play in May and June, performed in a 1930s stone amphitheater.
There are more than a dozen impressive waterfalls throughout Yosemite National Park. The best time to visit is in the spring, when snowmelt and rains create a spectacular sight. Yosemite Falls, at 2,425 feet, is one of the tallest waterfalls in the world and one of the only places to see a “moonbow” – a rainbow that appears on a clear spring night under a full moon.
Point Lobos is the ultimate nature reserve, where you can snorkel with sea otters and gray whales in the morning, visit a historic Chinese fisherman's boat cabin in the afternoon, and then sunbathe with seals beside a cobalt-blue cove.
Sonoma State Park protects aquatic ecosystems, coastal meadows, dense forests of Douglas firs, oaks, and heaths. The park is home to coastal salt mines once harvested by the Kashaya Pomo Native Americans. Come here to explore the tafoni rock formations of South Girstle Cove, and tide pools teeming with red abalone, sea urchins, crabs, and starfish.
The green jewel of the Sierra National Forest, Bass Lake, is located 30 minutes from the south entrance of Yosemite. The lake averages 75°F during the summer, making it perfect for water sports, including jet skiing and boating. Angel Falls, located north of the park, is also a beautiful spot for a dip.
Redwood trees in Portola Redwoods State Park
Yuba River in Northern California
Bidwell Park
Samuel P. Taylor Park
Martin Beach in Half Moon Bay, South San Mateo County
Death Valley in Mosaic Canyon
Bordering Gold Rush towns and the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains, Carpenter Valley is preserved and protected by the Truckee Donner Land Trust. You can take five-mile hikes through wetlands and silt banks and experience forest habitats that are home to black bears, mountain lions, bobcats, and coyotes.
A small part of the Klamath Mountains, the Trinity Alps Wilderness is the second-largest wilderness area in California, with peaks reaching 9,000 feet. Horseback riding trails here are centuries old and were once trodden by miners. Visitors often wind through wildflower meadows, craggy peaks, and willow-lined creeks.
Butano State Park
Pinnacles National Park
On the eastern edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains is Uvas Canyon County Park, a mile-long loop of waterfalls through rocks and moss. Uvas Canyon is the native habitat of the yerba santa shrub, long cultivated by California Native tribes for medicinal purposes. Today, the plant is being studied as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.
Hendy Woods State Park, 2.5 hours north of San Francisco, is home to gray foxes, blooming spring flowers, and thousand-year-old redwoods. The Navarro River, which flows through the park, is a favorite for canoeists and swimmers.
Adjacent to Golden Gate Park, San Francisco Beach is a popular and challenging surfing spot for many.
Moss landing - home to thousands of pelicans, snow ducks and birds.
Nga Nguyen
- Source: National Geographic
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