Table of Contents
1 Experience California 8
25 Ultimate Experiences 10
California Today 20
What's Where 22
What to Eat and Drink in California 26
10 Best Wineries in Napa and Sonoma 28
10 Best Beaches in San Diego 30
10 Best Photo Ops in San Francisco 32
10 Best Celebrity Hangouts in Los Angeles 34
What to Watch and Read Before Your Trip 36
2 Travel Smart 37
Know Before You Go 38
Getting Here and Around 40
Essentials 42
Contacts 46
3 California's Best Road Trips 47
SoCal for Kids and the Young at Heart, 7 Days 48
Hooray for Hollywood, 4 Days 50
Palm Springs and the Desert, 5 Days 50
Southern PCH: Sand, Surf, and Sun, 4 Days 52
Santa Barbara Wine Country, 2 Days 54
Santa Barbara to Big Sur, 3 Days 56
Monterey Bay to San Francisco, 4 Days 57
San Francisco's Greatest Hits, 3 Days 59
Sierra Riches: Yosemite, Gold Country, and Tahoe, 7 Days 60
Ultimate Napa and Sonoma Wine Trip, 4 Days 62
Best of the Northern Coast, 5 Days 64
4 San Diego 67
Welcome to San Diego 68
Planning 71
Downtown 78
Balboa Park, Bankers Hill, and San Diego Zoo 89
Old Town and Uptown 98
Mission Bay and the Beaches 101
La Jolla 107
Point Loma 113
Shelter Island 116
Harbor Island 117
Coronado 117
5 Disneyland and Orange County 121
Welcome to Disneyland and Orange County 122
Planning 124
Disneyland Resort 126
Knott's Berry Farm 137
Huntington Beach 140
Newport Beach 144
Corona del Mar 148
Laguna Beach 150
San Juan Capistrano 154
Catalina Island 157
6 Los Angeles 165
Welcome to Los Angeles 166
Planning 168
Santa Monica and Venice 172
Beverly Hills 182
West Hollywood and Fairfax 185
Hollywood and the Studios 194
Mid-Wilshire and Koreatown 207
Downtown Los Angeles 211
Los Feliz, Silver Lake, and the Eastside 223
Pasadena 232
Malibu and the Beaches 234
7 Palm Springs 239
Welcome to Palm Springs 240
Planning 242
Palm Springs 245
Rancho Mirage 260
Palm Desert 262
Indian Wells 265
La Quinta 266
Indio 268
Borrego Springs 269
Salton Sea 272
Desert Hot Springs 273
Yucca Valley 273
8 Joshua Tree National Park 275
Welcome to Joshua Tree National Park 276
Planning 279
Park Boulevard 281
Keys View Road 283
Highway 62 283
Pinto Basin Road 285
Activities 286
What's Nearby 289
9 Mojave Desert 293
Welcome to Mojave Desert 294
Planning 296
Lancaster 298
Red Rock Canyon State Park 300
Ridgecrest 303
Randsburg 304
Victorville 304
Barstow 306
Mojave National Preserve 309
10 Death Valley National Park 311
Welcome to Death Valley National Park 312
Planning 315
Central Death Valley 317
Northern Death Valley 321
Southern Death Valley 322
Western Death Valley 322
Activities 323
What's Nearby 325
11 The Central Coast 327
Welcome to the Central Coast 328
Planning 331
Ventura 334
Channel Islands National Park 337
Ojai 341
Santa Barbara 343
Santa Ynez 359
Los Olivos 360
Solvang 361
Buellton 363
Pismo Beach 364
Avila Beach 367
San Luis Obispo 369
Paso Robles 373
Morro Bay 379
Cambria 382
San Simeon 384
Big Sur Coast 387
12 Monterey Bay Area 393
Welcome to Monterey Bay Area 394
Planning 396
Carmel-by-the-Sea 399
Carmel Valley 406
Pebble Beach 408
Pacific Grove 411
Monterey 414
Salinas 424
Pinnacles National Park 425
Moss Landing 426
Aptos 427
Capitola and Soquel 428
Santa Cruz 431
13 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 439
Welcome to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 440
Planning 443
Sequoia National Park 446
Kings Canyon National Park 455
What's Nearby 461
14 Yosemite National Park 467
Welcome to Yosemite National Park 468
Planning 471
Yosemite Valley 474
Wawona 480
Tuolumne Meadows 483
Hetch Hetchy 485
Activities 486
What's Nearby 493
15 Eastern Sierra 501
Welcome to Eastern Sierra 502
Planning 504
Lone Pine 506
Independence 508
Bishop 509
Mammoth Lakes 511
16 Sacramento and the Gold Country 521
Welcome to Sacramento and the Gold Country 522
Planning 525
Sacramento 526
Davis 535
Winters 536
Lodi 538
Nevada City 541
Grass Valley 544
Auburn 546
Coloma 548
Placerville 548
Plymouth 552
Amador City 554
Sutter Creek 556
Volcano 557
Jackson 557
Mokelumne Hill 558
Angels Camp 559
Murphys 560
Columbia 562
Jamestown 563
17 Lake Tahoe 565
Welcome to Lake Tahoe 566
Planning 569
South Lake Tahoe 572
Pope-Baldwin Recreation Area 578
Emerald Bay State Park 578
D.L. Bliss State Park 580
Ed Z'berg Sugar Pine Point State Park 580
Tahoma 581
Tahoe City 582
Olympic Valley 585
Truckee 587
Carnelian Bay to Kings Beach 591
Incline Village 593
Zephyr Cove 596
Stateline 597
Reno 599
18 San Francisco 601
Welcome to San Francisco 602
How to Eat Like a Local 604
Planning 606
Union Square 612
Chinatown 617
SoMa 618
Civic Center 624
The Tenderloin 626
Hayes Valley 627
Nob Hill 628
Russian Hill 635
Polk Gulch 636
Pacific Heights 636
Japantown 638
Western Addition 639
North Beach 643
Fisherman's Wharf 649
Embarcadero 651
Financial District 654
The Marina 656
Cow Hollow 657
Presidio 660
The Richmond 662
The Sunset 666
Golden Gate Park 666
The Haight 668
The Castro 669
Noe Valley 672
Mission District 673
Potrero Hill 678
19 The Bay Area 679
Welcome to the Bay Area 680
Planning 682
Berkeley 684
Oakland 694
The Marin Headlands 702
Sausalito 702
Tiburon 707
Mill Valley 709
Muir Beach 715
Stinson Beach 715
Point Reyes National Seashore 716
20 NAPA and Sonoma 721
Welcome to Napa and Sonoma 722
Planning 725
Napa 726
Yountville 738
Oakville 743
Rutherford 745
St. Helena 747
Calistoga 753
Sonoma 757
Glen Ellen 763
Kenwood 766
Petaluma 767
Healdsburg 768
Geyserville 773
Forestville 775
Guerneville 776
Sebastopol 777
Santa Rosa 779
21 The North Coast 781
Welcome to the North Coast 782
Planning 784
Bodega Bay 786
Jenner 787
Elk 789
Little River 791
Mendocino 792
Fort Bragg 794
Philo 797
Boonville 799
Hopland 801
Ukiah 803
Avenue of the Giants 804
Eureka 805
Trinidad 808
22 Redwood National and State Parks 809
Welcome to Redwood National and State Parks 810
Planning 813
South 815
Middle 817
North 820
Activities 823
What's Nearby 825
23 The Far North 829
Welcome to the Far North 830
Planning 832
Chico 834
Corning 836
Redding 836
Weaverville 839
Shasta Lake 840
Dunsmuir 841
Mt Shasta 842
Chester 844
Mineral 845
Burney 848
Tulelake 850
Index 851
About our Writers 864
Lions and Tigers and Bears 93
San Francisco's Cable Cars 631
Wine Tasting in Napa and Sonoma 728
Maps
Downtown, Balboa Park, Bankers Hill, and San Diego Zoo 84-85
Old Town and Uptown 100
Mission Bay and the Beaches, Point Loma, Shelter Island, and Harbor Island 102-103
La Jolla 108
Coronado 118
Disneyland 128
The Orange County Coast 141
Catalina Island 158
Santa Monica, Venice, and Brentwood 174-175
Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and Fairfax 186-187
Hollywood 196-197
Downtown 212-213
Palm Springs 246-247
Desert Resorts 263
Mojave Desert 301
Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties 335
Channel Islands National Park 338
Santa Barbara 346-347
San Luis Obispo County and Big Sur 367
Monterey Bay Area 400
Monterey 416-417
Western Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 448
Kings Canyon's Cedar Grove Area 458
Yosemite's Valley Floor 475
Sacramento 528
The Gold Country 542
Union Square and Chinatown 614
SoMa, Civic Center, the Tenderloin, and Hayes Valley 620-621
Nob Hill, Russian Hill, and Polk Gulch 629
Pacific Heights, Japantown, Western Addition, and The Tenderloin 640-641
North Beach, Fisherman's Wharf, Embarcadero, and Financial District 646-647
The Marina, Cow Hollow, and The Presidio 658
The Richmond, The Sunset, and Golden Gate Park 664-665
The Haight, the Castro, Noe Valley, and the Mission 670-671
Berkeley 686
Oakland 696
Marin County 704
Napa Valley 732-733
Sonoma County 758-759
The Sonoma and Mendocino Coasts 788
Redwood Country 806
Redwood NP Southern Areas 818
Redwood NP Northern Areas 822
Lassen Volcanic National Park 846
