Golden State – Worth it Places

California

“May God thy gold refine”

(Pictures and places in bold are places I have been to.)

Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park — Yosemite National Park

1. Yosemite National Park (a World Heritage Site; El Capitan – America the Beautiful quarter image)

- - - Yosemite Valley – Yosemite Museum and Indian Village
    - Yosemite Falls
    - Half Dome
    - El Capitan
    - Tunnel View
    - Glacier Point
    - Mariposa Grove
    - Bridalveil Fall
    - Tuolumne Meadows
    - Tioga Road/Big Oak Flat Road National Scenic Byway

Zumwalt Meadow Trail, Kings Canyon National Park

2-3. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

- - Giant Forest – General Sherman Tree Trail, Big Trees Trail, Congress Trail, Beetle Rock, Generals Highway, and Giant Forest Museum
  - Kings Canyon Scenic Byway
  - Grant Grove and General Grant Tree Trail
  - Moro Rock
  - Zumwalt Meadow Trail
  - Hospital Rock

4. San Francisco

- - Golden Gate Bridge
  - Fisherman’s Wharf
  - Pier 39 Sea Lions
  - San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
  - Golden Gate National Recreation Area
  - Presidio
  - Fort Baker
  - Fort Mason
  - Alcatraz Island
  - Fort Point National Historic Site
  - Ferry Building
  - Cable Cars
  - Painted Ladies Houses
  - Chinatown
  - Ghirardelli Square
  - Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill
  - Transamerica Pyramid

5. North Bay

- - Point Reyes National Seashore
  - Muir Woods National Monument
  - Angel Island State Park
  - Frank Lloyd Wright’s Marin County Civic Center (part of the Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings listing on World Heritage Tentative List)
  - Jack London State Historic Park (nearby)
  - Napa Valley (nearby)

6. East Bay

- - Rosie The Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park
  - John Muir National Historic Site
  - Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site
  - Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial
  - University of California, Berkeley

7. Los Angeles (including Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House – part of the Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings World Heritage Site)

1. - Hollywood Sign
  - Hollywood Walk Of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard
  - Chinese Theatre
  - El Capitan Theatre
  - Egyptian Theatre
  - Dolby Theatre
  - Sunset Boulevard
  - Capitol Records Building
  - Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
  - Hollywood Forever Cemetery
  - Hollywood Bowl
  - Malibu (separate from L.A.)
  - Will Rogers State Beach
  - Will Rogers State Historic Park
  - Pacific Coast Highway
  - Santa Monica Pier (the western terminus of old Route 66; see California’s portion of Route 66)
  - Venice Beach and Boardwalk
  - Venice Muscle Beach
  - Venice Canals
  - Santa Monica Stairs
  - Manhattan Beach Pier
  - Angels Gate Park – Korean Friendship Bell
  - Los Angeles Harbor & Lighthouse
  - Battleship USS Iowa BB-61
  - Queen Mary
  - Santa Catalina Island
  - Olvera Street
  - Los Angeles City Hall and Grand Park
  - Union Station
  - Mormon Fort Moore Pioneer Memorial
  - Bradbury Building
  - Walt Disney Concert Hall
  - US Bank Tower
  - Los Angeles Central Library
  - Art Walk and Downtown Los Angeles Arts District
  - Angels Flight
  - La Brea Tar Pits and Page Museum
  - The Getty Center
  - Gamble House in Pasadena – American Arts and Crafts Architecture
  - Los Angeles County Museum of Art
  - Space Shuttle Endeavour at the California Science Center
  - Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House (part of the Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings World Heritage Site)
  - Beverly Hills Rodeo Drive
  - Bel Air Mulholland Drive
  - Melrose Avenue (Melrose Avenue Shopping District)
  - Angel Wings Wall
  - The Pink Wall
  - Chinatown
  - Little Tokyo
  - Koreatown
  - Griffith Park
  - Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
  - San Gabriel Mountains National Monument (USFS)
  - Fox Plaza/20th Century Studios Plaza (Nakatomi Plaza in Die Hard)
  - Randy’s Donuts
  - Oldest McDonald’s
  - Pink’s Hot Dogs
  - Roscoes House of Chicken and Waffles
  - In-N-Out Burger
  - Philippe The Original

8. Channel Islands National Park

- - Santa Cruz
  - Anacapa
  - San Miguel
  - Santa Rosa
  - Santa Barbara – Light beacon
  - Ventura Harbor – Ranger ferry rides

9. San Diego

- - Cabrillo National Monument
  - Embarcadero
  - Star of India
  - USS Midway Museum
  - Unconditional Surrender Statue
  - Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
  - Balboa Park
  - San Diego Zoo
  - Gaslamp Quarter
  - Hotel del Coronado
  - SeaWorld San Diego
  - Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
  - La Jolla Cove
  - Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala
  - Comic Con

10. Redwood National and State Parks (a World Heritage Site)

- - Redwood National Park
    1. Lady Bird Johnson Grove
    2. Tall Trees Grove
  - Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
    1. Stout Memorial Grove
    2. Simpson-Reed Grove
    3. Howland Hill Road (unpaved)
  - Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park
    1. Enderts Beach tidepools
    2. Damnation Creek Trail
  - Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
    1. Fern Canyon
    2. Roosevelt Elk at Elk Prairie
    3. Coastal Trail – Gold Bluffs Beach
    4. Klamath River Overlook
    5. Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway
  - Other Redwoods State Park: Humboldt Redwoods State Park
    1. Avenue Of The Giants
    2. Founders Grove Trail
    3. Big Tree Grove
  - Nearby:
    1. Trees of Mystery – Paul Bunyan & Babe the Blue Ox
    2. Smith River National Recreation Area
    3. King Range National Conservation Area
    4. Fort Ross State Historic Park
    5. Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument (USFS-BLM)

11. Death Valley National Park and Preserve

- - Badwater Basin (lowest point in western hemisphere: 277′ below sea level)
  - Furnace Creek (hottest place on earth: 134°F in 1913) and nearby Harmony Borax Works with Mustard Canyon
  - Racetrack Playa with Ubehebe Crater along the way
  - Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes with nearby Stovepipe Wells
  - Dantes View
  - Artists Drive – Artists Palette
  - Zabriskie Point
  - Desolation Canyon
  - Golden Canyon
  - Twenty Mule Team Canyon
  - Devils Golf Course
  - Father Crowley Point and nearby Darwin Falls

12. Joshua Tree National Park

- - Hidden Valley
  - Keys View
  - Cholla Cactus Garden
  - Skull Rock
  - Barker Dam Trail
  - Ryan Mountain

13. Lassen Volcanic National Park

- - Bumpass Hell
  - Lassen Peak
  - Cinder Cone
  - Sulphur Works
  - Painted Dunes
  - Manzanita Lake
  - King’s Creek Falls
  - Reflection Lake
  - Devastated Area
  - Summit Lake

Balconies Trail - Cliffs and Caves, Pinnacles National Park — Balconies Trail – Cliffs and Caves, Pinnacles National Park

14. Pinnacles National Park

- - Pinnacle Rocks
  - West Pinnacles – California condors
  - Monolith
  - Chaparral
  - Bear Gulch
  - Balconies Cliff and Cave Trail
  - Resurrection Wall
  - Machete Ridge
  - Condor Gulch Trail
  - High Peaks

Garrapata State Park, Big Sur Coast, California State Route 1

15. Big Sur Coast

- - Point Lobos State Natural Reserve
  - Garrapata State Park
  - Bixby Creek Bridge
  - Point Sur State Historic Park
  - Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
  - Hearst Castle, Hearst Ranch, & William Randolph Hearst Memorial Beach

16. Lake Tahoe

- - Emerald Bay State Park
  - D.L. Bliss State Park
  - Burton Creek State Park
  - Ed Z’berg Sugar Pine Point State Park
  - Donner Memorial State Park and Emigrant Trail Museum

17. Monterey, Salinas, and the California Mission Trail (including Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary – part of the Central California Current [see Point Reyes for full details], which is on the World Heritage Tentative List)

- - Carmel Mission Basilica (California Mission Trail)
  - Monterey Old Customhouse
  - Monterey State Historic Park
  - Cannery Row with Steinbeck Plaza
  - Old Fishermans Wharf and Monterey Harbor
  - Fort Ord National Monument (BLM)

18. Route 49 Gold Rush Towns

- - Mariposa – Mariposa County Courthouse
  - Chinese Camp
  - Jamestown – Railtown 1897 State Historic Park
  - Columbia – Columbia State Historic Park
  - Angels Camp – Angels Camp City Museum
  - Murphys – Mercer Caverns
  - Jackson
  - Volcano – Indian Grinding Rock State Park
  - Sutter Creek
  - Auburn
  - Grass Valley – Empire Mine State Historic Park & Del Oro Theatre
  - Nevada City – The Stone House, Aaron A. Sargent House & Miners Foundry Cultural Center

Joshua Trees, Mojave National Preserve — Mojave National Preserve

19. Inland Empire

- - Mojave National Preserve
  - California Citrus State Historic Park
  - San Bernardino de Sena Estancia
  - Mojave Trails National Monument (BLM)
  - Sand to Snow National Monument (USFS-BLM)
  - Old Route 66 (California’s portion of old Route 66)
  - Castle Mountains National Monument
  - Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument (USFS-BLM)
  - Calico (State Silver Rush Ghost Town)
  - Cabazon Dinosaurs

20. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

- - Borrego Palm Canyon
  - Anza-Borrego spring wildflowers (late February-early March)
  - Galleta Meadows Metal Sculptures
  - Fonts Point
  - Slot Canyon
  - Hellhole Canyon Trail
  - Coyote Canyon
  - Borrego Night Sky
  - Vallecito Stage Coach Station (Vallecito County Park)
  - Agua Caliente (Agua Caliente County Park)

21. Eastern Sierras

- - Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest – Inyo National Forest
  - Ansel Adams Wilderness – Inyo National Forest
  - Alabama Hills National Scenic Area (BLM)
  - Bodie State Historic Park (State Gold Rush Ghost Town)
  - Devils Postpile National Monument
  - John Muir Wilderness – Inyo National Forest
  - Manzanar National Historic Site
  - Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve
  - Mount Whitney – Sequoia National Park and Inyo National Forest
  - Pacific Crest Trail

22. Sacramento

- - Old Sacramento
  - Sutter’s Fort
  - California State Capitol Museum
  - Governor’s Mansion State Historic Park
  - Chinatown Sacramento
  - California State Indian Museum

23. Santa Barbara

- - Mission Santa Barbara
  - El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Site
  - Stearns Wharf
  - Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park
  - Ganna Walska Lotusland Botanic Garden
  - Santa Barbara Harbor

24. Trinity Alps

- - Mount Shasta
  - McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park
  - Whiskeytown (NPS)-Shasta-Trinity (USFS) National Recreation Area
  - Trinity Alps Wilderness
  - Castle Crags Wilderness
  - Shasta-Trinity National Forest

25. Modoc Plateau

- - Lava Beds National Monument
  - Tule Lake National Monument
  - Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument (mostly in Oregon)
  - Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge
  - Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge
  - Modoc National Wildlife Refuge

26. Orange County

- - Disneyland
  - Disney California Adventure
  - Downtown Disney District
  - Knott’s Berry Farm
  - Huntington Beach Pier
  - Balboa Fun Zone, Balboa Pier, & Balboa Island
  - Mission San Juan Capistrano
  - Crystal Cove State Park
  - Salt Creek Beach
  - Orange Plaza Park

27. Chinese-American Cultural Sites

- - Bok Kai Temple in Chinatown Marysville
  - Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park in Weaverville (a small town gem)
  - Temple Kwan Tai Museum in Mendocino

28. Central Valley

- - César E. Chávez National Monument
  - Carrizo Plain National Monument

29. Iconic Foods

- - Fish Tacos with Guacamole
  - Avocado Toast
  - Cioppino Seafood Stew
  - Tri-tip Santa Maria Steak
  - Korean BBQ
  - Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles
  - In-N-Out Burger
  - Pink’s Hot Dogs
  - San Francisco Sourdough Bread
  - Gilroy Garlic Ice Cream