Top Regions of the Golden State

The El Dorado State.

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

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

Chinese-American Cultural Sites – Beyond regions, spread across the state are sites demonstrating the significant contributions of Chinese immigrants to the culture of California and the United States, for example:

- - Chinatown San Francisco
  - Chinatown Los Angeles
  - Chinatown Sacramento
  - Bok Kai Temple in Chinatown Marysville
  - Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park in Weaverville (a small town gem)
  - Temple Kwan Tai Museum in Mendocino (also a small town gem; see nearby Mendocino Headlands State Park)

10. Central Valley – “The Land of Milk and Honey”

César E. Chávez National Monument “Nuestra Señora Reina de La Paz” (“Our Lady Queen of Peace”)

- - César E. Chávez Memorial Garden
  - Visitor Center museum
  - Villa La Paz
  - United Farm Workers/Cesar Chavez Foundation Headquarters
  - Filipino Community Hall in Delano (headquarters of the Delano grape strike) (for proposed national historical park)
  - The Forty Acres (the original UFW headquarters in Delano) (for proposed national historical park)
  - McDonnell Hall in San Jose (for proposed national historical park)
  - Santa Rita Center in Phoenix, AZ (for proposed national historical park)

Carrizo Plain National Monument (BLM)

- - Carrizo Plain wildflowers (bloom mid-March-early May)
  - Painted Rock – Painted Rock Trail
  - Soda Lake – Soda Lake Boardwalk Trail
  - San Andreas Fault – Wallace Creek Trail
  - Caliente Ridge Trail
  - Travers Ranch Trail
  - Overlook Hill Trail
  - Caliente Mountain Trail

9. San Diego

San Diego

- - Cabrillo National Monument
  - Embarcadero
  - Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
  - Balboa Park
  - Gaslamp Quarter
  - Hotel del Coronado

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)

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

8. Gold Country

Golden Chain Highway (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

Sacramento

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

Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument (USFS-BLM)

- - Snow Mountain Wilderness (USFS)
  - Deer Valley, Penny Pines & Middle Creek (USFS)
  - Letts Lake & Stoney Creek (USFS)
  - Cache Creek Wilderness (BLM)
  - Cedar Roughs Wilderness (BLM)
  - Indian Valley Management Area (BLM)
  - Berryessa Peak & Stebbins Cold Canyon (BLM, plus California Department of Fish and Wildlife, University of California at Davis, & Tuleyome areas)
  - Knoxville Management Area (BLM) – Off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation area

7. Shasta and Cascade

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

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

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

6. Los Angeles

Los Angeles

- - Hollywood
  - Beachfront – Santa Monica Pier (the western terminus of old Route 66, see California’s portion of old Route 66)
  - Historic District – El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument
  - Downtown
  - La Brea Tar Pits
  - Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House (part of the Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings World Heritage Site)
  - Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

Channel Islands National Park

- - Santa Cruz
    1. Scorpion Ranch
    2. Cavern Point
    3. Scorpion Canyon Loop Trail
    4. Painted Cave
  - Anacapa
    1. Anacapa Island Lighthouse
    2. Inspiration Point
    3. Pinniped Point
    4. Cathedral Cove
  - San Miguel
    1. Cabrillo Monument
    2. Caliche Forest
    3. Lester Ranch Site
    4. San Miguel Hill
  - Santa Rosa
    1. Water Canyon Beach
    2. Black Mountain Summit
  - Santa Barbara – Light beacon
  - Ventura Harbor – Ranger ferry rides

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

McWay Falls, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Big Sur coast

5. Central Coast

Big Sur Coast – Route 1 Highway All-American Road (Carmel-By-The-Sea to Raged Point Vista) & Route 1 San Luis Obispo Byway All-American Road (Raged Point Vista to San Luis Obispo)

- - 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

Monterey Peninsula

- - 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)

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

4. Golden Gate

San Francisco

- - Golden Gate Bridge
  - Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39 Sea Lions
  - San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
  - Golden Gate National Recreation Area & Fort Point National Historic Site
  - Ferry Building
  - Painted Ladies Houses

North Bay & East Bay

- - Point Reyes National Seashore
  - Rosie The Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park
  - 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)
  - John Muir National Historic Site
  - Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site
  - Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial
  - Jack London State Historic Park (nearby)
  - Napa Valley (nearby)

Harbor seals in Monterey, California Coastal National Monument/Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

California Current Conservation Complex (World Heritage Tentative List)

- - Greater Farallones (Fort Ross State Historic Park coast area)
  - Cordell Bank (Point Reyes offshore area)
  - Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries (Monterey Peninsula coast area)
  - Point Reyes National Seashore marine waters and certain coastal areas
  - Golden Gate National Recreation Area (San Francisco coast area)
  - Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge
  - California Coastal National Monument (BLM)

3. North Coast

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

Fort Ross State Historic Park

- - Fort Ross
  - Holy Trinity St. Nicholas Chapel
  - Fort Ross Windmill
  - Kuskov House
  - Rotchev House
  - Officials’ Quarters
  - Blockhouses
  - Fort Ross Cemetery
  - Russian House #1 (outside state park)
  - Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (nearby – part of the Central California Current, which is on the World Heritage Tentative List)

2. Deserts and Inland Empire

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

Joshua Tree National Park

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

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

1. Sierra Nevada

Yosemite National Park (a World Heritage Site)

- - 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

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

Lake Tahoe (shared with Nevada)

- - 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
  - Lake Tahoe-Nevada State Park: Sand Harbor, Cave Rock, Spooner Lake, Marlette/Hobart backcountry, and Nevada State Route 28 corridor

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