Northern California

With its mystical green-colored waters, Grover Hot Springs State Park is the perfect destination to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday urban life. Situated on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range at the edge of the Great Basin Province and surrounded on three sides by high … [Read more...]

Fisherman's Wharf is the most popular tourist destination in San Francisco, and probably one of the most popular places for local San Franciscans to avoid. If you've lived in the bay area for very long, you've learned to skip this area of the waterfront, but Fisherman's Wharf is much more than a … [Read more...]

Day Trip To Historic Truckee California points of interest and things to do. Located close to Reno, Nevada, and the North Lake Tahoe cities of Tahoe City, Incline Village and Olympic Valley is the charismatic mountain town of Truckee. Named after a Paiute Indian chief who helped thousands of … [Read more...]

Standing as one of the few reminders of the California Gold Rush era, Columbia State Historic Park appears frozen in time, as one of the best-preserved towns of the mid-19th Century. Established in 1850 by a small group of prospectors, the once second-largest city in California exploded into a … [Read more...]

The giant sequoia, which now only grows on the west slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, is one of California’s original icons. When you walk among these giants, you are in the presence of the oldest living things on the planet. At least one sequoia was known to be 3200 years old! The Calaveras … [Read more...]

Nevada City, California, is a perfect destination if you want to add a little history to your next road trip. With a population of just over 3,000, the town has hardly grown in the past 100 years. This should by no means lead you to believe Nevada City is not worth a visit. Nevada City got its … [Read more...]

Hidden deep below the surface in Grass Valley is one of the oldest, largest, deepest, longest and richest gold mines in California, The Empire Mine. Part of what was once the most productive gold mining districts in the state from 1850 to 1956, the Empire Mine produced 5.8 million ounces of … [Read more...]

A fascinating house of a very eccentric wealthy Sarah Winchester. Sarah believed in spiritualism and added strange features to the house because of her odd beliefs and interests. The "Mystery" part of the name implies that you might find a "Haunted Mansion." Don't expect any animatronics ghosts … [Read more...]

Marshall Gold Discovery Park is an idyllic park situated along California’s historic Highway 49, and straddling the South Fork of the American River is the birthplace of the Gold Rush. Located in present-day Coloma California, Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park is one of the most … [Read more...]

California's High Sierra region is best known for its majestic peaks, world-class ski resorts, and giant sequoias. Summer months are perfect for sight-seeing, hiking, fishing, and camping. Winter visitors enjoy skiing and snowboarding: Ghost Towns, Historic Sites, Hot Springs, Campgrounds, and … [Read more...]

Davis’ crowning jewel may well be the UC Davis Arboretum. The gardens are open 24 hours a day, and there is no admission fee. Visitors travel to the arboretum for incredible gardens, interactive exhibits, guided tours, and to purchase plants for their home gardens. Founded in 1936, the UC Davis … [Read more...]

Muir Woods is an easy day trip from the San Francisco area. A 30-minute drive along U.S. 101 will bring you to the main entrance. Visitors will find several trails that offer a variety of terrain and hiking difficulty. The Muir Woods National Monument is an old-growth coastal redwood forest. Due … [Read more...]

Located 6,200 feet in the Sierra Nevada just outside of Truckee, California, Donner Memorial State Park was established to preserve and tell maybe the darkest side of early pioneer life in California. It forever will stand as a reminder of how and where the Donner Party Camp met its unfortunate … [Read more...]

The San Francisco Ferry Building is a San Francisco landmark and can be found on the National Register of Historic Places. Since its beginning, the ferry building and terminal have seen many changes. The most significant change was when bridges were constructed for railway traffic, which … [Read more...]

Located on the Pacific Ocean in the southwest corner of the city, the San Francisco Zoo features an abundance of exotic wildlife exhibits from around the world nestled amid mature Monterey cypress and eucalyptus trees. Opened in the 1920s, the zoo has come a long way in recent years. And houses … [Read more...]