Destination California

The State of California is a Western state in the USA and is the most populous state in the nation. Situated on the Pacific Ocean, the state's four largest cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose and San Francisco. California is known for its diverse climate and ethnically diverse population.

• Most Popular Destinations in magical California

» Destination Anaheim

The city of Anaheim was founded in 1857 by grape farmers and wine makers from Franconia in Bavaria. It is the site of the Disneyland Resort, a world-famous grouping of theme parks and hotels which opened in 1955, Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Honda Center and Anaheim Convention Center, the largest convention center on the West Coast …

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» Destination Los Angeles

Los Angeles was founded in 1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve as The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of Porziuncola. It became a part of Mexico in 1821, following its independence from Spain. Los Angeles is one of the world's centers of culture, technology, media, business, and international trade …

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» Destination San Diego

The San Diego area can be an incredible place to visit almost any time of the year. With temperatures near the ocean of around 75 degrees (24°C) most of the time, the climate is ideal. The climate of Southern California is rather complex, however, and temperatures change rapidly as one travels from the coast eastward …

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» Destination San Francisco

San Francisco is located on the west coast of the U.S. at the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula and includes significant stretches of the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay within its boundaries. Several islands are part of the city, notably Alcatraz, Treasure Island, and the adjacent Yerba Buena Island …

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• More Destinations in magical California

» Badwater Basin

Badwater Basin is an endorheic basin in Death Valley National Park, Death Valley, Inyo County, California, noted as the lowest point in North America, with an elevation of 282 ft below sea level. Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous 48 states, is only 84.6 miles to the WNW. The site itself consists of a small spring-fed pool of 'bad water' next to the road in a sink; the accumulated salts of the surrounding basin make it undrinkable, thus giving it the name …

» Big Sur

Big Sur is a sparsely populated region of the Central Coast of California where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The name 'Big Sur' is derived from the original Spanish-language 'el sur grande', meaning 'the big south', referring to its location south of the Monterey Peninsula. The terrain offers stunning views, making Big Sur a popular tourist destination. Big Sur's Cone Peak is the highest coastal mountain in the contiguous 48 states …

» Death Valley

Death Valley is a desert valley located in Eastern California. Situated within the Mojave Desert, it features the lowest, driest, and hottest locations in North America. Badwater, a basin located in Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet (86 m) below sea level. Death Valley holds the record for the highest reliably reported temperature in the Western hemisphere …

» Mount Whitney

Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of 14,505 feet. It is on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, 84.6 miles west-northwest of the lowest point in North America at Badwater in Death Valley National Park at 282 ft below sea level. The west slope of the mountain is in Sequoia National Park and the summit is the south end of the John Muir Trail which runs 211.9 mi from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley …

» Palm Springs

In the 1920s Hollywood movie stars were attracted to Palm Springs by the hot dry, sunny weather and seclusion. Architectural modernists flourished with commissions from the stars, using the city to explore architectural innovations, new artistic venues, and an exotic back-to-the-land experiences. Inventive architects designed unique vacation houses, such as steel houses with prefabricated panels and folding roofs, a glass-and-steel house in a boulder-strewn landscape …

» Sacramento

Sacramento became a city through the efforts of the Swiss immigrant John Sutter, Sr., his son John Sutter, Jr., and James W. Marshall. Sacramento grew quickly thanks to the protection of Sutter's Fort, which was established by Sutter in 1839. During the California Gold Rush, Sacramento was a major distribution point, a commercial and agricultural center, and a terminus for wagon trains, stagecoaches, riverboats, the telegraph, the Pony Express, and the First Transcontinental Railroad …

» San Jose

San Jose, like most of the Bay Area, has a Subtropical Mediterranean climate.[28] San Jose has 300+ days of sunshine and an average daily high temperature of 73 °F (23 °C) annually. Although San Jose lies inland and does not front the Pacific Ocean like San Francisco, it is surrounded on three sides by mountains. Because of this, the city is somewhat more sheltered from rain …

» Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park, in the central eastern portion of California, reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain. Over 3.7 million people visit Yosemite each year: most spend their time in the seven square miles (18 km2) of Yosemite Valley. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity …