Page 40 - 2014 Travel Guide to California

CA.STATE & NATIONAL PARKS
BY BONNIE SMETTS
Places of Adventure and Tranquility
California’s parks will soothe your soul
HIGH SIERRA landscape in Kings Canyon National Park.
ALPINE LAKES
Lake Tahoe is the granddaddy
of them all, but sparkling alpine
lakes are scattered throughout
California’s mountains, from the
Sierra Nevada to the Cascades to the
Trinity Alps and Marble Mountains.
Many are easily accessible, such as
Mammoth Lakes, whereas others
can be attained only after long
backcountry hikes. For more
information on enjoying the
mountains, see High Sierra, pages
142-146, Mammoth Lakes, 148-149,
Lake Tahoe South Shore, 150-151,
and Shasta Cascade, 158-160.
Snap a picture of the world’s largest plant
or listen to desert sand dunes sing. Camp
where the cult classic Planet of the Apes was
filmed or paddle across Lake Tenaya at
dawn. Whatever your passion, California’s
279 state parks and 32 national parks,
seashores and monuments—whose mis-
sion is to protect the state’s natural and
cultural treasures—are the gateway to expe-
riences as varied as the state’s geography.
Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada
Yosemite National Park, with its glacier-
sculpted valley and granite peaks, has
something for everyone. Come in spring
when the waterfalls thunder to the valley
floor. Come in summer when the park is
abuzz with visitors to explore by tram,
bike or on foot. Choose a gentle half-hour
hike or reserve a spot for the all-day
climb to Half Dome. Junior Ranger Walks
are popular with kids. Backpackers can
enjoy the solitude of the park’s high
country and expert rock climbers have
dozens of granite walls to scale. Don’t leave
the park without stopping at Glacier Point
with its views of Half Dome and Yosemite
Valley or at the Mariposa Grove of giant
sequoias to marvel at its 2,700-year-old
Grizzly Giant.
38 2014 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A
SEBASTIEN BUREL/SHUTTERSTOCK. OPPOSITE: LORCEL; FELIX LIPOV; GARY SAXE/SHUTTERSTOCK