Page 42 - 2015 Travel Guide to California

CA.STATE & NATIONAL PARKS
BY BONNIE SMETTS
Design Your Escape
Rev it up or slow it way down at a California park
JOSHUA TREE
NATIONAL PARK
This renowned park in the Southern
California deserts region is famous
for its Joshua Trees, above. They got
their name from a 19th-century
group of Mormon settlers who,
upon seeing these trees with spiky,
upturned branches, were reminded
of the Biblical story of Joshua
raising his hands in prayer. Joshua
Tree National Park has surreal
geologic formations and is a popular
place for rock climbing.
Hike under the veil of a thundering
waterfall. Visit a lighthouse as gray whales
frolic off shore. Spend a day snapping
close-ups when the desert floor explodes in
wildflowers. Whatever your passion, Cali-
fornia’s 279 state parks and 32 national
parks, seashores and monuments—whose
mission 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 pop-
ular 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.
To see a really big tree—the world’s
HOLBOX/SHUTTERSTOCK. OPPOSITE: SILKY/SHUTTERSTOCK; WELCOMIA/SHUTTERSTOCK; TOM REICHNER/SHUTTERSTOCK
40 2015 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A