Page 46 - 2015 Travel Guide to California

CA.SUMMER SPORTS
BY BILL FINK
A State of Perpetual Motion
California’s summer sunshine, seashores and soaring mountain summits
serve as inspiration to get outdoors and play
SAILING
CALIFORNIA
California’s long coastline and
hundreds of harbors and coves
make it one of the world’s best
places for sailing. San Francisco
Bay near the Golden Gate, above,
was the setting for the 2013
America’s Cup, and local sailors
have plied its blue waters and
harnessed its brisk winds for
generations. In fact, the area along
Crissy Field just inside the Gate
offers exceptional windsurfing
and kiteboarding, drawing athletes
from far and wide.
The California ideal of sun, surf, and
sand has been popularized in decades of
film and TV shows, from Beach Blanket
Bingo to Baywatch. But visitors to Cali-
fornia in the summer can discover even
more of the state’s natural beauty heading
inland to majestic national parks.
Sports
Take a walk to the pier in Manhattan Beach
in Southern California on any given day
and you’ll see surfers whipping around the
waves, volleyball players diving in the
sand, bikers and rollerbladers cruising the
Strand and sailors out at sea. Drive the hills
near San Francisco on a sunny day, and in
a matter of minutes you’ll pass pelotons of
road bikers, and hikers, horseback riders
and mountain bikers launching onto trail-
heads. In the shadow of the Golden Gate
Bridge, the wind powers kiteboarders and
windsurfers into acrobatics, while mellow
joggers enjoy the scenery along shoreline
paths with their dogs. North and south,
young and old, Californians love their
sports, and the state provides limitless
opportunities to ply your favorite or try a
new one.
44 2015 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A
KEVIN BERMINGHAM/SHUTTERSTOCK. OPPOSITE: RICHARD THORNTON/SHUTTERSTOCK; DAN HOLM/SHUTTERSTOCK; SP.VVK/SHUTTERSTOCK