Page 70 - 2017 Travel Guide to California

STATE & NATIONAL PARKS
BY BONNIE SMETTS
Expect the Unexpected
Open the door to limitless adventures
DEATH VALLEY
The night sky over Death Valley,
above, is as dramatic as anyplace on
earth. One of the world’s hottest
places in summer, Death Valley also
contains the lowest point in North
America, and this is just 85 miles
from Mount Whitney, the
continental U.S.’s highest point.
After wet winters, early spring
wildflower blooms here are usually
spectacular.
Gaze at the Milky Way under Death
Valley’s inky night sky. Wade with your kids
in tide pools alive with sea stars and spiny
anemones. Challenge yourself on the
Pacific Crest Trail. Whatever your passion,
California’s 280 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, is
justifiably one of the world’s natural treas-
ures. Come in spring when the waterfalls
thunder to the valley floor. Come in
summer when the park is abuzz with visi-
tors to explore by tram, bike or on foot.
Choose a gentle half-hour hike or reserve a
spot for the all-day climb of 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.
To see a really big tree—the world’s
largest by volume—head south to Sequoia
and Kings Canyon National Parks and
marvel at the weighty General Sherman.
While still in the mountains, take a trip to
Lake Tahoe, North America’s largest alpine
BEBOY/SHUTTERSTOCK. OPPOSITE: SEAN WANDZILAK/SHUTTERSTOCK; NORA YUSUF/SHUTTERSTOCK
68 2017 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A