Page 63 - 2018 Travel Guide to California

Beach and hike-in Limantour as favorites.
Make your way to park headlands in early
spring to view the gray whale migration.
Edging the entrance to San Francisco Bay,
the beaches and cliff trails of the Golden
Gate National Recreation Area are the gate-
ways to urban adventures and historic sites
such as Alcatraz Island.
Continuing down the coast to Santa Cruz
and Monterey, surfing spots alternate with
quiet coves that are home to sea otters and
seals. Behold the thousands of monarch
butterflies that winter at Natural Bridges
State Beach. In Carmel, whose beauty has
been long favored by plein air artists, Point
Lobos State Natural Reserve is a must-visit
for everyone. Big Sur’s Julia Pfeiffer Burns
State Park offers stunning views of the
rugged coast from its cliff-side trails. Access
to Pfeiffer Beach, a day beach, is just south
of the Big Sur Ranger Station. Note that a
landslide during 2017’s winter storms cut
Highway 1 to Big Sur in half, but much of
the area is still open. Check park websites
for updated access information.
At mid coast, rocky cliffs finally give way
to warm water and California’s famous end-
less flat beaches. Movie buffs can camp at
Malibu Creek State Park where M*A*S*H
and Planet of the Apes were filmed. And
then there’s Huntington Beach, a.k.a. Surf
City USA. Huntington State Beach’s soft
sand, safe swimming and good surfing
make it the California classic.
Rocks to Castles
California is more than its geography. Living
history programs bring the past to life in
many parks. At Railtown 1897 Historic State
Park, ride the vintage trains that often
appear in films, television productions and
commercials. At Indian Grinding Rock State
Historic Park, visit a reconstructed village
with a ceremonial roundhouse and presen-
tations by descendants of the Miwoks. The
21 missions founded by the Spanish along
El Camino Real, or the King’s Highway, pre-
serve the arrival of non-natives to
California. Old Town San Diego State His-
toric Park, with its restored plaza and
adobes, captures the period when San Diego
grew from a Mexican pueblo into an Amer-
ican town. And then there’s gold fever. Pan
for gold at Marshall Gold Discovery State
Historic Park where the mineral was first
discovered. Visualize a miner’s life at Bodie
State Historic Park, an intact ghost town
from the era.
No place reflects California’s big
dreamers better than the Hearst San
Simeon State Historical Monument, a tes-
tament to publisher William Randolph
Hearst and architect Julia Morgan. Tour the
115-room castle and imagine the presi-
dents, publishing luminaries and
Hollywood stars who gathered there. Also
at mid state, climbers and birders will not
be disappointed at Pinnacles, California’s
newest national park.
Whatever kind of experience you seek,
from a city adventure to a high country
trek, California’s parks have a surprise in
store for you. And whatever your destina-
tion, always check for access updates before
heading out.
ARMSTRONG REDWOODS STATE Natural
Reserve in Guerneville, Sonoma County,
opposite top; California suncup desert
wildflower, opposite bottom; Manzanita
Lake and Lassen Peak in Lassen Volcanic
National Park, above.
» FIND
YOUR PARK
Individual State Parks
www.parks.ca.gov
National Parks
nps.gov/state/CA
Campsites & Lodging Reservations
State Parks; reservecalifornia.com
National Parks: recreation.gov
Lighthouses
(many open to the public, some
offering accommodations)
nps.gov/maritime/inventories/
lights/ca.htm
Wildflower Updates at
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Wildflower Hotline
760-767-4684
Or check the park’s website
at www.parks.ca.gov.
2018 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A 61