Page 68 - 2019 Travel Guide to California

STATE & NATIONAL PARKS
Burning Sands & Delicate Wildflowers
Miles from the coast, California’s deserts
are lands of extremes. Vast Death Valley
National Park holds the record for the
hottest temperature, driest climate and
lowest elevation in North America. It is also
famous for its explosion of wildflowers
after winter rains. For a bird’s-eye
panorama, stop at Dante’s View. On the
valley floor, walk the Badwater Salt Flats or
take an afternoon drive to Zabriskie Point
to snap the garishly colored badlands. Trips
to Titus Canyon and the Racetrack take you
deeper into the park’s unique landscape,
but only for those with proper vehicles and
preparation. Unfortunately, the winter
floods of 2017 closed the road to Scotty’s
Castle until 2020. Furnace Creek Camp-
ground, one of nine in the park, with sites
for RVs, groups and tents, provides a central
location for exploring the park. Because of
favorable weather and temperatures, fall to
spring is the park’s busiest time.
The Mojave National Preserve is famous
for its singing sand dunes and seven-mil-
lion-year-old volcanic cinder cones. Joshua
Tree National Park, a favorite with rock
climbers, mountain bikers and birders, is
home to the gangly tree that gives the park
its name. While both have spring wild-
flower displays, Anza-Borrego Desert State
Park is legendary. Its flowers are usually the
first to burst into color—catching the park’s
cactus bloom is the prize.
tallest recorded Coast Redwood hides here,
its location kept secret to protect it. How-
ever, you can visit the remote Tall Trees
Grove if you have a day to spare and want to
nab one of the daily permits. But all the
parks provide easy access to magnificent
groves as well as picnic sites, campgrounds
and trails for hikers, cyclists and horses.
To the Beach
A visit to California is incomplete without
spending time on the beach, but not all of
them are the iconic white sandy kind. You
will find black sand at Sinkyone Wilderness
State Park on the north coast. At the Men-
docino Headlands State Park, bundle up
and enjoy a beach walk with a view of the
Victorian village.
Closer to San Francisco, the sweeping arc
66 2019 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA
SONOMA COUNTY CVB; MICHAEL STUBBEN/SHUTTERSTOCK. OPPOSITE: SONOMA COUNTY CVB