Page 35 - 2023-2024 Travel Guide to California

STATE & NATIONAL PARKS
PLACES OF ADVENTURE
AND TRANQUILITY
California’s parks will soothe your soul BY BONNIE SMETTS
ALPINE LAKES
Lake Tahoe is the granddaddy
of them all, but sparkling alpine
lakes are scattered throughout
California’s mountains, from the
Sierra Nevada to the Cascades to the
Trinity Alps and Marble Mountains.
Many are easily accessible, such as
Mammoth Lakes, whereas others
can be accessed only after long
backcountry hikes.
Wonderland of Rocks. Time travel on
Scramble up boulders in Joshua Tree’s
a historic ship in San Francisco Bay.
Stand beneath giant redwoods that author
John Steinbeck called ambassadors from
another time. Whatever your passion, Cali-
fornia’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 ex-
periences 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 vis-
itors to explore by tram, bike or on foot.
Choose a gentle half-hour hike or reserve a
spot for the all-day climb up 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
2,900-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
lake. Along the lake’s west shore, D.L. Bliss,
Emerald Bay and Sugar Pine Point state
parks offer camping, hiking and white sand
2023-24 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA 33