Page 30 - 2025-2026 Travel Guide to California

STATE & NATIONAL PARKS
EPIC HORIZONS, WILD DREAMS
California’s parks will soothe your soul
BY BONNIE SMETTS
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
This stunning view of Yosemite National
Park showcases the iconic granite
monoliths of El Capitan and Half Dome.
In the foreground are Merced River’s
tranquil waters.
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 monu-
ments—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 one of
the world’s natural treasures. Visit in spring
for the thundering waterfalls or in summer
to explore by tram, bike, or on foot. Enjoy a
gentle hike or climb Half Dome. Junior
Ranger Walks are popular with kids. Back-
packers can find solitude in the park’s high
country and expert rock climbers have
dozens of granite walls to scale. Don’t miss
Glacier Point for views of Half Dome and
Yosemite Valley or the Mariposa Grove of
giant sequoias.
To see the world’s largest tree by volume,
head south to Sequoia and Kings Canyon
national parks to marvel at the weighty
General Sherman. Visit Lake Tahoe, North
America’s largest alpine lake. Along the
lake’s west shore, visit D.L. Bliss, Emerald
Bay and Sugar Pine Point state parks for
camping, hiking and white sand beaches.
At Lassen Volcanic National Park, watch
roaring fumaroles, thumping mud pots and
boiling pools.
28 2025-26 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA