Page 92 - 2025-2026 Travel Guide to California

MUST
SEE,
DO
• EXPANSIVE WETLANDS Explore Grizzly
Island in the Suisun Marsh, which makes up more
than 10 percent of California’s remaining natural
wetlands. The Marsh provides an essential habitat
for more than 221 bird, 45 animal, 16 reptilian and
amphibian, and more than 40 fish species.
• suisunwildlife.org/grizzly.html
• BASQUE IN THE DESERT There has been
a Basque presence in the Central Valley since the
19th century. Today Bakersfield is home to the
largest collection of Basque restaurants in the U.S.
They offer traditional experiences served family-
style at long trestle tables, carrying on the
traditions of their ancestors.
• visitbakersfield.com/restaurants/bakersfield-basque
• WINE TASTING Visit wineries in Lodi, which
produce more than 40 percent of the state’s
premium Zinfandel, and is often dubbed, “The Zin
Capital of the World.”
• lodiwine.com
• FRESH OFF THE FARM Reap the benefits
of Fresno farms’ bounty at the Vineyard Farmers
Market, held every Wednesday and Saturday,
year-round.
• vineyardfarmersmarket.com
• OLD TOWN Wander through the delta town
of Locke, the only U.S. town built exclusively by
the Chinese for the Chinese.
• nps.gov/places/locke-historic-district.htm
90 2025-26 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA
DRIVE TOUR
It may be tempting to cover the
Central Valley by zooming along
on Interstate 5, but instead, take
the slower HIGHWAY 99—once
referred to as “California’s Main
Street,” and the very same road
the fictional Joad family traveled
in The Grapes of Wrath. Start in oil-
town BAKERSFIELD and head
north toward FRESNO, MERCED
and MODESTO. As you pass from
the San Joaquin Valley into the
Sacramento River Delta, take a jog
over to Interstate 5 to pass to the
west of Sacramento and into Yolo,
Colusa and Glenn counties at the north end of the great Central Valley.
auto fans still flock to the valley city. Fresno’s
architectural history includes brick ware-
houses along the Santa Fe railroad tracks and
the 1928 Pantages Theatre (now Warnors
Center for the Performing Arts).
with lush wetlands among vast orchards.
The Sutter Buttes—considered the world’s
smallest mountain range—rise above the
flat valley at its northernmost point.
The Great Outdoors
A sprawling web of rivers twists through the
Central Valley—from the Sacramento to the
San Joaquin to the Feather. The best place to
enjoy river life is in the Sacramento Delta,
Heritage & Culture
Agriculture has drawn a diverse group of
people here over the years, including
migrant workers from Latin America, Dust
Bowl-era farmers and entertaining country
music masters. Visitors are always wel-
TOKOPAH FALLS IN SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK,
left; lone bull tule elk at Grizzly Island Wildlife
Area, above; sunset paddle boarding at Lodi Lake,
opposite left; Sandhill Crane Festival, opposite right.
ISSARA.TRAVEL WORLD/SHUTTERSTOCK; JEFFREY B. BANKE/SHUTTERSTOCK. OPPOSITE: MATT GUSH/SHUTTERSTOCK; VISIT STOCKTON