The Ultimate California Travel Collection-11 Guides+MAPS
The Ultimate California Travel Guide Collection - 11 Guides with MAPS
Do You Want To Travel To California But Don't Know Where To Start Or Which is THE Best Place to Visit?
Then You Really NEED This Collection of 11 California Travel Guides with Helpful Maps, Contact Information and Travel Directions.
More than 900 Pages of PURE Content. Here is just the tip of the iceberg.
THE BEST OF CALIFORNIA 7
1 The Best of Natural California. . . . . . .8
2 The Best Beaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
3 The Best Golf Courses . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
4 The Best California Travel
Experiences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
5 The Best of Small-Town
California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
6 The Best Family Vacation
Experiences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
7 The Best Architectural
Landmarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
8 The Best Museums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
9 The Best Luxury Hotels &
Resorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
10 The Best Affordable Small
Hotels & Inns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
11 The Best Places to Stay
with the Kids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
12 The Best Restaurants . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
13 The Best Culinary Experiences. . . . .19
14 The Best of the Performing
Arts & Special Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
2 CALIFORNIA IN DEPTH 22
1 California Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
A Tale of Two States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2 Looking Back at California . . . . . . . .24
3 California in Popular Culture:
Books, Film, TV & Music . . . . . . . . . . .27
4 Eating & Drinking in California. . . . .32
John Thoreen, the Wine Tutor,
on Tasting California Wines. . . . . . . . . 33
5 The Premier Grape Varieties of
the California Wine Country . . . . . . .34
3 PLANNING YOUR TRIP TO CALIFORNIA 35
1 Visitor Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
2 Entry Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
3 When to Go. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Calendar of Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
4 Getting There & Getting
Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
5 Money & Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
6 Health & Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
7 Specialized Travel Resources . . . . . .50iv
CO N T E N T S F R O M M E R S C A L I F O R N I A 2 0 0 9
8 Sustainable Tourism/
Ecotourism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Its Easy Being Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
The Complete Travel Resource . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
9 Staying Connected. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
10 Tips on Accommodations . . . . . . . . .56
4 SUGGESTED ITINERARIES 57
1 Pacific Coast Highway in 1 Week
(San Francisco to Big Sur) . . . . . . . . .57
2 Lake Tahoe & Yosemite National
Park Adventure in 1 Week . . . . . . . . .60
3 A Food & Wine Lovers Movable
Feast in 1 Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
5 SAN FRANCISCO 65
1 Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
Money Saving Tourist Passes. . . . . . . .67
Neighborhoods in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
2 Getting Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Fast Facts: San Francisco . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
3 Where to Stay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
4 Where to Dine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Dine in the Sunshine at
Belden Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
5 The Top Attractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
San Francisco Segway Tours . . . . . . .122
GoCar Tours of San Francisco . . . . . .123
6 Exploring the City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
7 Organized Tours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
8 Golden Gate National Recreation
Area & the Presidio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
9 Outdoor Pursuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
10 Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Amazing Grazing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
11 San Francisco After Dark . . . . . . . . 139
Straight Fun at Gay Bars . . . . . . . . . . .148
6 THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA 150
1 Berkeley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
2 Oakland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
The USS Potomac: FDRs
Floating White House . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158
3 Sausalito . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
A Picnic Lunch, Sausalito Style . . . . .165
4 Angel Island & Tiburon . . . . . . . . . . 165
5 Muir Woods & Mount
Tamalpais . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
6 Half Moon Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
7 San Jose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
7 THE WINE COUNTRY 181
1 Napa Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Shipping Wine Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182
Hot-Air Ballooning over
the Valley. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
2 Sonoma Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Find the New Youin Mud . . . . . . . 192
Gourmet Picnics, Sonoma Style . . . . 206
3 Northern Sonoma. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208v
F R O M M E R S C A L I F O R N I A 2 0 0 9 CO N T E N T S
8 THE NORTHERN COAST 217
1 Point Reyes National
Seashore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Stinson Beach: The Bay
Areas Best . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Drakes Bay Oyster Farm . . . . . . . . . . 222
Point Reyes Mountain Biking . . . . . . .226
2 Along the Sonoma Coast . . . . . . . 226
Renting a Home at the Beach. . . . . 231
3 Mendocino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
4 Fort Bragg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
A Train Ride Through the
Redwoods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242
5 The Avenue of the Giants . . . . . . . 244
6 Eureka & Environs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
7 Crescent City. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
8 Redwood National &
State Parks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
9 THE FAR NORTH: LAKE TAHOE, MOUNT SHASTA &
LASSEN VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK 261
1 Lake Tahoe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
A Tale of Two Shores . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Lake Tahoes Best Cheap Thrills . . . .267
A Sailing Tour of Lake Tahoe . . . . . . .270
The Heavenly Flyer Zip-Line
Thrill Ride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Skiing Tahoe in Squaw
Valley Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .280
2 Mount Shasta & the Cascades . . . 288
3 Lassen Volcanic National Park . . . 297
4 Lava Beds National
Monument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
10 THE HIGH SIERRA: YOSEMITE, MAMMOTH LAKES,
SEQUOIA & KINGS CANYON 305
1 Yosemites Gateways . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Burgers & Bullets: The Iron
Door Saloon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .308
White-Water Rafting Adventures. . . 311
2 Yosemite National Park. . . . . . . . . . 312
Southern Yosemite Mountain
Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
3 Mammoth Lakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Winter Driving in the Sierra . . . . . . . 330
4 Devils Postpile National
Monument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
5 En Route to Sequoia &
Kings Canyon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
6 Sequoia & Kings Canyon
National Parks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
11 SACRAMENTO & THE GOLD COUNTRY 348
1 Sacramento . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Where the Wild Things Are. . . . . . . . 351
Sacramentos Best Budget
Dining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
2 The Gold Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Pan for Gold. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .373
3 The Central Valley & Sierra
National Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374vi
CO N T E N T S F R O M M E R S C A L I F O R N I A 2 0 0 9
12 THE MONTEREY PENINSULA & THE BIG SUR COAST 379
1 Santa Cruz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Seven Money-Saving Tips
for Santa Cruz Tourists . . . . . . . . . . . . .382
2 Monterey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
3 Pacific Grove . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
Where the Wild Things Are . . . . . . . . .399
4 Pebble Beach & 17-Mile Drive . . . 402
5 Carmel-by-the-Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
6 Carmel Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
7 The Big Sur Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
Big Sur Lodging at Low Rates . . . . . 417
8 Pinnacles National
Monument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
13 THE CENTRAL COAST 424
1 San Simeon: Hearst Castle. . . . . . . 424
Weekends at the Ranch. . . . . . . . . . .428
2 Morro Bay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
3 San Luis Obispo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
4 Pismo Beach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
5 The Central Coast Wine Country:
Paso Robles & the Santa
Ynez Valley. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
6 Santa Barbara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
The Ultimate Family Vacation,
Santa Barbara Style. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .461
7 The Ojai Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465
8 En Route to Los Angeles:
Ventura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
9 Channel Islands National Park . . . 471
14 LOS ANGELES 475
1 Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
Neighborhoods in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . 483
2 Getting Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
Fast Facts: Los Angeles . . . . . . . . . . . . .496
3 Where to Stay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497
4 Where to Dine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
L.A.s Best Sushi & Stir-Fried
Crickets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517
Sea Breezes & Sunsets: Ocean-View
Dining in Malibu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .518
5 L.A.s Top Attractions. . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
6 Exploring the City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546
Stargazing in L.A., Part 2:
The Less-Than-Lively Set . . . . . . . . . . .554
Free Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .559
7 TV Tapings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564
8 Beaches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565
9 Outdoor Pursuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569
Topanga Canyon: Natures Solution
to L.A.s Noise Pollution . . . . . . . . . . . . .570
10 Spectator Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575
Polo, Anyone? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .576
11 Shops & Spas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577
Urban Shopping Adventures . . . . . . .578
GR8 Finds in West L.A.s J-Town . . . . .582
A Mecca for High-End Vintage . . . . .583
Abbot Kinney Boulevard: L.A.s
Antithesis to Rodeo Drive . . . . . . . . . .584
12 Los Angeles After Dark . . . . . . . . . . 586
The Worlds Most Private
Public Theater. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .597vii
CO N T E N T S F R O M M E R S C A L I F O R N I A 2 0 0 9
15 SIDE TRIPS FROM LOS ANGELES 599
1 Long Beach & the
Queen Mary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 599
2 Santa Catalina Island . . . . . . . . . . . . 602
Catalinas Grand Casino . . . . . . . . . . .605
3 Big Bear Lake & Lake
Arrowhead. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611
4 The Disneyland Resort . . . . . . . . . . 620
The Art of the (Package) Deal . . . . . .622
5 Knotts Berry Farm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635
6 The South Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 640
Biplane, Air Combat & Warbird
Adventures: The Thrill
of a Lifetime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .645
16 THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DESERT 652
1 En Route to the Palm Springs
Resorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 652
2 Get Your Kicks on Historic
Route 66. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 653
3 The Palm Springs Desert
Resorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 658
Fairways & Five-Irons,
Desert-Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .662
Heres the Rub: Two Bunch
Palms Desert Spa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .665
Sweet Desert Treat: The Coachella
Valley Date Gardens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .666
The Old is New Again . . . . . . . . . . . . 669
4 Joshua Tree National Park . . . . . . . 677
5 Anza-Borrego Desert
State Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 682
6 Mojave National Preserve . . . . . . . 686
7 Death Valley National Park. . . . . . . 690
17 SAN DIEGO & ENVIRONS 695
1 Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 695
Neighborhoods in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . 699
2 Getting Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700
Fast Facts: San Diego . . . . . . . . . . . . . .702
3 Where to Stay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703
4 Where to Dine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722
Eating on the Go: Baja
Fish Tacos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .729
5 The Three Major Animal Parks . . . 734
6 Beaches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 739
7 Exploring the Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 741
8 Outdoor Pursuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749
9 Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753
10 San Diego After Dark. . . . . . . . . . . . 755
11 North County Beach Towns . . . . . 759
12 Julian: Gold, Apple Pies &
a Slice of Small-Town
California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 766
APPENDIX: FAST FACTS 769
Fast Facts: California . . . . . . . . . . . . . 769
INDEX 773L I S T O F M A P S
Suggested California Itineraries . . . 59
San Francisco at a Glance . . . . . . . . . 68
San Francisco Accommodations . . . 78
San Francisco Dining . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Top San Francisco Sights . . . . . . . . . 118
The San Francisco Bay Area . . . . . . 151
Berkeley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Oakland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
The Wine Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Northern Sonoma Wineries . . . . . . 199
The Northern Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Point Reyes National Seashore &
Bodega Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Redwood National &
State Parks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Lake Tahoe & Environs . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Redding/Mount Shasta Area . . . . . 289
Lassen Volcanic National Park . . . . 299
Yosemite National Park . . . . . . . . . . 313
Mammoth Lakes Region . . . . . . . . . 329
Sequoia & Kings Canyon
National Parks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Downtown Sacramento . . . . . . . . . . 349
The Gold Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
The Monterey Peninsula . . . . . . . . . 388
The Big Sur Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
The Central Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
Santa Barbara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
Southern California
at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
Santa Monica & the Beaches . . . . . 484
L.A.s Westside & Beverly Hills . . . . 487
Hollywood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
Downtown Los Angeles . . . . . . . . . . 490
Pasadena & Environs . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
Universal City & Burbank . . . . . . . . 561
L.A.s Beaches & Coastal
Attractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566
Santa Catalina Island . . . . . . . . . . . . 603
Big Bear Lake & Lake
Arrowhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613
The South Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641
Historic Route 66 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 654
The Palm Springs Desert
Resorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 659
Joshua Tree National Park . . . . . . . 678
Mojave National Preserve . . . . . . . . 687
Death Valley National Park . . . . . . . 691
San Diego Area at a Glance . . . . . . 697
San Diego Accommodations &
Dining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704
La Jolla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 717
San Diego Attractions . . . . . . . . . . . 736
Balboa Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743
Happy traveling.
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