Regions of California
Where to go in California, broken down by region so you can decide where to base yourself.
San Francisco Bay Area
The northern hub: San Francisco itself, the Marin Headlands and Muir Woods, Berkeley and Oakland, the Silicon Valley cities, and the coast down to Half Moon Bay.
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Central Coast
Highway 1's best stretch: Santa Cruz, Monterey and Carmel, Big Sur, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara, with Channel Islands and Pinnacles inland.
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Greater Los Angeles
Los Angeles and its coast: Hollywood, Santa Monica and Venice, Malibu, Pasadena, and the day trip out to Catalina Island.
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San Diego
Southern California's easygoing corner: San Diego's beaches and Balboa Park, La Jolla coves, Coronado, and the surf towns up to Carlsbad.
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Orange County
The theme-park and beach belt between LA and San Diego: Disneyland in Anaheim, Newport and Laguna Beach, and the Huntington Beach surf.
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Wine Country
Napa and Sonoma north of the Bay: valley-floor cabernet estates, the Russian River, Healdsburg, and the drives over the Mayacamas.
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High Sierra
The mountain spine: Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Mammoth Lakes and the Eastern Sierra, and the passes that only open in summer.
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The Deserts
Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, Joshua Tree, Death Valley, and Anza-Borrego: warm-winter resort towns and stark desert parks.
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North Coast
Redwood country north of the Bay: Mendocino, the Avenue of the Giants, Humboldt and Eureka, and the remote Lost Coast.
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Shasta Cascade
The far north: Mount Shasta, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Lake Shasta, Redding, and Burney Falls.
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