Pacheco State Park is a broad, rolling‑hill park on the Diablo Range near Pacheco Pass that protects roughly 6,800 acres of grasslands, oak woodlands and seasonal ponds with sweeping views of the Central Valley and Santa Clara Valley.
Point Sur State Historic Park preserves the dramatic volcanic headland and turn‑of‑the‑century Point Sur Lightstation that sits 361 feet above the Pacific on the Big Sur coast, offering panoramic ocean views and a rare, complete historic lighthouse complex listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Tachi Palace Casino Resort is a full-service tribal casino and hotel in Lemoore, California, owned by the Tachi-Yokut Tribe on the Santa Rosa Rancheria, located in the Central Valley about 90 minutes south of Bakersfield between I-5 and Highway 99.
Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, California, was once a community dump site from 1906 to 1967, where residents discarded glass, bottles, appliances, and even cars along the coastline.
Torrey Pines State Beach stretches about 4.5 miles along San Diego's coastline in the Torrey Pines area, south of Del Mar and north of La Jolla, backed by dramatic 300-foot white and golden sandstone cliffs with rare Torrey pine trees crowning the mesas above.
Griffith Park in Los Angeles is one of the largest urban parks in the United States, covering over 4,200 acres and offering a unique blend of natural wilderness and developed recreational facilities.
California Citrus State Historic Park is a 248-acre open-air museum in Riverside, California, dedicated to preserving the legacy of the state's citrus industry, which boomed after Eliza Tibbets planted the first successful navel orange trees in 1873.
Seacliff State Beach in Aptos is a long, sandy Monterey Bay shoreline famous for the partially submerged World War I concrete ship SS Palo Alto near the old pier and for its family‑friendly recreation, including swimming, sunbathing, beach walks, fishing, tidepool displays and an oceanfront campground with RV hookups.
Huntington State Beach is a wide, popular day‑use park on Orange County’s coast that stretches about two miles from the Santa Ana River southward and offers broad sandy shores, a long paved bike/walk path, lifeguarded swimming areas, and consistent surf for beginners and experienced riders alike.
Burton Creek State Park spans nearly 2,000 acres on the north shore of Lake Tahoe in Placer County, California, just outside Tahoe City, offering a rugged, undeveloped escape amid conifer forests, shrubs, wildflower meadows in spring, and colorful cottonwoods in fall.
Zmudowski State Beach, located north of Moss Landing in Monterey County, California, spans a three-mile sandy coastline backed by tall dunes and vast wetlands near the Pajaro River estuary.
Mount Tamalpais State Park, often called Mount Tam, is a scenic Marin County park centered on the 2,571‑foot peak that offers sweeping 360‑degree views from San Francisco and the Bay to the Pacific, making it a favorite close‑to‑town escape for hiking and nature watching.
Harry A. Merlo State Recreation Area is a small coastal park in Humboldt County that provides public access to Big Lagoon, a shallow coastal lagoon ideal for boating, kayaking, and fishing, with a calm water surface and a 5 mph boat speed limit for small craft.
Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz is a small, scenic coastal park famous for its mudstone rock arch, accessible tide pools and a protected monarch butterfly grove that draws thousands of overwintering butterflies each fall and winter.
Wilder Ranch State Park encompasses 7,000 acres along the Santa Cruz coastline north of Santa Cruz, California, blending dramatic ocean bluffs, redwood forests, wildflower meadows, and historic dairy ranch structures from the late 19th century.
Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park is a small, peaceful redwood park in Humboldt County tucked along the Van Duzen River and known for its quiet groves, river access, and low visitor numbers.
Stone Lake is a rare natural freshwater lake in Sacramento County, California, part of the Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, an urban sanctuary 10 miles south of downtown Sacramento near Elk Grove.
Lake Oroville State Recreation Area surrounds Lake Oroville, the large reservoir created by Oroville Dam, and is a major Northern California destination for boating, fishing, swimming and shoreline recreation.
