Joshua Tree
WHY GO: A national park in the high desert? It might seem like an oxymoron, but Joshua Tree, 140 miles east of Los Angeles near Palm Springs, stretches on for 800,000 acres with some 750 species of plants and many different animals: bighorn sheep, coyotes and jack rabbits all call it home. The park’s namesake prickly tree—often compared to the fantastical flora in Dr. Seuss books—blooms with white flowers at the branch tips in the spring, creating a sea of white against the arid backdrop.
WHERE TO STAY: Dozens of motels dot the perimeter of the park, but you might want to make Palm Springs your base camp and drive the hour to the park. Stay at the laid-back Ace Hotel & Swim Club, where rooms feature goodies such as record players and caramel popcorn, or the recently renovated four-room Hotel Lautner in nearby Desert Hot Springs.
WHERE TO EAT: Snag a table at Palm Springs' sleek new Workshop Kitchen + Bar and dig into veggie enchiladas with white corn, poblano peppers, kale, grilled tomatillo sauce and cotija cheese—all topped with a fried duck egg.
WHAT'S NEARBY: Salvation Mountain, a hill coated with adobe and paint by a local artist, is about an hour away.
Pictured: Jumbo Rock campground, Joshua Tree National Park. Photo by Phillip Colla.
Redwoods
WHY GO: Four parks together form the Redwood National and State Parks, made up of a forest of gentle giants that spans some 133,000 acres. The one national and three state parks (Jedediah Smith, Del Norte Coast and Prairie Creek) sit along California’s northern coast approaching Oregon, approximately 325 miles north of San Francisco. It might seem like a long way to go to take a walk among fog-shrouded coastal redwoods—the tallest living trees in the world—but it is a walk to remember.
WHERE TO STAY: Only camping is permitted within the Redwood parks, but several towns around the parks, from Crescent City to Klamath to Orick, have motels and B & Bs. In the town of Klamath, the 13-room Historic Requa Inn, which overlooks the Klamath River, is a lovely and serene hideaway from which you can easily access several of the 164 trails and coastal drives. The inn sits on a Yurok Indian reservation, and the family owners are in fact descendants of the native tribe.
WHERE TO EAT: The casual Good Harvest Cafe in Cresent City is a good spot to fuel up before or after hiking, biking or kayaking.
WHAT'S NEARBY: Watch for gray whales and sea birds at the Klamath River Overlook, explore tide pools at Enderts Beach and spot Roosevelt elk grazing near Elk Meadow.
Pictured: Hiking among the redwoods. Photo by Justin Bailie/tandemstock.com.
Yosemite
WHY GO: The dramatic granite formations such as Half Dome, plus waterfalls, glaciers and open meadows, led Abraham Lincoln in 1864 to sign the Yosemite Grant, which preserved the 1,169-square-mile region for all time and ushered in the national park idea. (This year marks the 150th anniversary of the grant.)
WHERE TO STAY: The stunningly rustic Ahwahnee Hotel, which means “land of the gaping mouth” (a name given to the area by the native Ahwahneechee people), dates back to the 1920s and is a great base from which to explore the valley floor. The hotel’s exterior concrete was painstakingly dyed and poured to resemble redwood, and the 123 rooms feature Native American textiles and motifs.
WHERE TO EAT: The 34-feet-high-ceilinged Ahwahnee Dining Room, complete with sugar pine trestles and dramatic picture windows, is worth visiting for the setting alone; the restaurant’s Sunday brunch is particularly popular. Another option is the dinner-only Mountain Room at the Yosemite Lodge.
WHAT'S NEARBY: Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, Glacier Point, Badger Pass and giant sequoias at Mariposa Grove are all worth checking out.
Pictured: Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park. Photo by Robb Hirsch/tandemstock.com.
Lassen Volcanic National Park
At this northeast California park, a natural hydrothermal system heats rain and snow water via molten rock under Lassen Peak; the hot water then rises, forming boiling mud pots and steam vents above the surface.
Photo by Marc Muench/tandemstock.com.
Sonoma County
Sure, it has vineyards, but combined with its impressive agricultural bounty, redwood forests and rugged, craggy coastline, it's everything you expect California to be. Check out this map of Sonoma farms you can visit, from peach orchards to creameries.
Photo by Richard Nowitz.
Big Sur
WHY GO: The Santa Lucia Mountains seem to fall off into the Pacific near this coastal town along California’s iconic Highway 1, creating spectacular vistas of jagged cliffs being struck by white surf. Come spring, wildflowers such cover the hiking and biking trails along the coast while condors fly above. A longtime arts colony, Big Sur was once home to author Henry Miller and beat poets, and today meditation institutes and retreats thrive here.
WHERE TO STAY: Sleep in at the gorgeous Glen Oaks Big Sur, built in 1957 and recently restored as a woodsy-meets-modern hotel, where you’ll find woolen Pendelton blankets on your bed. Start the morning with buttermilk biscuits or white corn grits with heirloom tomatoes at the on-site Big Sur Roadhouse restaurant.
WHERE TO EAT: Though many frequent the Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant for breakfast and lunch, the casual yet elegant dinner here is a bit of a secret. Dig into seasonal dishes such as quail with beluga lentils and morels risotto with fava beans and tomatoes.
WHAT'S NEARBY: Point Lobos State Natural Reserve in Carmel is often called the greatest meeting of land and sea. The open meadow at Andrea Molera State Park is lovely, as well.
Pictured: McWay Falls, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park near Big Sur. Photo by Matthew Kuhns/tandemstock.com.
Death Valley
WHY GO: Its ominous name aside, this lowlying (282 feet below sea level) and arid region is the largest national park in the contigious U.S. (Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias ranks No. 1). Death Valley Naitonal Park still spans an impressive 3.4 million acres and wows with its glistening sand dunes, canyons and snow-capped mountains. The valley is home to some 1,000 kinds of plants, including desert holly, piñon pine, juniper and springtime wildflowers.
WHERE TO STAY: Within the Death Valley National Park, the 66-room Inn at Furnace Creek is the best bet for lodging (open mid-October through mid-May) and offers spring-fed pools, golf and tennis. The property, which also includes the more moderately priced Ranch at Furnace Creek (open year-round), was built by the Pacific Coast Borax Company in the late 1920s to keep the Death Valley Railroad active after mining declined in the area. Splurge on dinner or brunch at the inn’s Dining Room, overlooking the Panamint Range in the distance.
WHAT'S NEARBY: Ubehebe Crater, 11,049-foot Telescope Peak, Badwater Basin salt flats and sand dunes in the Stovepipe Wells area of the park.
Pictured: Eureka Dunes, Death Valley National Park. Photo by Kristi Knupp/tandemstock.com.