My California -- natural places you find special (San Diego, Corona: 2013, hotel)

[TheFlats]

Originally Posted by RosieSD

I'm ashamed to admit that after 30 years of living here, I've never made it to Lake Tahoe. We're hoping to get up there this summer though. Is there a specific area or place there that you'd recommend? In particular, we like to hike and I am into photography.

I'm really enjoying all the answers so far -- keep them coming!

I've always been a fan of the Eagle Falls/Lake hike that starts right out of Emerald Bay (well Highway 89 near Emerald Bay). Fairly easy hike although there is some elevation gain at the beginning. Not so much a hike for Tahoe views but a very pretty one.

For anyone that has been to Yosemite but only the valley and not the high country, go to Tuolumne Meadows. If you want a harder hike go up to Cathedral Lakes, otherwise just walk around the meadow and take it all in. Lembert Dome is a pretty easy unaided scramble to the top and you get fantastic views, especially at sunrise/sunset.

Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks are overshadowed by Yosemite to the north but are magical places in their own right.

I've never been to Anza Borrego but love the Sonoran desert to the east in Arizona and appreciate the underrated beauty of desert landscapes.

[NextStage]

The strech on highway 89 between Truckee and Sierraville. I've driven that more times than I can count. When I'm away from the freeway and in the trees my heart is completely at peace. I can feel my shoulders go from around my ears down to where they should be. I'm always enroute to somewhere else when I'm on that road but I almost always stop at one of the little campgrounds next to the water. Sometimes if the campgrounds have a lot of people, I'll just pull off the road and walk up into the trees. I'll get out and stretch my legs, walk the dogs if I have them with me, take deep breaths of the crisp mountain air and just be.

I love going down into the valley outside Sierraville too - particulary after it's just snowed or during haying season. When it's recently snowed everything is just crystalized. The whole valley sparkles particularly if the sun is out. In haying season, I love the smell and the rows waiting to be baled.

[MtnSurfer]

Great idea for a thread! Thanks for posting, RosieSD. California is so diverse its hard to even know where to begin. Here's a 'partial' list of some favorites. Most are off the beaten path including Yosemite in the Winter after a good snow.

Big Sur - my favorite coastal area. I've lived near it for 8 years and never cease to be amazed by its beauty.







The NorCal Redwoods - this area is so beautiful and refreshing among the giant trees.







Eastern Sierra - There are so many amazing gems in this less crowded area of the state.







Yosemite in the Winter







Death Valley's Eureka Sand Dunes - amazingly large sand dunes in a very solitary, reflective place.







Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve







Carrizo Plain National Monument - this place explodes with wildflowers in Spring





Derek

[90077]

Thanks for posting the fantastic photos, Derek. They take me back to my own visits to these same places.

[Unsettomati]

Death Valley National Park

A lot of people roll their eyes at the words 'national park' and start complaining about crowds, but even in the most popular National Parks - Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, etc. - those who find themselves surrounded by crowds aren't even trying.

99% of Death Valley is remote. The vast majority of even those very-popular parks I cited are as well.

I won't name any specific locations, but the stark desert is astonishingly beautiful. The way the rocky land is so exposed, the way life clings even to the harsh environments, the way the dry air preserves old ruins and ancient petroglyphs, is wonderful. Between Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Mojave, Anza-Borrego, and the countless anonymous desert canyons and ranges on BLM land, California is a glorious desert wilderness playground.

Aside from the desert is the state's astonishing geographic diversity. The highest peak in the Lower 48. The lowest point in North America (less than 100 miles from each other). High desert, low desert, temperate rainforests, alpine tundra, the Mediterranean climate of the central and southern coasts, glaciers, volcanoes, and so forth.

But I am always drawn back to Death Valley (the park - not just the eponymous valley itself) in the end.

[cornsnicker3]

Mt Shasta,

I have great nostalgia to that cheesy water bottle label that I don't remember the name, but remember the image of the mountain. When I finally saw it, I fell in love with its prominence, scenery, and its existence in the "State of Jefferson" area.

[RosieSD]

Oh my gosh -- there is a lifetime of places to explore in this thread!

TheFlats, thanks for the Emerald Bay suggestion. I will be thinking about you if and when we make it up to Tahoe this summer!

NextStage, I loved your post --- I felt like I was sitting right next to you seeing that stretch of 89 through your eyes!

Derek, amazing photos! They really demonstrate how diverse California's landscapes are. I particularly like that you've included so many wildflower photos! Stunning!

Unsettomai, your post really spoke to my heart. Over thirty years ago, when I came to California for the first time, all I envisioned in my mind was California = beaches. Then, on a whim, I took the "long road" from LA to San Diego -- Joshua Tree, Palm Springs, down past the Salton Sea and over through the Anza Borrego. I just kept saying "wow" the whole trip. I've been in love with the California deserts ever since -- there is magic in the desert. I always try to encourage first-timers to California to at least take a taste (well, maybe not in the summer months). Great post!

Cornsnicker3, I chuckled at your post about feeling nostalgia for the water bottles with shasta on the label. I love Shasta, but the reason I chuckled because I often find myself noticing all of the commercials that are filmed in California and saying out loud, "that's California!" We really do live in a state full of iconic scenery, don't we?

Hopefully more folks will contribute to this thread. I am really enjoying reading all of these stories about everyone's California!

Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far!

[RuggedAlpha]

Thanks for the shoutout RosieSD! I'm surprised that the usual suspects, "California is a hellhole" crowd haven't showed up yet. Then again, it's only been the second day of this thread so let's give them some time. Hehe

MtnSurfer-Wow, just wow! You sir, have the eye of a poet. What is incredible to me is that all the 7 pictures that you posted almost look like they were taken in 7 different states. The biodiversity of CA is what makes this state so special to me and why I believe it's the best state in the union. As an outdoorsman and nature lover, there is no comparison in this area.

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by RuggedAlpha

Thanks for the shoutout RosieSD! I'm surprised that the usual suspects, "California is a hellhole" crowd haven't showed up yet. Then again, it's only been the second day of this thread so let's give them some time. Hehe

Shhhhhh!!!! But thanks for inspiring this thread, RuggedAlpha.

Originally Posted by RuggedAlpha

MtnSurfer-Wow, just wow! You sir, have the eye of a poet. What is incredible to me is that all the 7 pictures that you posted almost look like they were taken in 7 different states. The biodiversity of CA is what makes this state so special to me and why I believe it's the best state in the union. As an outdoorsman and nature lover, there is no comparison in this area.

[MtnSurfer]

I hear ya, Rugged Alpha. The amazing part is we are just scratching the surface. I didn't even get into the High Sierra yet or some of the amazing waterfalls throughout the state. Then there is the sea life with whales breaching right out in front of our house and along the coastline. What the heck, here are a few more.

Here's a whale breaching not far from us:







The ocean's power in Big Sur:







Central Coast Mountain hiking above the the clouds:







Countless gorgeous sunsets over the water just outside our front door:







Coastal waterfalls off the beaten path:







Dark night sky and bright stars of Big Sur:







Backpacking the High Sierra and John Muir Trail:






Derek