The capital of river rafting in the state is California’s Gold Country and guides say the American River’s South Fork is a perfect spot for first-timers and a solid option for return customers, thanks to its evocative scenery and relatively mild Class II and III rapids. The winter’s rains have given us green landscapes just about everywhere and currents to carry us through them. If ever there were a year for river running in California - careful river running - this is it. 32), this state is nearly infinite, forever in transition and ours to explore. Like those shiny pebbles slowly becoming sand at Glass Beach in Fort Bragg (No.

So here’s to this vast, odd, flawed, spectacular, mutable, seismically unsound piece of real estate that we call California. A few destinations are subject to spring and summer detours in the wake of landslides and floods, including Nepenthe in Big Sur (No. And I’ve tried to add budget options when possible. Still, if they’re here, I think they’re worth it. So is the fee at my favorite drive-through tree (No. The cost of an Integratron sound bath near Joshua Tree (No. You may also notice that inflation is at work here. 17) or at the mission cemetery in Sonoma (No.

Of course, some of our history is painful, but it’s vital to face up to that too, whether it’s in the barracks at Manzanar (No. 70) its best-loved Diego Rivera painting? Or that the Hollywood sign is a year younger than the Hollywood Bowl (No. 30) was named after Karl Marx by a doomed group of communist lumberjacks? Or that Cary Grant gave the Norton Simon Museum (No. Who knew that California’s biggest sequoia (No. Some seem thuddingly obvious yet hold secrets you never suspected. Though the big list is in alphabetical order, you’ll see that I’ve earmarked a top 10 among the 101 - couldn’t resist. They’re also places that left me wanting more - another visit at a different hour, a little more backstory, a longer conversation with the people involved. Instead, these are all places that speak loudly and deeply to me about what California is, has been and can be. In this list, which is in alphabetical order, you won’t find pop-up selfie spots, the Hollywood Walk of Fame or any theme parks (though we have plenty of fresh Disneyland tips over here).

63), you’ll be cruising through Highway 46 hillscapes (No. 23) and Cambria’s cool Moonstone Beach (No. And if you can manage a spring road trip between ever-livelier downtown Paso Robles (No. Order your copy of The 101 Best California Experiences special section here.įor instance, downtown San Diego has a sleek waterfront music venue (No.

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