What was your favorite family vacation when you were a child or went on with your own children??
Mine was when I was 10 and my parents and I went to Northern California and went to the Redwood Forest. Absolutley BEAUTIFUL there! Something I will never forget! 🙂
Top Vacation Destinations in California
California is one of the most diverse states in the country, both culturally and in terms of actual landscape. It comprises 840 miles of Pacific coastline and an incredible variety of climate zones. In terms of prime vacation destinations, there’s no other state that offers as many great options. Here are just a few of the top ones.
San Francisco
San Francisco is filled with history and culture. The site of many political movements in the past decades, San Francisco has a friendly and open atmosphere. You’ll some of the best hotels in the country and attractions ranging from daytime cruises to tours the famous Alcatraz maximum security prison. A hike through the redwoods is only a short drive away and the nightlife in San Francisco is one of the best of any city.
Big Bear
If you’re an outdoor enthusiast and especially if you like snow, Big Bear is definitely the California vacation spot for you. Located a two hour drive east of Los Angeles, Big Bear is the site of Snow Summit, one of the prime locations in the state for skiing, snowboarding, sledding and other snow sports. In the summer, boating, fishing and other water activities can be enjoyed at Big Bear lake. Lodgings are plenty and range from campsites, to cabins and hotels accommodations.
San Diego
San Diego is one of the most visited tourist destinations in California. It has a rare Mediterranean climate that gives it perfect weather year-round. No humidity or extremes, just sunny skies and cool ocean breezes. San Diego has some of the best beaches in the West Coast and it is very popular among surfers. Other San Diego vacation packages include the Sea World and Legoland theme parks, the San Diego Maritime Museum, the Wild Animal Park, and the beautiful Balboa Park with its world-renowned museums and outdoors Shakespearean theatre.
Yosemite
Yosemite is known for being the so-called “crown jewel” of the national parks system. Yosemite National Park is filled with breathtaking landscapes and views. There are epic waterfalls as well as huge monolithic stone structures, all in the middle of a large sequoia forests. There are streams and lakes aplenty and hiking trails for outdoorsmen of any level.
Ryan Frank is an avid writer and blogger living in San Diego, CA.
I’ve been searching everywhere for a pretty, inexpensive outdoor place for a wedding (like a farm, barn, redwoods, cabin, etc), but haven’t had any success. I’d really appreciate any feedback!!
I just got a call about a teaching job at North Grand High School in the Humboldt Park area. Is it safe? How does it compare to some of the other areas?
i need a place to see both redwoods and sequoias found close to each other or in the same place in california. does anybody have any good parks or cities?
are there any places near each other in central california where i can drive to one then the other? i think you can find redwoods on the coast but i don’t know exactly where and same with sequoias.
It’s our 17th year anniversary. We love nature and the ocean – been here forever – we feel like we’ve seen it all but we have to keep it local.
Any interesting suggestions would be sooo appreciated!
Our family. ((grandma, gramps, mom and dad, 2 daughters, 18 and 12)) are going on a family vacation. we haven’t been on one in over ten years. We know we want to go out West. ((we are from Illinois)Although excited to get away from the city, we aren’t sure where to go, what to see or what to do. Other than the two girls, everyone has been out west before. And by out west, I mean, Wyoming, Colorodo, California, south dakkota.
YOu would think that would make the trip easier to plan, but we still aren’t sure where to go. The girls want to see yellowstone. Thats a must on the trip. We aren’t sure though, if California is worth the trip to see the redwoods/seqoiuas. They are truly beautiful. but they are pretty much all there is to see in that state for us. Should we still take the kids?
We scratched South dakota, but are now reconsidering. What else is there to do other than Mt. Rush and Devil’s tower?
Where is the best place to take the kids? Where have you gone and had fun?
thanks
Hotel California Eagles Video
So it’s no mystery that, with all of the TV exposure, Mendocino has become one of the most popular getaways on the California coast.
The series ran 12 years altogether, filming its last episode in 1996. During that time, 264 episodes were broadcast to millions of viewers each week, each segment serving up a good helping of scenery in and around Mendocino. Interestingly there were just nine episodes actually filmed in the town – the other 255 shows used stock exterior footage the producers grabbed while in town for those nine shoots.
When you visit this town for the first time, the seascape just reaches out and touches your spirit. It’s not just Mendocino – the entire stretch of coastline heading north into Mendocino yields view after view, each a little more spectacular than the last one. Driving this part of Highway 101, you really do have to make an extra effort to focus on your driving, lest you be lulled into some sort of meditative trance.
Mendocino is perched high on a bluff overlooking the vast Pacific. It’s a small town and really just what you would think a New England fishing village would look like. A mixture of Cape Cod architecture and historic storefronts gives the town an almost theme-town kind of appearance. Windswept trees, rolling grassy hills and steep cliffs are footsteps from the Village by way of several miles of coastal trails that are perfect for hiking and photography. Down below are remote beaches and the cragged, rocky shoreline.
In the Village you’ll find a variety of eclectic shops – unusual records, one-of-a-kind musical instruments, vintage toys, you name it — mingled with historic homes, inns and fine restaurants. With more than 60 movies filmed here, it seems like everybody has a movie connection of some sort. Blair House bed and breakfast was the fictional home of Jessica Fletcher, the character Angela Lansbury played in Murder She Wrote. Over at Heritage House, their claim to fame is that the inn was used as the setting for the movie Same Time Next Year. And so it goes.
Our accommodations for the night did not have a connection with the movies, although the popular MacCallum House bed and breakfast inn has a strong connection with Mendocino history. This house dates back to 1882 and was built by Alexander MacCallum, whose father-in-law was one of the first settlers in Mendocino. Eventually the house was turned into a bed-and-breakfast inn and went through a series of owners until it was purchased just two years ago by local residents Jed Ayres and Noah Sheppard.
The 30-something Ayres took a rather unconventional route from Mendocino high school student to proprietor of MacCallum House. He started in the hospitality business while he was still a college student, working summers at Heritage House as a waiter, bell hop and assistant manager. But after earning his MBA, he took a summer internship with computer reseller AmeriData that eventually led to a position as General Manager of the company’s Bay Area office supervising 100 employees and sales of million. From there, Ayres went on to an even more prominent position with a start-up DSL provider that, unfortunately, went out of business the next year. It was time for a decision.
“I wanted to move home and do something different and raise a family,” Ayres explains. And so it was then that he and longtime friend and local contractor Sheppard put the deal together to buy the MacCallum House, where Ayres had once worked. Ironically, they bought the restaurant from Alan Kantor, who had hired Ayres way back when as a dishwasher. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Kantor has remained with the restaurant and is today recognized as one of the best chefs in the area. Ayres has gone from dishwasher to semi-mogul, Mendocino’s version of Donald Trump.
In the short time that Ayres and Sheppard have owned the inn, occupancy has skyrocketed, due in part to the technical savvy that Ayres brings to internet marketing. The partners have gone on to buy more buildings including the well-known Reed Manor, which is the newest and perhaps most luxurious hotel in Mendocino. It’s now known as MacCallum Suites.
Our stay at MacCallum House was quiet and restful, and gave us a great chance to just walk down the block to visit the local merchants or to hike on over to the headlands where the trails offer breathtaking views of the coastline and the town itself. We stayed in the “Upper Barn Suite,” a second-floor unit in a building across the lawn from the main house. This is the largest room on the MacCallum property and enjoys views of the ocean. The unit features a private deck as well as a stone fireplace, wet bar, refrigerator and a large living room in addition to the bed, bath and kitchen areas. Furnishings are generally antique – or approaching antique.
Of course, dining at MacCallum House is a big part of the treat and, fortunately, we elected to have dinner there in addition to the breakfast that normally comes with your room. Both meals were well up to expectations. Breakfast for example, might include a Butternut Squash Omelet or Red Potatoes with Cremini Mushrooms or, the entree we tried, Lupe’s Breakfast Burrito, a delicious combination of apple-turkey sausage, scrambled eggs, white cheddar, onions, peppers and salsa on a fresh tortilla. Most of the dinner menu items highlight entrees that are regional and fresh.
After great food should come some exercise, and there is no shortage of places to hike in the Mendocino area. In addition to the previously mentioned trails, there are lots of areas where you can walk by rivers and streams and even enjoy Redwood forests. Near Mendocino, you’ll find a total of five state parks as well as five state beaches awaiting your exploration. The hikes range from casual to moderately challenging.
A slightly different kind of walk is available when the many local fine art galleries open their doors for special artist openings and group shows between the hours of 5 and 7 p.m. This is offered the second Saturday of each month. In fact, the beauty of Mendocino has always beckoned artists and the Mendocino Art Center will even teach you how to become an artist.
Finally, if you think you have to go to Napa to experience fine California wines, the Anderson Valley is an easy drive from Mendocino. Altogether there are 40 wineries and 16,000 acres of vineyards in Mendocino County. Anderson Valley, with its different climates at each end, offers excellent conditions for growing a variety of grapes.
Yes, the only mystery that Jessica Fletcher really can’t solve is how so much natural beauty ended up all in one place: Mendocino, California. AT A GLANCE
WHERE: Mendocino is about 150 miles north of San Francisco and is reached by taking Highway 101 north, then Highway 128 northwest to the coast. Scenery abounds once you get on 128.
WHAT: Mendocino is one of several Northern California Coast destinations that each offer spectacular views and a special coastal charm. Mendocino is perhaps one of the most scenic, which is why it has been used as a backdrop in more than 60 movies. When you think of a California vacation, the coast often comes to mind and this is one of the most scenic stretches of coast in the entire state.
What should I make sure not to miss? We will be hitting Redwoods, Prarie Creek, and Jedediah Smith parks. Also, we won’t be camping the full week. We want to break it up with a night in a cute motel or B&B every couple nights, any suggestions on lodging?
I’m traveling from Seattle to Las Vegas and stopping in Northern California. I would like to stay in maybe like a cabin or something. Preferrably something newer though..with nice amenties. OR maybe stay in a hotel near the redwoods that has some nice, newer amenties? Does anyone have any ideas, suggestions, experiences?
Also, one more question..are the redwoods near the ocean? If so is there anywhere to stay between the two?
