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Towering forests, magnificent mountains, crystal blue lakes, gleaming
deserts, beautiful coastal islands, wonderful wilderness and more…
Yosemite National Park
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The park to head for. Few places in the world rival its stunning
splendour. Forests teem with wildlife, spectacular waterfalls take the
breath away and towering sequoias crick the neck. There are
breathtaking views of the park’s scenic highlights from Olmsted Point
off Highway 120. Among the vistas are the Half Dome, Clouds Rest and
sparkling Tenaya Lake. Closer vistas are available from the beautiful
Yosemite Valley. Other attractions include the Mariposa and Tuolomne
groves of giant sequoia trees, and activities such as climbing,
hang-gliding, camping and hiking – just watch out for the bears!
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Channel Islands National Park
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Just off California’s Central Coast, these five islands are home to
more than 2,000 species of plants and animals, 145 of which are not
found anywhere else in the world. The islands are easily reached by
boat from Oxnard or Ventura, south of Santa Barbara.
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Redwood National & State Parks
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This World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve stretching
along California’s northern coast is home to some of the world’s oldest
and tallest trees. Old-growth coast redwoods can live for more than
2,000 years and grow to be more than 300 feet tall, and to walk through
them is like worshipping in a forest cathedral.
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Joshua Tree National Park
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Midway between Los Angeles and the Arizona border, this park consists
of two large eco-systems – one high desert, the other low. The higher,
slightly-cooler Mojave Desert is famous for its Joshua trees, named by
Mormon pioneers, who thought thier limbs resembled the outstretched
arms of Joshua leading them to the Promised Land. The park is one of
the most popular rock-climbing areas in the world, with more than 4,500
established routes. Below 3,000 feet the Colorado Desert forms the
eatern part of the park, with natural gardens of creosote bush, spidery
ocotillo and cholla cactus.
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Lake Tahoe
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Lake Tahoe, nicknamed ‘Big Blue’ thanks to its intense colour, is 22
miles long and 12 miles wide and the water in the lake is said to be so
pure that you can see a white dinner plate up to a depth of 75 feet. A
mecca for outdoor enthusiasts the lake is surrounded by ski resorts in
winter and adventurers in summer. At certain times of year its even be
known for surfing and skiing to be happening simultaneously.
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Gold Country
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Close to the state Capital of Sacramento is Coloma, where in 1848 James
Marshall noticed some shiny yellow flecks in teh American River while
he was building a mill for Captain John Sutter. This was the start of
the Californian Gold Rush, one of the greatest mass movements of people
in history, and to the settlement of the American West. Sutter’s Mill
is now home to the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, where
visitors can pan for gold.
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Shasta Cascade
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The Shasta Cascade region in the size of Belgium and takes up more than
20 percent of California. Located in the north-east corner of the state
it has spectucular snow-capped mountain peaks, countless lakes and
rivers and vast tracks of forest that set it apart from the accepted
view of the California landscape. The jewel of the Shasta Cascade is
magnificent Mt Shasta. Visible from more than 100 miles away, the
cone-shaped mountain is near the sourhtern end of the Volcanic Cascade
Range. Technically, it is a ‘live volcano, as indicated by the hot
spring on its summit.
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Lassen Volcanic National Park
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This north-eastern California park takes you back 600,000 years, when
the collision and warping of continental plates caused violent volcanic
eruptions. View four types of dormant volcanoes as well as steam vents,
bubbling mud pots and boiling pools from the park’s more than 150 miles
of trails.
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Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
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There two adjacent parks, managed as one, are located in the Sierra
Nevada Mountain range south of Yosemite. Major attractions include Mt
Whitney – at 14,494 feet the highest US mountain in the contiguous 48
states – and the 2,500-year-old General Sherman sequoia tree, by volume
the largest living tree in the world.
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Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
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In this wildlife-filled park, California largest state park, you can
take a three-mile hike to a dreamy oasis where a waterfall flows from
winter to spring.
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Calaveras Country
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Gold is not the only reason to go underground in California, You can
discover a beautiful world below the surface in a cluster of caves in
Calveras Country, where water has shaped the porous limestone into high
‘galleries’, multiple winding passages, deep black lakes and
fascinating formations. Take a tour to get more challenging cave
expeditions.
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Desert Hot Springs
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While Palm Springs is famous for its wealth of spas, the real source
for natural, healing, hot mineral waters lies just north in the City of
Desert Hot Springs, a favorite celebrity hideaway. Most of the spas in
Desert Hot Springs are fed by natural waters of 90 to 145 degrees,
pumped from wells that lie deep below the earth’s surface. Health
benefits include relief for stiffness and pain in joints and muscles,
increased circulation and oxygen flow to the body, and reduction of
fatigue and stress. As an added bonus, one the natural minerals found
in the water is silicone, which leaves the body silky and smooth after
a dip.
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