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🇺🇸 State · United States
California: from salt flats to giant sequoias
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California stretches over a thousand kilometres of staggering variety: golden southern beaches, Pacific-battered cliffs along the central coast, towering redwood forests in the north and scorching deserts to the east. People come for the energy of Los Angeles and Silicon Valley, the golden light of San Francisco perched above its bay, and above all for its legendary national parks. The Sierra Nevada raises its granite walls at Yosemite, while Death Valley holds the country's heat records. Between the vineyards of Napa Valley, the scenic Big Sur drive and mountain ski slopes, California is made for the road trip. It is a state-as-a-world, where ocean, desert, forest and high mountains sit within a few hours of one another by car.
Los Angeles's Griffith Observatory hosts the climactic showdown of “Rebel Without a Cause” (1955), starring James Dean.
The lowest point (Badwater, -86 m) and the highest in the contiguous US (Mount Whitney, 4,421 m) sit only about 130 km apart.
Drive Big Sur's State Route 1 between Carmel and San Simeon: clifftops, arched bridges and hidden coves far from the LA crowds.
Spring and autumn are ideal: thinner crowds, mild temperatures and carpets of wildflowers. The state is huge, so expect long drives between regions; a car is essential, and domestic flights usefully link San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. Avoid Death Valley at the height of summer, when the heat turns dangerous, and carry plenty of water. Worth knowing about coverage: while cities and main highways are very well served, the mobile signal drops noticeably in Yosemite's canyons, deep in Death Valley and on remote park roads; download offline maps before you set off.