121 pages with 110+ photographs (1.5 MB PDF)

San Francisco is a fascinating city, and the notorious Alcatraz Island can be visited in the bay.  Death Valley is also included, with its unusual beauty.  Yosemite cannot possibly be missed.  Other great interests include volcanic remains (some recent), history, wonderful scenery and trees, especially the Giant Sequoia and Joshua Tree.

This itinerary is a basic 16 days, which has two 'built-in' optional extensions.
One option is for 4 days covering northern California and southern Oregon, the other is for an extra 1 day to take in Las Vegas, Nevada. Therefore, the itinerary can be extended to 17, 20 or 21 days.

Visit up to 6 National Parks:

Yosemite	one of the most famous and popular areas.  Away from Yosemite Valley, there are many more wonderful views and trails to explore.  Half Dome and El Capitan are world-famous
Death Valley	a strangely beautiful place.  There are wonderful landscapes, colours, historic buildings and an oasis at Furnace Creek
Lassen Volcanic	this volcanic region was violently active in 1915.  The simmering remains are set in a beautiful area
Joshua Tree	not only famous for Joshua Trees, which are part of the Yucca family, the area has amazing rock formations and cacti
Sequoia	this has the 5 largest Giant Sequoias in the world, with many groves of these massive trees
Kings Canyon	next to Sequoia National Park, this has more Giant Sequoias.  There is astounding scenery in the canyon

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Visit up to 3 National areas:

Mojave	a Preserve covering an interesting area with the greatest concentration of Joshua Trees in the world.  There is also a restored railroad station and superb views
Manzanar	the Historic Site for internment of 10,000 American-Japanese citizens and residents during World War II
Muir Woods	a Monument of Coast Redwoods, which escaped being felled for timber

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Visit up to 14 State areas, including:

Hearst Castle	built by the publishing tycoon, William Randolph Hearst, for his mistress, it was designed like a Mediterranean cathedral with swimming pools and priceless works of art
Bodie	the state's best ghost town.  It was a gold-mining boom-town in the 1880s
Shasta	another ghost town, which was the gold-mining trading and social centre for the area in the late 1800s
others	such as Donner Memorial, Mono Lake, William B Ide, Colonel Allensworth, and those along Lake Tahoe and Big Sur

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Visit San Francisco, and other towns, including:

San Francisco	a beautiful city, famous for the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, cable cars on steep hills and much more
Pioneertown	a permanent set for 1880 Western films, which provided accommodation for actors, and is still inhabited
Carmel	famous for its writers and artists, it is a fashionable residential area for the wealthy
Monterey	the home of John Steinbeck's Cannery Row, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and 17-Mile Drive with the famous Lone Cypress
Morro Bay	a popular Pacific Ocean resort, with its unusual Morro Rock in the bay, and stylish waterfront area

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Visit other fascinating places, including:

Winchester Mystery House	built by the heiress to the Winchester fortune, who thought she was haunted by the spirits of those killed by the famous rifles
Desert Christ Park	about 35 larger-than-life concrete figures of Christ's life and teachings are intended for peaceful meditation in Yucca Valley
Redding	a good area for an overnight stop, with its new, graceful Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay
Stanford University	a private university that has produced many famous people.  The Memorial Church and Hoover Tower are really interesting
Napa Valley	home to the state's wine industry, it is also an attractive area, especially travelling along the Silverado Trail
Edwards Air Force Base	the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum is open when security conditions allow
Calistoga	this quaint town has mineral waters, mud baths, a local Petrified Forest and an Old Faithful Geyser
Kern County Museum	a village setting, with buildings from the late-1800s and early-1900s.  A major exhibition is about the local oil industry
Alabama Hills	a popular location for films and commercials. Many movies were shot here, near the town of Lone Pine
Scenic Byways	directions have been carefully chosen to travel along scenic routes

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Suggested walking/hiking: In addition to visiting the many interesting places on this itinerary, separate walks are also described, where appropriate back to top

Two built-in optional extensions:   click for a summary...