Lonely Planet California

California

Contents

Plan Your Trip

Welcome to California

California's Top 25

Need to Know

What's New

If You Like

Month by Month

Itineraries

Road Trips & Scenic Drives

Beaches, Swimming & Surfing

California Camping & Outdoors

Eat & Drink Like a Local

Travel with Children

Regions at a Glance

On The Road

San Francisco

History

Sights

Activities

Tours & Courses

Festivals & Events

Sleeping

Eating

Drinking & Nightlife

Entertainment

Shopping

San Francisco by Cable Car

Marin County & the Bay Area

Marin County

Marin Headlands

Sausalito

Tiburon

Sir Francis Drake Boulevard & Around

San Rafael

Mill Valley

Mt Tamalpais State Park

Muir Woods National Monument

Muir Beach

Stinson Beach

Bolinas

Olema & Nicasio

Point Reyes Station

Inverness

Point Reyes National Seashore

East Bay

Oakland

Berkeley

Mt Diablo State Park

John Muir National Historic Site

The Peninsula

San Francisco to San Jose

San Jose

Pacifica & Devils Slide

Pacifica to Half Moon Bay

Half Moon Bay

Pescadero

Ano Nuevo State Park

Napa & Sonoma Wine Country

Napa Valley

Napa Valley Wineries

Napa

Yountville

Oakville & Rutherford

St Helena

Calistoga & Around

Sonoma Valley

Sonoma Valley Wineries

Sonoma & Around

Glen Ellen & Kenwood

Russian River Area

Russian River Wineries

Sebastopol

Occidental & Around

Guerneville & Around

Santa Rosa

Healdsburg & Around

North Coast & Redwoods

Coastal Highway 1

Bodega Bay

Sonoma Coast State Beach

Jenner

Fort Ross State Historic Park

Salt Point State Park

Sea Ranch

Gualala & Anchor Bay

Point Arena

Manchester

Elk

Van Damme State Park

Mendocino

Jug Handle State Reserve

Fort Bragg

MacKerricher State Park

Westport

Along Highway 101

Hopland

Clear Lake

Anderson Valley

Ukiah

Around Ukiah

Willits

Southern Redwood Coast

Leggett

Richardson Grove State Park

Garberville

Lost Coast

Humboldt Redwoods State Park & Avenue of the Giants

Scotia

Ferndale

Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Eureka

Samoa Peninsula

Arcata

Northern Redwood Coast

Trinidad

Patrick's Point State Park

Humboldt Lagoons State Park

Redwood National & State Parks

Klamath

Crescent City

Tolowa Dunes State Park & Lake Earl Wildlife Area

Pelican State Beach

Central Coast

Along Highway 1

Santa Cruz

Around Santa Cruz

Monterey

Pacific Grove

Carmel-by-the-Sea

Big Sur

Point Piedras Blancas

Mission San Antonio De Padua

San Simeon

Hearst Castle

Cambria

Cayucos

Morro Bay

Montana de Oro State Park

Along Highway 101

San Juan Bautista

Gilroy

Salinas

Pinnacles National Park

San Miguel

Paso Robles

San Luis Obispo

Avila Beach

Pismo Beach

Santa Barbara County

Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara Wine Country

Wineries

Solvang

Buellton

Around Santa Barbara

Montecito

Summerland

Carpinteria

Ojai

Ventura

Channel Islands National Park

Los Angeles

Around Los Angeles

Catalina Island

Big Bear Lake

Disneyland & Orange County

Disneyland & Anaheim

Around Disneyland

Knott's Berry Farm

Discovery Cube

Bowers Museum & Kidseum

Old Towne Orange

Orange County Beaches

Seal Beach

Huntington Beach

Newport Beach

Around Newport Beach

Laguna Beach

Around Laguna Beach

Dana Point

San Diego & Around

Central & Coastal San Diego

La Jolla & North County Coast

La Jolla

Del Mar

Solana Beach

Cardiff-by-the-Sea

Encinitas

Carlsbad

Oceanside

Palm Springs & the Deserts

Palm Springs & the Coachella Valley

Joshua Tree National Park

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Around Anza-Borrego

Route 66

Mojave National Preserve

Around Mojave National Preserve

Death Valley National Park

Around Death Valley National Park

Upper Mojave Desert

Las Vegas

Northern Mountains

Redding & Around

Redding

Around Redding

Shasta Lake

Mt Lassen Region

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Lassen National Forest

Lake Almanor Area

Susanville

Eagle Lake

Quincy

Bucks Lake

Mt Shasta Region

Mt Shasta

Mt Shasta City

Dunsmuir

Castle Crags State Park

McCloud

McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park & Around

Lava Beds National Monument

Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges

Modoc National Forest

West of I-5

Weaverville

Lewiston Lake

Trinity Lake

Klamath & Siskiyou Mountains

Scott Valley

Yreka

California Wildlife

Sacramento & Central Valley

Sacramento Valley

Sacramento

SacramentoSan Joaquin River Delta

Davis

Oroville

Chico

Red Bluff

San Joaquin Valley

Lodi

Stockton

Modesto

Merced

Fresno

Visalia

Bakersfield

Kern River Area

Gold Country

Nevada County & Northern Gold Country

Auburn

Auburn State Recreation Area

Grass Valley

Nevada City

South Yuba River State Park

Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park

North Yuba River

El Dorado & Amador Counties

Coloma-Lotus Valley

Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park

Placerville

Plymouth & Amador City

Sutter Creek

Volcano

Jackson

Calaveras County & South Gold Country

Angels Camp

Murphys

Columbia

Sonora & Jamestown

Lake Tahoe

South Lake Tahoe & Stateline

Lake Tahoe Western Shore

Emerald Bay State Park

DL Bliss State Park

Meeks Bay

Ed Zberg Sugar Pine Point State Park

Tahoma

Homewood

Sunnyside

Tahoe City

Squaw Valley

Truckee & Donner Lake

Lake Tahoe Northern Shore

Tahoe Vista

Kings Beach

Crystal Bay (Nevada)

Lake Tahoe Eastern Shore (Nevada)

Incline Village

Lake Tahoe-Nevada State Park

Reno (Nevada)

Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite Gateways

Fish Camp

Oakhurst

Merced River Canyon

Mariposa

Groveland

Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks

Kings Canyon National Park

Sequoia National Park

Eastern Sierra

Mono Lake Region

Mammoth Lakes

Around Mammoth Lakes

Bishop

Big Pine

Independence

Lone Pine

Understand

Understand California

California Today

History

The Way of Life

On Location: Film & TV

Music & the Arts

By the Book

The Land & Wildlife

Survive

Directory AZ

Accommodations

Customs Regulations

Discount Cards

Electricity

Food

Health

Insurance

Internet Access

Legal Matters

LGBT Travelers

Maps

Money

Opening Hours

Post

Public Holidays

Safe Travel

Telephone

Time

Toilets

Tourist Information

Travelers with Disabilities

Visas

Volunteering

Transportation

Getting There & Away

Getting Around

Behind the Scenes

Our Writers

Special Features

San Francisco by Cable Car

Welcome to California

From misty Northern California redwood forests to sun-kissed Southern California beaches, the enchanted Golden State makes Disneyland seem normal.

Natural Beauty

Don’t be fooled by its perpetually fresh outlook and adventurous attitude: California is older than it seems. Coastal bluffs and snowy peaks were created over millennia of tectonic upheavals that threatened to shake California right off the continent. After 19th-century mining, logging and oil-drilling threatened the state’s natural splendors, California’s pioneering environmentalists rescued old-growth trees, reclaimed rivers and cleaned the beaches. Thanks to the leadership of Californian conservationist John Muir and his Sierra Club, California's national and state parks continue to astound visitors today.

Fabulous Food & Drink

Without California, America's menu would be drab and predictable: the Golden State produces most of the country's fresh produce and kicks off nationwide food trends. Every time they sit down to eat, Californians take a stand on food issues: would you like that salad certified organic or spray-free, your toast with farm-to-table jam or urban-beehive honey, and your burger vegan or with humanely raised grass-fed meat? No matter what you order, it’s bound to be local and creative – and it had better be good. For a chaser, California produces over 90% of the nation’s wine-making grapes, and has twice as many breweries as any other state.

From Hollywood to Silicon Valley

Through booms and busts, California has gotten by on its wits and charm. Hollywood still makes most of the world’s movies and TV shows, and launches new talents nightly on stages statewide. But California dreams don't begin with moguls in office towers – they're invented by California's artists, adventurers and resident weirdos in their own backyards. Wild schemes that started at psychedelic music festivals and in San Jose garages have gone mainstream – perhaps you've heard of smartphones, streaming video and Burning Man? – but there are plenty of outlandish ideas here still awaiting discovery. Hang out at California galleries, cafes, bars and festivals, and you may actually see the future coming.

City Lights

California's cities hit maximum dazzle as the sun sets over the Pacific, and lights twinkle across golden hillsides. Lamps illuminate San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter, the Hollywood sign glows bright as the moon over LA, and Bay Bridge lights welcome San Francisco arrivals with a wink and a shimmy. Consider this your invitation to come out and play, and join the crowds at LA's star-studded nightclubs and movie palaces, San Francisco's historic LGBT hot spots, Santa Barbara's swanky beach bars and San Diego's booming brewpubs. Tomorrow there will be neighborhoods, beaches, spas and boutiques to explore – but tonight is a night on the town like no other.

F11PHOTO / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Why I Love California

By Alison Bing, Writer

On my way from Hong Kong to New York, I stopped through San Francisco for a day. I walked from Geary St art galleries through Chinatown to Waverly Place, just as temple services were starting. The fog was scented with incense and roast duck. I wandered into the basement of City Lights Bookstore, and near the Muckraking section, I noticed a sign painted by a 1920s cult: 'I am the door.' It's true: California is the threshold between East and West, fact and fiction, body and soul. That revelation was 20 years ago. I'm still here. You have been warned.

California's Top 25

San Francisco

This is as far out as you can get without winding up in the Pacific – San Francisco keeps pushing boundaries with trendsetting food, social movements, art and technology. This town is defined by bold moves: the iconic Golden Gate Bridge is an engineering marvel in a color chosen over the Navy's objections; nature lovers elbowed aside speculators to establish Golden Gate Park; and Alcatraz was occupied by Native American protestors and turned into a museum. Discover the weirdest tech in the west at the Exploratorium, and find inspiration in new-media installations at supersized SFMOMA.

Golden Gate Bridge | MICHAEL LAWENKO DELA PAZ / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences

Redwood Forests

Hugging a tree never came so naturally as it does in California's sun-dappled groves of ancient redwoods, the world's tallest trees. These gentle giants are quintessentially Californian: their roots may be shallow, but they hold each other up and reach dizzying heights. Even a short stroll on the soft forest floor beneath them puts the rest of the world into perspective. Redwoods thrive along the coast from Big Sur north to the Oregon, and you'll find old-growth groves at Muir Woods National Monument, Humboldt Redwoods State Park and Redwood National and State Parks.

JORDAN SIEMENS / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences

Yosemite National Park

Feeling so small has never felt this grand. Everything is monumental at Yosemite National Park: thunderous waterfalls tumble over sheer cliffs, granite domes tower overhead and the world's biggest trees cluster in mighty groves of giant sequoias. Conservationist John Muir considered Yosemite a great temple, and awe is the natural reaction to these vast wildflower-strewn meadows and steep valleys carved over millennia by glaciers, avalanches and earthquakes. To achieve maximum wonder, stop at Glacier Point under a full moon or drive the high country’s Tioga Rd on a cloudless summer day.

Yosemite Valley | LOIC LAGARDE / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences

Palm Springs

The desert gets hot, but Palm Springs has kept its cool since the '50s. This resort getaway is where stars like Sinatra, Elvis, and Leonardo DiCaprio have come out to play away from the paparazzi and lounge by the pool in mid-Century Modern digs. Hit brunch hot spots, vintage stores and the Palm Springs Art Museum until happy hour in tiki speakeasies and LGBT cabarets. Tomorrow you could explore desert canyons across Native American tribal lands, summit the San Jacinto Mountains the easy way on an aerial tramway…or you can just lounge the day away.

A Palm Springs resort | TRINETTE REED / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences

Big Sur

Following your bliss inevitably leads to Big Sur. Waterfalls splash down sandy bluffs in rainbow mists, and yurt retreats perch at the edge of redwood forests. Beyond purple-sand beaches and coves lined with California jade, pods of migrating whales dot the sparkling Pacific. But don't forget to turn around: hiding behind these coastal bluffs are hot springs and Beat literary retreats, with California condors circling over the cliffs. Time your visit for peak waterfall season in May, or after summer vacation for maximum meditation.

McWay Falls | DOUG MEEK / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences

Santa Monica & Venice

How do you beat LA traffic? Hit the beach instead. Sunny Santa Monica delivers an endless summer with iconic surf spots, a solar-powered Ferris wheel, carnival games on the old-fashioned pier, tidal touch pools in the aquarium and beach sunsets that go on forever. Arrive at nearby Venice Beach to join the nonstop parade of New Agers, muscled bodybuilders, goth punks and hippie drummers – around here you'll never need an excuse to let your freak flag fly.

NITTO100 / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences

Hollywood

When you're ready for your close-up, there's only one place to go. The stars come out at night for red-carpet premieres at restored movie palaces, and you too can have your Hollywood moment on the pink-starred Walk of Fame. This once-gritty LA neighborhood is making a glorious comeback, bringing old Hollywood glamour to glitzy velvet-roped bars, VIP nightclubs and hip hotels. Snap a selfie outside Grauman’s Chinese Theatre or duck into Hollywood & Highland’s Babylon Court for a photo op with the iconic Hollywood sign and revel in your 15 minutes of social media fame.

OSCITY / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences

Disneyland Resort

Where orange groves and walnut trees once grew, Walt Disney built his dream world. Since his 'Magic Kingdom' opened in 1955, Disneyland has expanded to neighboring Disney California Adventure to become SoCal’s most-visited tourist attraction. Waltz down Main Street, U.S.A. with your favorite cartoon characters, ride movie-themed roller coasters and watch fireworks explode over Sleeping Beauty Castle on hot summer nights. For a day, leave your troubles behind, suspend disbelief and join throngs of gleeful kids.

Disney/DISNEY ©

Top Experiences

Death Valley

The daunting name brings to mind Wild West ghost towns, broken-down pioneer wagon trains and tumbleweed blowing past skulls on desert sand dunes – but Death Valley is full of life. Spring wildflowers daub the dunes with a painter’s palette of colors, adrenaline-seekers zoom across crackled salt flats, and shy desert wildlife lives by starlight. Twist your way up narrow canyons past geological oddities, and teeter over volcanic craters formed by violent prehistoric explosions.

DAN SEDRAN / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences

San Diego

San Diego is known for its beaches and craft beer – but there's another side to this seaside town. Beautiful Balboa Park is the pride of San Diego, with Spanish Colonial and Mission Revival–style architecture along El Prado promenade and more than a dozen art, cultural and science museums. Glimpse exotic wildlife and ride the ‘Skyfari’ aerial tram at San Diego’s world-famous zoo, or nab tickets for a show at the Old Globe Theaters, modeled on the famous Shakespearean original.

DANCESTROKES / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences

Mendocino

Along the coast around the weathered Victorian port of Mendocino, churning surf is never out of earshot, and tides roll back to reveal driftwood, abalone, and boulders that'll make you think some sea monsters have lost their marbles. Mendocino is a legendary bohemian outpost, with bookstores, natural food shops and redwood water towers swirled in mists carrying fragrant bursts of lavender, jasmine and THC – but there's more to explore inland in Mendocino County. You've probably heard of Mendocino's now-legal cash crop, but you'll also find some of the state's best-value wines lining sunny Anderson Valley.

Point Arena, Mendocino County | TRAVELLIGHT / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences

Santa Barbara

Nicknamed the ‘American Riviera' for its seaside elegance and culinary decadence, Santa Barbara might sound fancy, but it's all laid-back California vibes. Waving palm trees, powdery beaches, fishing boats clanking in the harbor – it’d be a travel cliché if it wasn’t the plain truth. But Santa Barbara worked hard to stay so idyllic: downtown was rebuilt in signature Spanish Colonial Revival style after a 1925 earthquake and environmentalists lobbied to clean up the beaches in the '60s and '70s. California’s ‘Queen of the Missions’ is a rare beauty, with its signature red-roofed, whitewashed adobe building.

ED-NI PHOTO / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences

Gold Country

‘Go west, young man!’ was the rallying cry of tens of thousands of pioneers who arrived here during California’s gold rush, starting in 1848. Today, these rough-and-tumble Sierra Nevada foothills are a stronghold of Golden State history, with thrilling, mostly true tales of banditry, bordellos and bloodlust. Wind past sleepy townships and abandoned mines on Hwy 49 to discover swimming holes, white-water rafting, downhill mountain-biking bomber runs and saloon wine-tasting rooms supplied by the state's oldest grapevines. Eureka! You've found your California adventure.

Bodie State Historic Park | FEIFEI CUI-PAOLUZZO / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences

Russian River

Sonoma's Russian River Valley is one of California's best-kept secrets. This wine country is Napa's rebel cousin, with sparkling wines offered in tasting rooms, and cult biodynamic Pinot Noirs you won't find anywhere else. Hippies headed back to the land here in the '60s, and you can taste their organic farm-to-table cuisine and feel the groovy vibes in Occidental and Sebastopol. Riverside cabin retreats date from the 1900s, when San Franciscan socialites headed here for sunshine and privacy – Guerneville has been an LGBT getaway for a century, and Lazy Bear Weekend (July/August) is a major gay holiday.

CLAY MCLACHLAN / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences

Monterey

Get up close and personal with California marine life in the fishing village of Monterey, where John Steinbeck brought colorful local wharf characters to life – and the seals are pretty outrageous too. Hop aboard a whale-watching cruise to explore a national marine sanctuary, or walk right into the bay at the aquarium to spot golden sea dragons, shy pink Pacific octopuses and scene-stealing rescued otters at play. Explore Monterey's hidden gardens, villa art museums and historic adobe-walled buildings, then visit monarch butterflies and the West Coast’s oldest lighthouse in neighboring Pacific Grove.

Humpback whale | CHASE DEKKER /SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences

Mt Shasta

No other pile of rock in California stirs the imagination quite like Mt Shasta, rising majestically from the surrounding flatlands. There's something mystical about this peak – Native Californians believed that it was home to a sky-spirit chief. Tales swirl around Mt Shasta: New Age pilgrims say it's an energy vortex, and one late-19th-century explorer reported that survivors of a lost continent were living in tunnels below its surface. Experience spine-tingling chills on its windblown peak, and see for yourself why conservationist John Muir said its beauty made his ‘blood turn to wine.’

LILLY HUSBANDS / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences

Laguna Beach

While surfers hang loose in Huntington Beach and yachties mingle dockside in Newport Beach, Orange County's Laguna Beach lures them all with culture and natural beauty. Startling seascapes led an early-20th-century artists’ colony to put down roots here, and Laguna’s bohemian past lives on in downtown art galleries, adorable arts-and-crafts bungalows tucked beside multimillion-dollar mansions, and the annual Summer Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters.

Heisler Park | JON BILOUS / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences

Lake Tahoe

High in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, this all-seasons adventure base camp centers on the USA’s second-deepest lake. In summer, startlingly clear blue waters invite splashing, kayaking and even scuba diving. Meanwhile, mountain bikers careen down epic single-track runs and hikers follow trails through thick forests to staggering views. After dark, retreat to cozy lakefront cottages and toast s’mores in firepits. When the lake turns into a winter wonderland, gold-medal ski resorts amp up the adrenaline for downhill fanatics, snowboarders and Nordic traditionalists.

TOPSELLER / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Anchoring the Cascades' chain of volcanoes to the south, this alien landscape bubbles over with roiling mud pots, noxious sulfur vents and steamy fumaroles. But Lassen also delights the senses with colorful cinder cones and azure crater lakes. Ditch the crowds and head to this off-the-beaten-path destination to discover fresh peaks to be conquered, pristine waters for dipping, forested campgrounds for comfort, and boardwalks through Bumpass Hell that will leave you awestruck.

KOJIHIRANO / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences

Surfing

Even if you never set foot on a board – but, like, you should totally check out this gnarly break, brah – surfing defines California pop culture, from street slang to movies and laid-back fashion. Pros ride world-class breaks off Malibu, Huntington Beach (aka ‘Surf City USA’), La Jolla and Santa Barbara, while newbies get schooled at ‘surfari’ camps along the coast from San Diego north to Santa Cruz.

WONDERFUL NATURE / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences

Coastin' on Amtrak

All aboard! Evocatively named routes like Coast Starlight and Pacific Surfliner will tempt you to leave your car behind and ride the rails, from Oakland to SoCal. South of San Luis Obispo, glimpse remote beaches from Amtrak’s panoramic-view observation cars. Blink and you’re already in Santa Barbara, in time for wine. Hop off for a seaside swim at whistle-stop Carpinteria or Ventura, before rolling into LA’s architecturally grand Union Station. Keep rolling south to historic Mission San Juan Capistrano and North County beach towns before landing in downtown San Diego.

HAL BERGMAN PHOTOGRAPHY / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences

California's Missions

If you road-trip along the coast between San Diego and Sonoma, you'll be following in the footsteps of early Spanish conquistadors and Catholic priests. Franciscan friar Junípero Serra founded many of California’s 21 missions in the late 18th century, and many are restored to their original stark beauty. Legend has it that ghosts still pace the cloisters of many missions, built by Native California conscripts – many of whom didn't survive to see their completion. Mission San Juan Capistrano is one of best restores, with flowering gardens, stone arcades, fountains, and chapels adorned by spiritual frescoes.

RARENA / SHUTTERSTOCK ©; USED WITH PERMISSION OF MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO

Top Experiences

Point Reyes National Seashore

California may be sunnier down south, but Point Reyes is more poetic. Step across the San Andreas Fault to find windswept beaches, where the horizon stretches toward infinity. Way off at land's end, climb the lighthouse and scan the Pacific for migratory whales. In this wild place you'll find good company: there's a seasonal colony of raucous giant elephant seals at Chimney Rock and free-ranging herds of hulking tule elk, especially on the north end. Return to civilization the easy way at Point Reyes Station for lazy brunches and splendid local cheese.

NICK FOX / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences

Channel Islands

Tossed like lost pearls off the coast, the Channel Islands have been California's last outpost of civilization ever since seafaring Chumash people established villages on these remote rocks. Marine life thrives on these islands, from coral reefs to giant elephant seals. Get back to nature with fantastic sea kayaking and snorkeling in Channel Islands National Park, or plan a posh getaway at the harborfront hotels of Mediterranean-style Catalina Island.

Seal | DOUGLAS KLUG / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences

Coronado

Who says you can’t turn back time? Speed over the curved bay bridge or hop the ferry from San Diego to swanky, retro, seaside Coronado. You don't need a costume to enjoy the period drama of the palatial 19th-century Hotel del Coronado, where royalty and presidents escaped from their duties and Marilyn Monroe cavorted in the 1950s screwball classic Some Like It Hot. Pedal past impossibly white beaches all the way down the peninsula’s Silver Strand, stopping at old-fashioned ice-cream parlors and vintage photo ops – no sepia-tone filter necessary.

GAGLIARDIIMAGES / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Need to Know

For more information, see Survival Guide.

Currency

US dollars ($)

Language

English

Visas

Generally not required for stays of 90 days or less for citizens of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries with Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) approval (https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov) – apply online at least 72 hours in advance.

Money

ATMs are widely available. Credit cards are usually required for reservations. Traveler's checks (US dollars) are rarely accepted. Tipping is customary, not optional.

Cell Phones

The only foreign phones that will work in the USA are GSM multiband models. Buy prepaid SIM cards locally. Coverage can be spotty in remote areas.

Time

Pacific Standard Time (GMT/UTC minus eight hours)

When to Go

High Season (Jun–Aug)

A Accommodations prices up 50% to 100% on average.

A Major holidays are even busier and more expensive.

A Summer is low season in the desert, where temperatures exceed 100°F (38°C).

Shoulder (Apr–May & Sep–Oct)

A Crowds and prices drop, especially on the coast and in the mountains.

A Mild temperatures and sunny, cloudless days.

A Typically wetter in spring, drier in autumn.

Low Season (Nov–Mar)

A Accommodations rates lowest along the coast.

A Chilly temperatures, frequent rainstorms and heavy snow in the mountains.

A Winter is peak season in SoCal’s desert regions.

Useful Websites

California Travel & Tourism Commission (www.visitcalifornia.com) Multilingual trip-planning guides.

Lonely Planet (www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/california) Destination information, hotel bookings, traveler forum and more.

LA Times Travel (www.latimes.com/travel) Travel news, deals and blogs.

Sunset (www.sunset.com/travel/california) Local and insider travel tips.

California State Parks (www.parks.ca.gov) Outdoor activities and camping.

CalTrans (www.dot.ca.gov) Current highway conditions.

Important Numbers

All phone numbers have a three-digit area code followed by a seven-digit local number. For long-distance and toll-free calls, dial 1 plus all 10 digits.