Tours to California

One of the wealthiest states in America, California has a beautiful coastline with pounding surf, big mountains with even bigger trees, and some awesomely hot deserts. The state is said to be a tourist paradise with three great tourist friendly cities. One can experience the glitz of Hollywood and Beverly Hills here in this 'Sunshine State'. It offers a wide variety of vacation hot spots for travelers from all over the globe. The Napa Valley vineyards and giant redwood forests, and hundreds of other famous attractions with fast-paced nightlife of the state, extraordinary shopping and extensive outdoor adventure, makes the state one of the favorite destinations in the world.

Coast Range
It is a string of mountain ranges along the Pacific coast of North America from southeastern Alaska to Lower California. In the three great tourist cities San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego on the tour to California, one finds beautiful green and watery scenic vistas while hiking or biking in the region. There is plenty of marine wildlife one comes across.
Wildlife like seals and sea lions, sharks, migrating whales and the best surf are in abundance here attracting a number of tourists from all over the world. San Francisco has a compact layout with a community feel, interestingly hilly with trams and a fantastic world famous bridgewhile Los Angles, the city of Angels, with 88 cities within it, offers numerous vistas to its visitors to explore. San Diego is a city, which makes you feel more relaxed and welcomed. Surfing is good along the nearby beaches. The Embarcadero waterfront has a Maritime Museum and nearby Balboa Park is a landscaped botanical delight of near centennial age with Spanish style buildings, theaters, and worthwhile museums that can be visited through the tours to California.

Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys
Between the hilly Coast Range and the mountainous Sierra Nevada are these two huge fertile valleys, mainly farmland but also some worthwhile attractions at the northern end. Here one can visit Gold Rush Sierra Nevada Foothills that created the great 19th century gold San Francisco rush. The Empire Mine State Historic Park for the old mines and North Star Mining Museum and Sutter's Fort are places worth visiting. The capital of the state, Sacramento, is mainly for those who have an interest in history, as Old Sacramento has an abundance of period buildings.
Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains Sierra Nevada are the high alpine mountains that run across the state and rise dramatically from the fertile greenery of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys in the west, and drop to the inhospitable barren stretches of the Great Basin and Mojave deserts in the east and south. Cascade Range is a fiery volcanic mountain range. It extends all the way from northern California through Oregon, Washington and into British Columbia, Canada. The Yosemite National Park, Sequoia and King's Canyon National Parks, Lake Tahoe, the General Sherman in the Giant Forest, the world's largest tree, Lassen Peak, the biggest plugged volcano in the world and Mt Shasta are some places among the many that offers a picturesque sight on tour to California.

Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert

Mojave Desert is the smallest desert in North America. The Death Valley National Park is the lowest and often hottest point in the desert. The Joshua Tree National Park where stands Joshua tree yuccas, Dante's View, the highest point, Devil's Golf Course, the lowest point, Mesuite Flat and Eureka Sand Dunes are worth a visit

The Sonora Desert takes it name from the state of Sonora. It extends into Arizona and also Mexico. Cacti are in abundance here. The Anza-Borrego Desert State Park has some good hiking routes.

Recreational Activities
The state offers very good facilities for all adrenalin boosting sports like hiking, mountain climbing, mountain biking, Skiing, Snowboarding, surfing skateboarding and inline skating in different regions of the state. For all Bird watchers the place to be is Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge.
California
LOCATION

Nicknamed the Golden State because of the 1849 Gold Rush, California is a located on the west coast of the US. It is by far the most populous state in the country as well as the most physically diverse. Sacramento is the capital city. Tours to California provides exiting options for the travelers. Here are some of the tourist attractions of the California.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

GOLD COUNTY: The region is well known for one of the biggest gold rushes of all times. Visit the California State Capitol, Empire Mine State Historic Park and Grass Valley for hard-rock gold mine. Enjoy the Amador County Flower Fields, Calaveras County Caverns, and California State Indian Museum at Sacramento. At Nevada, visit the Nevada Theatre where Mark Twain lectured.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA: This area is well known for its climate and scenic beauty. Visit the Alcatraz Island, an island fortress to find out how criminals like Al Capone and the Anglin brothers once lived. For the culturally inclined, a visit to the Paramount Theatre in Oakland is a must. The theatre, an example of the Art Deco architecture, is exquisitely decorated and lovingly restored. At Angel Island State Park, Tiburon, catch a ferry to Fisherman's Wharf, Tiburon or Vallejo to bike, hike, or tour. At Ano Nuevo State Reserve, Pescadero, north of Santa Cruz, watch the gigantic elephant seals gather seasonally. Try the San Jose Trails, a developing 100-mile network of trails, many along beautiful valley creeks and rivers.
For kids there are Bay Area Discovery Museum at Marine Headlands and Chabot Science & Space Center. The former has six learning halls for children. The latter has the largest public telescope in the US and most-advanced planetarium in the world.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY: Known as the location for the Hollywood's dream factory, the state also has much else to offer. The Catalina Underwater Park, Naples Canals and Raging Waters, San Dimas are other interesting places. Of course the biggest are the walk around the Universal Studios, Avenues of Art and Design, West Hollywood and the Sunset Boulevard.
CENTRAL COAST: Often called the state's middle kingdom, this area is a hot favorite for its dramatic seascapes, coastal resorts, pastoral inland agricultural communities and idyllic destinations. While at Henry T. Oxnard District, Oxnard, you will find colonial-style homes from the early 1900s, at Mission San Juan Bautista, founded 1797, there is a historic park and plaza of a classic Spanish-California village.
For nature lovers, there is the Channel Islands National Park Boat and whale-watching cruises. The Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve is one of the second-largest estuaries in the state.
Find out more about Spain's first outpost in Alta California, settled before the Declaration of Independence was signed. For kids, there is the Casa de Fruta Orchard Resort at Hollister.

SHASTA CASCADE: If you are a keen outdoor person then this is your Mecca. The land is well known for its dense conifer forests, volcanic mountains and sparse population. The region takes its name from the 14,162-feet-high Mt Shasta, which is located inside the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. It's the second highest volcano in the lower 48 states.
Visit the Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail, Susanville for birds and hike for 25 miles along river canyon. The Sacramento River Trail, Redding is a 7.5-mile scenic pedestrian and bike trail. At Weaverville visit the 19th-century Chinese temple and the Jake Jackson Museum. For kids there is the National Yo-Yo Museum at Chico.

CENTRAL VALLEY: A haven for agriculture, it is home to recreational opportunities and plentiful wildlife. Enjoy the Fresno County Fruit Trail and Chocoholics Divine Desserts at Clements. The California Delta provides year-round enjoyment and house-boating facilities. The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, Willows has 35,000 acres and six national wildlife refuges and it serves half the migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway.
Among cultural landmarks is Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park at Earlimart and Forestiere Underground Gardens, Fresno, which has incredible 60-room underground maze covers 10 acres.
For kids there are Explorit Science Center, Davis and Lori Brock Children's Discovery Museum, Bakersfield.

HIGH SIERRA: The Mount Whitney, Sequoia National Park will give you a view of San Joaquin Valley, western Sierra Nevada. Other popular destinations are the Gondola at Heavenly, South Lake Tahoe, Glacier Point and the breathtaking Yosemite National Park. Among the cultural landmarks are Mariposa, home of the state's oldest courthouse and the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad, Fish Camp. Plus, there is the Bodie State Historic Park and Hill Thrill Center at Sierra-at-Tahoe.
SAN DIEGO COUNTY: The region is well known for its temperate climate, deep-sea harbors, sandy beaches and Hispanic heritage. Among the interesting sites are the Mission San Luis Rey, Old Town San Diego State Historic Park and Del Mar Racetrack, built by Bing Crosby and Pat O'Brien; opened in 1937. For the outdoor types, there is Azalea Glen, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and Border Field State Park. The cultural landmarks of the state include the Balboa Park at San Diego, the prestigious La Jolla Playhouse and the Museum of making Music, Carlsbad.

DESERTS: Creosote and Joshua trees sparsely cover the land. The Badwater, Death Valley National Park, is the lowest spot in the hemisphere. Visit the Indian Canyons, Palm Springs, and Desert Tortoise Natural Area, near California City. Among the cultural landmarks are the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum and the ancient petroglyphs collections at Ridgecrest.

ORANGE COUNTY: Though best known for Walt Disney's world famous theme park, the region has more to tourists. For outdoor freaks, there is Little Grand Canyon, Lake Forest and Irvine Lake. For beach lovers, there is the Crystal Cove State Park, Big Corona and the Surfside Beach. Kids can have a time of their lives at the Balboa Fun Zone and Lie on a bed of nails or walk through a tornado at the Discovery Science Center, Santa Ana.

NORTH COAST: The region is known for its lush vineyards and pastoral farms. Visit the enthralling Hoopa Tribal Museum, Battery Point Lighthouse and the Grace Hudson Museum and Sun House, Ukiah. Plus there is the Mattole Recreation Site, Petrolia, Clear Lake, Lakeport, and the state's largest natural freshwater lake.
INLAND EMPIRE: Visit this region for the Air Museum Planes of Fame at Chino for a collection of WWII airplanes, fighter jets, and memorabilia. The Riverside Municipal Museum has on display Native American artifacts and early citrus industry exhibits. For outdoor freaks there is the Alpine Slide at Big Bear Lake and Diamond Valley Lake, the largest manmade, freshwater lake in Southern California.