Top fun things to do in California! We have endless ideas for Northern and Southern California activities,
travel, families, couples, or anyone. Beach California is the best free online planning resource. See also
our comprehensive Things To Do listings of all California
cities and counties and the restaurants, shopping,
entertainment and recreation they have to offer!
1.
Take
a cruise
along the coast. You can hop on a Holiday
cruise ship or Viking
Serenade out of the Port of Los Angeles at San Pedro. There are a variety
of excursions providing opportunities to see the Baja California coastline
in just a few days time. Or travel to distant lands if you like. Cruises
also depart the Port of Long Beach.
2.
Shop 290 malls (Malls) and districts such as upscale at Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills,
3rd
Street Promenade in Santa Monica or South
Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. There's cool stuff at The
Block in Orange or Irvine
Spectrum, outlet shopping in Pismo Beach, Oxnard and a variety of other
spots or enjoy the incredible antique meccas of Summerland,
Orange
and Carlsbad.
3.
The Old
West lives in California. From the
Autry
Museum
of
Western Heritage, Old
Town San Diego, Old
Sacramento and Gold
Country ghost towns to Knotts
Berry Farm gun battles and stagecoach rides, you'll think you've gone
to cowboy heaven. Stagecoach museums in Santa
Ynez and Santa Barbara are top notch. And miners and old timers still
pan for gold in dem dar hills, believe it or not.
4.
Aquariums stretch
along the coast and include Aquarium
of the Pacific in Long Beach, Six Flags Marine
World, Steinhart
Aquarium at California Academy of Sciences San Francisco, Monterey
Bay Aquarium Monterey (pictured), Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
San Pedro, Steven
Birch Aquarium-Museum La Jolla, Sea
World of California San Diego, Santa Monica Pier Aquarium and Roundhouse
Marine Studies Lab & Aquarium in Manhattan Beach.
5.
How many of the 405
wineries can
you visit in a day? Full
list More than half of them offer free tastings with others charging
from $1 to $5.50. Napa and Sonoma are home to half the state's wineries
while the Central Coast
is gaining fast with 55 wineries
and tasting rooms. Don't miss the romance of California County wineries
such as Byron Vineyards
& Winery, Chateau
Julien, Foxen
Vineyard, Laetitia
Winery & Vineyard and the wineries of Napa
to name some. Also found along the coast are micro
breweries offering specialty beers.
6.
Smell those fabulous California flowers.
More than 60% of all domestically grown, commercially sold, cut flowers
are produced in California. Over 5,000 acres are devoted to commercial
growing of fresh cut flowers with San Diego dominating the flowers and
foliage crops yield at 49% of the state total (more
statistics). From Carlsbad to Carpinteria to Lompoc,
enjoy colorful fields of poinsettias, sweet peas, ranunculus and poppies,
to name a few. Viewing is seasonal so call these cities' visitor bureaus
or chambers before you go looking.
7.
Foodies are
a demographic of people who travel for the love of a good meal. More than
45 percent of today's food dollar is spent away from home and that number
goes up when you travel. There are nearly 74,000 restaurants
and bars in California with top chefs vying for top hat in the California
dining market. Everything under the sun can be found, but most interesting
is the mix of cultural styles and food preparations seen in California
cuisine. Photo of TV food personality
Mary Sue
Milliken. Photo of desert at Ritz-Carlton
Rancho Mirage.
8.
Sunbathe at
one of California's
418 coastal beaches spanning 1,100 miles. Some are operated by
the State of California, some are controlled by counties and others are
within the city limits of approximately 100 beach cities.
9.
Snorkel & dive
or take a glass bottom boat tour at Catalina
Island underwater park. Take one of the scuba trips out to the open
sea near many of California's scattered islands. Nearly every coastal town
has scuba gear and many offer excursions for licensed divers. Here are
some coastal favorites: a world-renown underwater preserve at Scripps Institute
in La Jolla, kelp forests at Anacapa Island, Fort Ross State Historic Park
for abalone diving and Point Lobos, Monterey preserves at Whalers and Bluefish
Coves.
10.
Amusement parks await
those who can't get enough fun. Visit Knotts
Berry Farm, which features the 30-story ride on Supreme Scream
(left). It blasts you back down in a three second adrenaline rush. Then
there's the world's tallest and steepest water ride called Perilous Plunge.
It is guaranteed to soak you but for a day of "wet and wild", go across
the street to Soak City. New and unique
is Bonfante Gardens in Gilroy. Classic
Disneyland,
and the new California Adventure, Universal
Studios Hollywood and City Walk, Sea
World, Legoland for children, Six Flags Marine
World and Magic Mountain, Great America's Goliath and several other
major attractions mean that you better give yourself two weeks to see all
of them. California also has 19 professional
ball and hockey teams, more than any other state!
11.
There are 21
missions in California which include
Mission
San Luis Rey, Carmel
Mission, Mission Santa Barbara and Mission
San Juan Capistrano. They provide a historical displays
of early California. Many are near the beach, following the trail of the
Camino
Real which Spanish padres took in establishing a foothold in
California. See the full list
of missions.
12.
Sunsets range
from golden and warm to cool pink and blue hues. Why
we see these colors. Whatever the view, they all set over
the beautiful Pacific Ocean, framed by buildings, piers, palm trees and
long stretches of beach. Please don't miss a California Beach Sunset.
It is a sight to behold. You might even consider getting married or renewing
your vows at one of California's beautiful sunset beach spots. In
most cities, you can make reservations for a park location. Here is a Sunrise
and Sunset Calculator which tells you the precise time the sun is setting.
13.
Skating, blading & skateboarding is
a breeze on more than 100 miles of paved ocean paths. 22-mile long Venice
Beach path in the Los Angeles South Bay region is known as the "in-line
skating capital of the world." There are numerous free public skateparks
visitors bring their skateboards with them to enjoy. The biggest skate
park in the U.S. is Vans
Skate at the Block in Orange and one of the nicest parks we've seen
at the beach is Skater's Point in Santa Barbara
14. There are 26 Lighthouses including
Alcatraz,
Anacapa Island, Battery Point, East Brother, Fort Point, LA Harbor (Angels
Gate), Montara, Old Point Loma, Oxnard Harbour,
Piedras
Blancas, Pigeon Point, Point Arena, Point Bonita, Point Cabrillo, Point
Fermin,
Point Loma, Point Montara, Point
Pinos, Point Reyes, Point Sur Lightstation,
Point Vicente, Port Hueneme, Punta Gorda, San
Luis Obispo,
Santa Cruz, and St George lighthouse.
15.
Bird watching at Bolsa
Chica wetlands in Huntington Beach. It provides 1700 acres of habitat,
1100 of which are wetlands supporting at least four endangered species
of birds. Upper Newport Bay is a 880-acre State Ecological Preserve
home to up to 30,000 birds including six endangered species. The San Joaquin
Freshwater Marsh Reserve, is a 202-acre wetland adjacent to University
of California Irvine.
16.
There are close to 100 Piers
in California (some on this web site). A public pier is a publicly
owned manmade structure that has the following characteristics: is connected
above
the mean high tide to the main coastline or to the land mass of a named
and charted natural island; has unrestricted free access
for the general public; and has been built or currently functions for the
primary purpose of allowing angling access to ocean
waters. Wonderful
for strolling on to watch the ocean, they also are popular spots where
you can fish without
a permit.
17.
Embrace the Surfing culture. Visit Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum,
California Surf Museum in Oceanside
or Santa Cruz Surfing Museum. With the best
waves on the mainland USA, surfboard
manufacturers, surf magazines, surf clothing, statues, music, high
school surf teams and legends of surfing (old timers), the sport is everywhere.
Watch surfers every day of the year along the coast.
18.
Boats & Ships such
as the Queen Mary Ship in Long Beach harbor, Star
of India in San Diego where military ships in port are often available
for touring, nautical museums in San Francisco, Sacramento, Newport Beach
and Dana Point
and at other locations provide historical information. Harbor museums
such as the San
Pedro Maritime Museum are interesting and great spots for souvenir
hunting with their gift shops. Long Beach, California is home to the largest
municipal public harbor for private docking. Kayaks, row boats, peddlers,
motor boats, yacht charters, marinas, gondola rides and whale watching, fishing
and scuba diving trips are available up and down the coast.
19.Zoo
camps at Santa Ana Zoo, safaris at San
Diego Wild Animal Park and world class zoo facilities range from hillside
views of the Pacific Ocean at Santa Barbara Zoological Gardens to hillside
views of the city at Los Angeles Zoo. Dozens of zoos throughout the
state offer train rides, tram rides, sky rides and more. Two rated as "Top
Ten" choices for the United States include San Diego Zoo, was voted best
in the US by Family Fun Magazine, and San Diego Wild Animal Park.
See
list of zoos, addresses and information.
20.
Celebrate California's
cultural diversity evident in San Francisco's Chinese New Year Parade which
attracted over 850,000 this year. Los Angeles Little Tokyo region and Spanish
Olivera Street, Garden Grove and Westminster's Little
Saigon, and the Spanish culture at Mission San Juan
Capistrano's annual Return of the Swallows and other events throughout
the state.
21.
Back to nature
experiences are within reach and allow guests to enjoy the outdoors
and scenic beauty
of the coast at California's state parks. Your timing couldn't be better
as price cuts for 146 parks, beaches, museums, campgrounds and boating
facilities began in July 2000. From Hearst
Castle $4 per person reduction, to free boat launching, you can now
afford to visit more than one park in a day and even have money to stay
overnight.
State Parks list.
22.
Horse back riding tours are
available in Huntington Beach, on Big Bear Lake
mountain paths, Carmel Valley Ranch nature preserve, Pismo's
sandy beaches, Catalina Island, Bodega Bay and at Ricochet Ridge Ranch
(707-964-7669) in Ft. Bragg. Polo is popular in Montecito, horse racing
wins in Los Alamitos, Santa Anita and Del Mar and even the Olympic equestrian
competitions can be seen in Coto de Caza from time to time.
23.
The Car is
a friend in California and virtually anywhere you go you can find car rentals.
Museums are plentiful and include Deer Park Market
& Vintage Car Museum Escondido,
Firehouse Museum San
Diego, J. Paul Getty Museum Malibu,
Pacific Coast Dream Machines Halfmoon
Bay, Peterson Automotive Museum Los
Angeles, San Diego Automotive Museum in Balboa Park, Vintage
Museum of Transportation
Oxnard and Toyota Museum of Torrance.
Here
is the list with addresses. Numerous cities hold Concours d'Elegance
celebrations.
24.
Beach volleyball is
a unique sport played in the sand with audiences close at hand. 10
years ago you would be hard pressed to find permanent nets on the beach
but polls and nets are a fixture now. The Association of Volleyball Professionals
and Beach Volleyball America are the heavyweights
for sand competition. Public sand play is free at most beaches with balls
available for rent at some concessions.
25.
Jet Ski at
Mission
Bay, San Diego, Redondo Beach, Long Beach harbor, Belmont Shore, Big
Bear Lake, Carlsbad, Catalina Island, Newport Beach bay and just about
any place where the water's not too rough and local regulations allow the
sport. Pictured is the ocean at Mussel
Shoals.
26.
The
movie's the thing in California where
everyone wants to try their hand at acting. 30-screen movie theaters, IMAX
shows and specialty houses with foreign films are abundant. Location
shoots are always happening somewhere but for guaranteed entertainment,
see a studio filming. Here's a
list of a few famous movie locations. Mann's Chinese Theater, Hollywood
Entertainment Museum, Paramount Studios, television show tapings, Universal
Studios Hollywood and the Walk of Fame.
