
11 Best Things to Do in Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield gets overlooked on the drive to LA — that’s a mistake. The Kern River, Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace, and CALM alone make it worth the stop.
California travel guides covering Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, the Wine Country, Yosemite, Big Sur, Lake Tahoe, and the desert parks — coast-to-mountain itineraries, rental car strategy (essential outside SF and LA cores), seasonal timing for wildflower super blooms, and honest takes on the food scenes from Napa to East LA.

Bakersfield gets overlooked on the drive to LA — that’s a mistake. The Kern River, Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace, and CALM alone make it worth the stop.

Escape incredibly generic Central California highway architecture to experience deeply authentic historic Danish village aesthetics and heavily celebrated regional Santa Ynez Valley wine tasting with twenty-five exceptionally engaging activities scattered across Solvang.

Navigate incredibly far beyond standard San Francisco tourism to experience massively diverse regional culinary districts and deeply serene East Bay regional park hiking trails with twenty-five exceptionally engaging activities scattered across Oakland.

Trade incredibly massive Northern California urban centers for deeply historic Victorian architectural lumber districts and heavily wooded Pacific coastal redwood trails with twelve exceptionally engaging activities scattered across Eureka.

Sacramento’s farm-to-table scene, Gold Rush history, and miles of river trails make it one of California’s most underrated cities.

Maximize your incredibly limited Southern California vacation time by expertly navigating massively significant decommissioned naval aircraft carriers and deeply historic regional fine art collections across twenty absolutely essential San Diego museums.

San Diego earns ‘America’s Finest City’ for a reason — fish tacos in Little Italy, the USS Midway, and Balboa Park alone justify the trip.

San Diego keeps you busy, but the best Southern California experiences are just an hour outside the city.

California has deserts, redwoods, world-class wine, and two of the country’s best cities. Picking where to start is the hardest part.

Orange County runs deeper than Disneyland and beach days. Santa Catalina Island alone is worth rearranging your trip for.

Joshua Tree looks barren from the highway. Get inside the park and 800,000 acres of climbing, stargazing, and desert trails will change your mind fast.

Point Loma is called the birthplace of San Diego — and once you visit Cabrillo Monument, you’ll understand why that title fits.

Orange County puts San Diego, Joshua Tree, and the Santa Barbara wine country within two hours. Here are the seven trips worth the drive.

Calabasas sits 30 minutes from Hollywood but feels like a different world — mountains, trails, and The Commons all within a few miles.

Redwoods, river swimming, and 50+ wineries within 20 minutes — Guerneville is the Sonoma trip most people drive right past.

Joshua Tree has no lodging inside the park itself — your choice of base camp shapes the entire trip more than most people realize.

California’s best-known landmarks include the Golden Gate Bridge, Hollywood Sign, Yosemite, Alcatraz, Disneyland, Big Sur, and Lake Tahoe. Compare regions, visit times, reservations, fees, and practical planning notes for 2026.

Hike Palm Springs’ 1.8-mile Tahquitz Canyon Trail to a seasonal 60-foot waterfall, with current hours, fees, water rules, and safety tips.

Big Sur has no bad base camp, but your choice of area changes everything — here are 18 places worth booking.

Long Beach gets written off as a layover city. Spend a full day here and that opinion changes fast.

California has 840 miles of coastline, nine national parks, and 25 million acres of desert. The exotic trip you want might already be here.

Palm Desert sits between LA day-tripper territory and full Palm Springs glamour — and that middle ground is exactly what makes it worth your time.

San Diego’s ‘Craft Beer Capital’ title sounds like hype — until you actually visit. These 13 breweries are why the reputation still holds.

Big Bear works in every season — but most people only show up for the ski slopes and miss half of what makes it worth the drive.