The Ultimate California Bucket List

Traveling to California? Dreaming about traveling to California? Living in California but want to travel around? I GOT YOU. I grew up in Northern California halfway between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. Two hours from the snow, two hours from sand, and two hours from the city. It was honestly the perfect location. For college, I moved to Southern California. Besides being a grade A basic bitch and studying abroad (I’m so cultured), I’ve been down here ever since. It took awhile for someone who grew up around trees and nature to swap it out for city and sand. Now that I am old and wise, I realized how #blessed I am to have grown up and lived my best life all over California. It’s seriously the best state. Prove me wrong, I dare you.

I felt the need to cultivate the ULTIMATE list of what to do in California. The state is HUGE. There are a billion things to do and see and there is no way you can do it all in a short trip, so you will just have to keep coming back.

Cities to Visit in California

These are the most famous, top locations to visit in California.

• San Francisco – Known as the New York of the West Coast. From Pier 39 to gay pride to Alcatraz, it’s a premium location.
• Los Angeles – LA is home to celebrities, Hollywood and all things glitz and glam.
• Lake Tahoe – Personally, my favorite place in the world. Such natural beauty, the bluest lake, and amazing slopes.
• Palm Springs – Palm Springs is filled with either retired folks or people going to Coachella.
• Santa Cruz – The perfect mix of beach and mountains.
• Santa Barbara – Same kind of retired vibes as Palm Springs, but next to the gorgeous coastline.
• Huntington Beach – Surf city, USA, man. Spend the day surfing and laying out on the beach.
• Napa Valley – Wine country! You know all that delicious wine you get in the California section at Trader Joe’s, comes from here!
• Venice Beach – A nice mix of beach, homeless, hippie, tie-dye and weed. Such an interesting place to people watch.
• Santa Monica – The better part of the LA area. Check out the Pier!
• Malibu – Gorgeous beaches and food. A lot of celebs reside here.
• San Diego – Another great location along the coast. Most notably known for the colleges, zoo and home to tons of military people.
• Sacramento – The capital of California! Very up and coming. Check out my Sacramento blog here.
• Long Beach – My current location, so I had to include it. Home to Snoop Dogg, the Grand Prix and the Queen Mary.
• Catalina Island – Not actually ON California, but a quick lil boat trip off the coast of California. Worth a weekend trip.
• Beverly Hills – The boujee, famous and elite live here. You probably have seen the huge mansions on TV.
• Solvang – A cute little Danish town on your way to Santa Barbara. Feels like you’ve stepped out of California and into Europe.

Top California Parks, Forests and Nature

California is jam PACKED with naaaature. I have listed below the top national parks, forests,

• Yosemite National Park
• Big Sur
• Redwood National Park
• Sequoia National Park
• Emerald Bay
• Joshua Tree National Park
• Pinnacles National Park
• Point Reyes National Seashore
• Mount Shasta
• Pfeiffer Beach
• Crystal Cave
• Death Valley
• Burney Falls
• Channel Islands
• Lassen National Park
• Fern Canyon
• Glass Beach
• Mono Lake

What to do in California

So after visiting all of these cities, towns and National Parks, you can start hitting all the must do things in California. Some of these are located in the cities above so you can kill two birds with one stone. (No birds were harmed in the making of that sentence.)

• Hollywood Sign – Hike it or see it from afar
• The Getty – Famous museum in LA with iconic pieces
• Golden Gate Bridge– Walk it or look from afar
• Salvation Mountain– Perfect spot for an Insta pic
• California Missions – There are 21 missions!
• Mammoth Hot Springs – Take a little dip
• Monterey Aquarium– Fish are friends, not food
• Bodie Ghost Town – Honestly, it’s spoooooky
• Winchester Mansion – Crazy layout and floor plan
• Mystery Spot – Also another mystery/ spooky fun spot
• LACMA – A great museum with great Insta spots
• Disneyland – Do I need to say more?
• Alcatraz – A prison on an island in San Francisco
• Hearst Castle – Super cool castle on the central coast
• San Diego Zoo – one of the coolest zoos I’ve ever been to
• Ronald Reagan Library – They even have a fricken plane
• National History Museum – For those natural history buffs
• Drive the PCH – It’s a long, beautiful drive along the coast
• Gold Pan in Coloma – Where gold was discovered in 1849!

I think I covered like 87% of it. Am I missing anything? Let me know in the comments. Unless it’s lame, don’t leave lame comments.

Want more? Check out my blog on Sacramento. Rather visit Oregon instead of California? Here is my blog on Portland!!

Byeeeeeeee.