Feature

It goes without saying that California’s National Parks are far too vast and too varied for anyone to be able to pack them all into even a two-week visit. California is twice the size of Great Britain, and the largest National Park, Death Valley, is the size of Northern Ireland. You have to either be selective and focus on one or two parks, or if you want to visit several you have to accept the fact that you’ll only get a glimpse of what they’ve got to offer. Or perhaps just be prepared to come back…

The Best Drive to Get There

The Redwood National and State Parks are way up there in northern California, not far from the Oregon border, but to get there from San Francisco means a delightful drive up the Pacific Coast Highway. It passes through the Point Reyes National Seashore (100 square miles of coastal wilderness) and the achingly-beautiful town of Mendocino, before reaching some of the oldest and most magnificent trees on planet earth. As well as the Redwood National Park there are also three State Parks to visit: the Del Norte Coast Redwoods, the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. That’s a lot of parks but they are much needed to protect the Giant Redwoods and other trees which once covered much of the California coast but are now preserved in these areas. No matter how much wildlife and wilderness you’ve seen, nothing prepares you for the sheer size and presence of these giants. Even the ferns here can grow to ten-feet high, so imagine what the trees are like. In a word, they are humbling.

Best for Wildlife

Although other parks may have bigger creatures like black bear and elk, and more of them, the Channel Islands National Park off the California coast has many that you won’t see anywhere else in the world. There are 145 species unique to the five islands that make up the park, including the island fence lizard, the deer mouse, the spotted skunk and the Channel Islands fox. In addition, you should see whales especially if visiting in July and August. A visit takes planning, though, so book a boat trip from Ventura (70 miles north of Los Angeles by the coast road) in advance.

Best for Scenery

Yosemite isn’t the biggest of the California National Parks, but it probably has the greatest variety of scenery. For some, the desert landscapes of Death Valley and Joshua Tree may be too stark, but Yosemite has the drama of glaciers and mountains, waterfalls which include three of the world’s ten longest, trees to rival the redwoods, rivers and canyons, and granite rocks like El Capitan, which presents a vertical face 3,000-feet high. And all this is less than a 4-hour drive due east from San Francisco.

Best for Jaw-Dropping Wonder

If you had to choose one National Park to show why there’s more to the United States than theme parks and Big Macs, it would have to be Death Valley. The very name is enough to make you nervous, and it came from the 1849 gold prospectors who had to face its fierce heat, many of them dying as they sought the mother lode. Other places in Death Valley convey its reputation, like Coffin Peak, Dante’s View, Badwater and Furnace Creek. It’s the largest National Park in the USA outside of Alaska, and as such it demands both respect and planning.  To do it the easy way and to see some of its most impressive features, drive the 81-mile Death Valley Scenic Byway. You can hike and bike too, but stick to the established trails, check the weather, and take plenty of food and especially water with you.

If you're looking for somewhere to stay, Furnace Creek is a bit of a splurge but it's well worth it as a day touring Death Valley can be hot and tiring. There are two sections, with the original 1880s Ranch at Furnace Creek open all year, and the Inn that was added in 1927 open only from October to May. Both places have the fabulous views you’d expect from accommodation that’s in the heart of the National Park and facilities include a range of restaurants, horse-riding, hiking, jeep rental, tennis, a swimming pool and the world’s lowest golf course (214 feet below sea level.) As with many National Park lodgings, you'll need to book well in advance.

Best for All-Round Activities

At almost 800,000 acres, Joshua Tree has plenty of space for all kinds of activities for those who prefer more than merely sitting in the car – though you can enjoy plenty of drives there too, if you wish. You can also do easy or challenging hikes, take a guided nature hike, go mountain biking, horse-riding, rock climbing, or take a jeep adventure tour into the wilds of the desert. There are two different deserts within the National Park, the Mojave Desert and the Colorado Desert. It’s in the Mojave Desert that you’ll find the emblematic Joshua Trees, while the Colorado Desert is home to palm trees and several desert oases, which make great spots for birdwatching.

If you're visiting the park, definitely consider an overnight stop at the Harmony Motel; it's impossible to do even a short US road trip without staying in a motel, and who wouldn't want to stay near a town called Twentynine Palms? Especially in the motel that U2 stayed in while working on their Joshua Tree album. Artists have stayed here too, and original artwork lines the walls of this simple but funky place whose rooms are amazingly cheap and from where you can kick back by the pool and watch the sun rise or set over the Joshua Tree Mountains. As the Harmony has only seven rooms and one cabin, it's best to book well in advance.

These are just the main National Parks, and while they attract millions of visitors most people stick to tiny areas within the parks, leaving the rest for more adventurous travellers. There are other places too, like the Sequoia National Park, where you’ll find the General Sherman Tree, the biggest tree on earth, and the Lassen Volcanic National Park, where you can find all four different types of volcano. And if you didn’t know there were four different types of volcano, it’s about time you paid the California National Parks a visit.

 

The Big Trip

As an extra bonus, here's Mike's suggested basic itinerary for a two-week tour of California, which takes in cities, coastlines and of course, the best of the National Parks. Not all days have an activity assigned to them as the drive from one place to the next can be an activity in itself, and often takes several hours. 

Day 1

Arrive Los Angeles

Overnight at Figueroa Hotel

Day 2

Explore Los Angeles

Hike to the Hollywood Sign

Overnight at Figueroa Hotel

Day 3

Drive to Ventura

Visit Channel Islands National Park

Overnight at Pierpont Inn

Day 4

Drive to Joshua Tree National Park

Overnight at Harmony Motel

Day 5

Explore Joshua Tree

Jeep Safari into the Desert

Overnight at Harmony Motel

Day 6

Drive to Death Valley

Overnight  at Furnace Creek Ranch

Day 7

Explore Death Valley

Take one of the official hiking trails

Overnight at Furnace Creek Ranch

Day 8

Drive to Sequoia National Park

Overnight John Muir Lodge

Day 9

Drive to Yosemite

Overnight at The Ahwahnee Hotel

Day 10

Drive to Lassen Volcanic National Park

Overnight at Bidwell House Bed and Breakfast Inn

Day 11

Drive to Redwood National Park

Overnight at Ravenwood Motel

Day 12

Explore the Redwood National and State Parks

Day 13

Drive to San Francisco

Take the Pacific Coast Highway route – slower but much more beautiful

Overnight at Hotel Bohème

Day 14

Explore San Francisco

Visit Alcatraz Island

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For more information on California visit our destination guide.

Also, don’t forget to check out our other California features on the Pacific Coast Highway and Ventura, as well as our more urban guides to San Francisco’s Ten Best Eats and Ten Reasons to Visit Pasadena. And if you’re venturing up the northern coast and you just want to keep on going, then consider heading over the border into Oregon, with our guide to one of the Pacific Coast’s ultimate road trips.

Virgin Atlantic can fly you to Los Angeles or San Francisco daily from London Heathrow.

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About the writer:

Mike Gerrard is a seasoned travel writer and has contributed to a vast array of publications across the globe including the Washington Post, The Times and Wanderlust. He is also the author of National Geographic's Travelers Guide to Greece and host of other guidebooks.