Mount Shasta is a potentially active Volcano at the southern end of California. It’s the fastest growing location for visitors for camping, resorts, Skiing and vacationing.
Some of the things to do:
Specialty : Peaks at 14000ft
State : California
Travel Date : Dec, 2012
Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, straddling the border of California and Nevada. It’s known for its beaches and ski resorts. Elevation goes more than 6000ft.
It’s a beautiful place for either skiing or water activities or hikes in the woods. Most of the time, we visit south Tahoe for skiing. There are so many options for skiing, it’s just peoples preference where they stay depending on their comfort level with skiing and resort etc., South Lake Tahoe and North Lake Tahoe has different sky resorts. In Summer you can enjoy the water ski, kayaking, swimming and many more activities in the lake.
Borders with Nevada where you can sneak peak at the casinos and Vegas style.
Specialty : Largest Alpine lake in North America.
State : California
Travel Date : Yearly
A day trip to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National parks due to Covid-19. It’s a place definitely worth more than a day. Sequoia National park and Kings Canyon are very close and both are distinct.
We entered to the park from Three rivers city and exited from 180 near Kings Canyon. As expected there was big line at the entrance to purchase the entrance ticket at Sequoia after 10AMPST. Plan ahead and buy online, there is separate line for online tickets. Don’t forget to check the alerts from park web site. Luckily we visited weekend and the road construction between Sequoia and Kings canyon was on break.
There is no signal for phones in the park, so make sure you prepare with directions and offline maps or GPS. National park has very nice app and you can download that prepare in offline mode.
Pack enough food, water and full gas tank. There are very nice picnic areas for visitors to enjoy.
Some of the interesting spots to visit :
Climbing the top of the granite dome is a worth for the views. Trail is nice and safe. It is very narrow, in normal situations there won’t be issues. With Covid situation, it’s hard to maintain distance in this trail. View at the top are amazing and worth the effort. Seems like the steps are paved in some places. There are many trails along the away to Moro rock trail. You can park your car any where along the road and walk in the woods. Huge sequoia trees everywhere.
General Sherman tree contains more wood (volume) in it;s trunks than any other tree on Earth. There might be other trees taller or wider than this tree, it’s the volume here …
This tree estimates to be 2200 years old. Interesting fact about sequoia tree roots, they are shallow and form a mesh with other trees to maintain balance and stability. Trail is a half a mile away from the parking lot, but it’s an uphill climb while coming back.
Kings Canyon Park is composed of two distinct areas – Grant Grove (home to the General Grant tree, also known as “the Nation’s Christmas Tree”) and Cedar Grove.
Some of the interesting spots to visit :
Drive from Sequoia to Cedar grove is about 2 and 1/2 hours to 3 hours. Kings canyon drive keeps coming. There are camping options inside Cedar grove or on the way to Cedar grove. Hume Lake camp ground seems to be interesting one.
Covid-19 Tip: Before starting we were thinking a lot of about restrooms. As expected, some stores along the way and gas station restrooms are closed for outsiders due to Covid-19 precautions and exposure to employees. Thanks to Park staff, inside the park picnic areas had very good flush toilets. Clean and maintained well.
Specialty : Kings Canyon is the deepest canyon in the US at over a mile and half deep.
State : California
Travel Date : July 3, 2020
Specialty : “Death Valley is the hottest, lowest, and driest place in the United States, with daytime temperatures that have exceeded 130 °F (54 °C). The park protects Badwater Basin and its vast salt flats located at the lowest elevation in North America, −282 ft (−86 m). This park also protects canyons, badlands, sand dunes, mountain ranges, historic mines, springs, and more than 1000 species of plants”
State : California, Nevada
Travel Date : July, 2016