DESTINATIONS

California’s National Parks Get Out into the Great Outdoors

Nature offers a much-needed respite from the nonstop business world. And escaping a hotel meeting room for a bit of fresh air can do a world of good. Luckily, in California, fresh air is never that far away. The state is dotted with national parks that can provide just about anyone with a day or two of escape—to hike, swim, picnic, camp, bird, or ride horseback—without depleting your wallet. Park services include rentals, restaurants, and lodgings, but call ahead or go to www.nps.gov to plan your visit.

The iconic Yosemite National Park is about a four-hour drive from San Francisco, but it’s certainly worth the trek. With over a thousand square miles of pristine forest, thundering waterfalls, idyllic lakes, and granite cliffs, there’s practically an Ansel Adams photo op at every turn, all for the modest park admission fee of $20 per vehicle. Check out the guided hikes (ranging from beginner’s strolls to cable-assisted climbs to the top of Half Dome) or go it alone on a rented bike along 12 miles of paved paths (for $10 a day). And it’s not all Sierra Nevada wilderness—Yosemite has a noted 1920s lodge and numerous other accommodations and restaurants.

The adjoining Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, just south of Yosemite, also charge $20 per car for a weeklong permit. And you’ll certainly get your money’s worth: The two parks are UNESCO-designated Biosphere Reserves because of their diverse ecosystems. Check out Sequoia’s General Sherman Tree, a millennia-old giant sequoia that’s 275 feet tall and 103 feet around. Ranger-guided tours are available regularly through the park’s Giant Forest, a grove of similarly massive sequoias. Underground tours of Crystal Cave begin again mid-month. For a stunning mountain drive, follow Highway 180 into the Kings Canyon, the deepest of its kind in North America.

If you want to stay close to civilization and still take in some unspoiled beauty, check out Muir Woods National Monument and Point Reyes National Seashore. Located just across the Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods is untouched old-growth redwood forest that offers magnificent woodland trails. Drive over San Francisco’s landmark bridge or avoid the traffic with the Muir Woods Shuttle (www.goldengate.org), running May 2 through Labor Day. Keep heading up the California coast, and you’ll find an astonishing 80-mile stretch of isolated seashore called Point Reyes with rocky headlands, wide sandy beaches, and open grasslands. From the historic Point Reyes Lighthouse, enjoy brilliant views of the Pacific.

For a decidedly more arid experience, visit Joshua Tree National Park, 175 miles northeast of San Diego. A hiking and rock-climbing mecca, the park also provides a stellar venue for a lesser-known hobby: stargazing. Away from the light-polluted skies over metropolitan areas, the desert is the perfect place to check out the Milky Way. Once a month on the Saturday night closest to the new moon, the Andromeda Astronomical Society holds a “star party” at the Hidden Valley picnic grounds.

Pier 39 in San Francisco may be famous for sea lions, but it can’t match San Miguel’s population of 70,000. Part of the Channel Islands National Park off the coast of Southern California, San Miguel is a primary breeding ground for these massive mammals. The park’s five islands have no services, accommodations, or entrance fee but plenty of wildlife and spectacular hiking trails that range from Anacapa’s relatively flat terrain to rugged, mountainous Santa Rosa. Private boat companies provide the only means of getting there ($45 to $75, www.islandpackers.com or www.truthaquatics.com), but the trip is half the fun; boats offer the best views of migrating blue and humpback whales in the late spring.
—Bill Donahue