Rough Guides - The Rough Guide to California (Travel Guide eBook) (Rough Guides)

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Contents

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Introduction to

California

Few regions of the world have been as idealized and mythologized as California and yet it seldom fails to live up to the hype. The Hollywood glamour, surf beaches and near-endless sun of the Southern California coast are rightly celebrated, but from here youre only a few hours drive from majestic snowy mountains (and even ski resorts), Wild West ghost towns and barren deserts studded with Joshua trees. Further north, boutique wine regions mix with primeval redwood forests, wild seascapes and the cities of the Bay Area, with captivating San Francisco as its heart. The Golden States almost-unequalled diversity is packed into nearly 164,000 square miles an area nearly twice the size of Great Britain and yet California ranks as only the third largest state in the US, after Alaska and Texas.

To outsiders and even a certain percentage of its residents California represents the ultimate now society, where urban life is lived in the fast lane, conspicuous consumption is often paramount and, in some circles, having the right hairstyle, wardrobe and income is crucial. And while theres a bit of truth to this stereotype of the states infamous superficiality, the fact is that Californias staggering scope of cultures and lifestyles, determined as they are by everything from socio-economic factors to simple geography, could never allow for a single statewide identity to take root. The states rich and ongoing penchant for invention and, moreover, re-invention underscores how theres far too much going on here for one single California to exist.

In one state you have Americas second city and home of the movies Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and Disneyland, but also the staggering natural wonders of Yosemite National Park, towering redwoods and primitive rock carvings left by Native Americans. In the south, the unforgiving, mythical landscapes of the Mojave Desert and Death Valley contrast with the golf courses, resorts and Coachella festivities of Palm Springs, while the big names of Silicon Valley Facebook, Google, Apple lie short rides away from the isolated coast of Big Sur. You can sip your way through the vineyards of Napa, visit the abandoned mines of Gold Country and climb the saw-toothed peaks of the Sierra Nevada, where bears and pumas roam.

California may well have a strong focus on the here and now, but it also has a fascinating past. Hunter-gathering Native American tribes had the place largely to themselves until Spanish missionaries arrived from modern-day Mexico and began building a string of missions from 1770 onwards. Contact was minimal and on a small scale until the Gold Rush that began in 1848 the following period bestowed California its Golden State moniker. People of all social and political stripes flocked here, a pattern that has continued ever since and which has undoubtedly contributed to making this one of Americas most polarized states, home to right-wing bastions such as Orange County and San Diego and yet also a principal source of Americas most dynamic progressive movements: environmentalism, womens liberation, and LGBTQ and immigrant rights. Some of the fiercest protests of the 1960s took root here, and in many ways this is still the heart of forward-looking America, as California continues to set the standard in terms of social activism.

Put simply, this is a place that can be all things to all people. Whatever you want California to be, youll find it somewhere; and no matter what you expect, itll always surprise you.

Alamy

HIGHWAY 1, BIG SUR

On shaky ground

With an estimated 500,000 tremors detected annually in the state, California is a seismic time bomb, bisected by the most famous faultline in the world, the San Andreas , which runs loosely from San Francisco to Los Angeles and marks the junction of the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. Although it has a fearsome reputation, its not, in fact, the most active fault at the moment that honour goes to one of its connected faults, known as the Hayward .

Despite the 1906 San Francisco earthquake s notoriety, it wasnt actually the quake itself that levelled most of the city, but a homeowner cooking breakfast on a gas stove the next morning. With the chimney badly damaged, the fire ignited the kitchen and raged across the city for three days, razing 28,000 buildings and leaving at least 3000 dead. Since then, there have been several significant quakes, most recently in 1989, when San Francisco again shook during the Loma Prieta , named after its epicentre close to Santa Cruz and responsible for the horrifying collapse of an Oakland double-decker highway, and in 1994, when the Northridge quake tore through the north side of Los Angeles, rupturing freeways and flattening an apartment building.

Of course, everyones waiting for the so-called Big One , a massive earthquake that, its feared, could wipe out Los Angeles or San Francisco. Speculation has intensified over the last couple of decades, as experts have pegged the interval between major ruptures in the southern reaches of the San Andreas at 140 years: the last such quake was Fort Tejon in 1857.

Where to go

Its worth keeping in mind that distances between Californias main destinations can be huge, and naturally you wont be able to see everything on one trip. In a state thats so varied, much will depend on the kind of holiday youre looking for. You may well start off in Los Angeles , the second-most populous city in the US (after New York), a vast, sprawling metropolis boasting Hollywood, the beaches of Malibu, the bars of Sunset Strip, Venice Beach and some exceptional museums, beginning with the Getty Center. From here, you can make the short trip south to San Diego , set snugly against the US/Mexico border with its broad, welcoming beaches, world-famous zoo and laidback vibe. Alternately, head inland to Californias vast deserts , where the resort community of Palm Springs invites poolside lounging and other languid pursuits; if youd rather explore national parks, Joshua Tree and, further afield, Death Valley as its name suggests, an inhospitable landscape of volcanic craters and windswept sand dunes that becomes one of the hottest places on earth in summer are unparalleled in their arid beauty.

Also from Los Angeles, you can make the steady journey up the Central Coast , a meandering run that traces the Pacifics gorgeous shoreline and takes in some of the states most dramatic scenery. Along the way, youll visit a few of Californias liveliest mid-size cities, particularly Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey and Santa Cruz each with its own character and markedly different from one another. Along the jagged coastline between San Luis Obispo and Monterey on twisting Hwy-1, youll encounter the uniquely opulent mansion known as Hearst Castle and the park-rich region of Big Sur .