Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park ( yoh-SEM-ih-tee) is a national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by the Sierra National Forest an…
National Park System · California
156 destinations across the National Park System call California home — from headline parks to lesser-known historic sites worth a detour.
The parks listed below cover everything the National Park Service maintains within California. They include flagship parks (the names most travelers come for), plus the smaller monuments, historic sites, battlefields, and recreation areas that round out a serious itinerary. If you're putting together a state-focused trip, working from this list — rather than a generic top-five — will surface places you'd otherwise miss.
Each link below opens a full visitor guide: hikes, camping, nearby attractions, and visitor tips for that specific destination. Read them in any order — they're written to be standalone.
Yosemite National Park ( yoh-SEM-ih-tee) is a national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by the Sierra National Forest an…
Sequoia National Park is a national park of the United States in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 2…
Death Valley National Park is a national park of the United States that straddles the California–Nevada border, east of the Sierra Nevada. The park boundaries i…
Channel Islands National Park is a national park of the United States, which consists of five of the eight Channel Islands off the coast of California. Although…
Kings Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Fresno and Tulare Counties, California. Originally establis…
Lassen Volcanic National Park is a national park of the United States in northeastern California. The dominant feature of the park is Lassen Peak, the largest p…
Kobuk Valley National Park is a national park of the United States in the Arctic region of northwestern Alaska, located about 25 miles (40 km) north of the Arct…
Joshua Tree National Park is a US National Park located in southeastern California, straddling north-central Riverside County and part of southern San Bernardin…
Pinnacles National Park is a national park of the United States protecting a mountainous area located east of the Salinas Valley in Central California, about fi…
The World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument was a U.S. national monument spread across the states of Alaska, California and Hawaii, honoring events,…
The Mendocino National Forest is located in the Coastal Mountain Range in northwestern California and comprises 913,306 acres (3,696.02 km2). It is the only nat…
Cabrillo National Monument (Spanish: Monumento nacional Cabrillo) is a U.S. national monument at the southern tip of the Point Loma peninsula in San Diego, Cali…
The California Coastal National Monument is located along the entire coastline of the U.S. state of California. This monument ensures the protection of all isl…
Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument is a national monument of the United States comprising 344,476 acres (139,404 ha) of the California Coast Ranges in Na…
Mojave National Preserve is a US National Preserve located in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, between Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. E…
The Cascade–Siskiyou National Monument is a United States national monument that protects 114,000 acres (46,134 ha) of forest and grasslands at the junction of …
Castle Mountains National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in the eastern Mojave Desert and northeastern San Bernardino County, in the state of Cali…
Devils Postpile National Monument is a U.S. national monument located near Mammoth Mountain in Eastern California. The monument protects Devils Postpile, an un…
César E. Chávez National Monument, also known as Nuestra Señora Reina de la Paz, is a 116-acre (47 ha) U.S. National Monument in Keene, Kern County, California,…
Chuckwalla National Monument is a national monument in the Colorado Desert of Southern California that protects 624,270 acres (2,526.3 km2; 252,630 ha) of deser…
Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay on the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure …
The Giant Sequoia National Monument is a 328,315-acre (512.992 sq mi) U.S. National Monument located in the southern Sierra Nevada in eastern central California…
Sequoia National Forest is a U.S. national forest located in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains of California. It is named for the majestic Giant Sequoia (Seq…
Lava Beds National Monument is located in northeastern California, in Siskiyou and Modoc counties. The monument lies on the northeastern flank of Medicine Lake …
Muir Woods National Monument ( MURE) is a United States national monument managed by the National Park Service and named after naturalist John Muir. It is locat…
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is a U.S. national recreation area protecting 82,116 acres (33,231 ha) of ecologically and historically signifi…
Mojave Trails National Monument is a large U.S. National Monument located in the state of California between Interstates 15 and 40. The park was created to pres…
Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve is a protected area in the northern Siskiyou Mountains of southwestern Oregon in the United States. The 4,554-acre (…
The St. Francis Dam, or the San Francisquito Dam, was a concrete gravity-arch dam located in San Francisquito Canyon in northern Los Angeles County, California,…
The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the United States Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los …
The San Bernardino National Forest is a United States national forest in Southern California encompassing 823,816 acres (3,333.87 km2) of which 677,982 acres (2…
The San Gabriel Mountains National Monument is a United States national monument managed by the U.S. Forest Service, which encompasses parts of the Angeles Nati…
Scotts Bluff National Monument is located west of the city of Gering in western Nebraska, United States. This National Park Service site protects over 3,000 acr…
The Tule Lake War Relocation Center, also known as the Tule Lake Segregation Center, was an American concentration camp located in Modoc and Siskiyou counties i…
The Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument is a national monument in Southern California. It includes portions of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto…
Sonoran Desert National Monument is south of Goodyear and Buckeye and east of Gila Bend, Arizona. Created by Presidential proclamation on January 17, 2001, th…
Sand to Snow National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in San Bernardino County and northern Riverside County, Southern California. It protects dive…
Sáttítla Highlands National Monument is a national monument in the Medicine Lake Highlands of the Cascade Range of Northern California. The monument protects 22…
The Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial is a memorial dedicated in 1994 recognizing the dead of the Port Chicago disaster, and the critical role playe…
Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park is a United States national historical park located in Richmond, California, near San Francis…
The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is located in San Francisco, California, United States. The park includes a fleet of historic vessels, a vis…
Chimney Rock is a prominent geological rock formation in Morrill County in western Nebraska. Rising over 300 feet (91 m) above the surrounding North Platte Rive…
Eisenhower National Historic Site preserves the home and farm of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States, and its surrounding property of …
The Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site, located in Danville, California, preserves Tao House, the Monterey Colonial hillside home of America's only Nobel Pri…
Fort Bowie was a 19th-century outpost of the United States Army located in southeastern Arizona near the present day town of Willcox, Arizona. The remaining bu…
The John Muir National Historic Site is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, in Martinez, Contra Costa County, California. It preserves the 14-room Italianate…
The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is a national recreation area containing many individual parks and open space preserves, located pr…
The Whiskeytown–Shasta–Trinity National Recreation Area is a United States National Recreation Area in northern California. The recreation area was authorized i…
Point Reyes National Seashore is a 71,028-acre (287.44 km2) park preserve located on the Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County, California. As a national seasho…
This is a list of parks, historic resources, reserves and recreation areas in the California State Parks system.
Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park is a state park of California in the United States. It is located in remote northeastern Shasta County and is only accessible t…
Andrew Molera State Park is a 7.5-square-mile (19-square-kilometer), relatively undeveloped state park on the Big Sur coast of California, United States, preser…
The City of Rocks National Reserve, also known as the Silent City of Rocks, is a United States National Reserve and state park in south-central Idaho, approxima…
California State Parks is the state park system for the U.S. state of California. The system is administered by the California Department of Parks and Recreatio…
Año Nuevo State Park is a state park of California, United States, encompassing Año Nuevo Island and Año Nuevo Point, which are known for their pinniped rookeri…
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (, AN-zə bə-RAY-goh) is a California State Park located within the Colorado Desert of Southern California, United States. Created…
Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland State Park is a state park in the western Antelope Valley in Southern California. The park protects mature stands of Joshua tre…
Bidwell–Sacramento River State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving riparian habitat on the Sacramento River and its tributary Big Chic…
Big Basin Redwoods State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of California, located in Santa Cruz County, about 36 km (22 mi) northwest of Santa Cruz. The pa…
Castle Rock State Park is a 5,242-acre (2,121 ha) state park of California, United States, located along the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains and almost entire…
Border Field State Park is a state park of California, United States, containing beach and coastal habitat on the Mexico–United States border. The park is with…
Burton Creek State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of California, located in Placer County near Truckee. Situated on the outskirts of Tahoe City, the par…
Butano State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of California, showcasing the secluded redwood-filled canyon of Little Butano Creek, a tributary of Butano C…
Calaveras Big Trees State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving two groves of giant sequoia trees. Located 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast o…
Bothe-Napa Valley State Park is a state park of California in the United States. Located in the Napa Valley, it contains the farthest inland coast redwoods in a…
Caswell Memorial State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving a riparian forest along the Stanislaus River. It is located in southern San…
Chino Hills State Park is a state park of California, in the United States. It is located in the Chino Hills, foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. It is a cri…
Crystal Cove State Park is a state park of California, United States, encompassing 3.2 miles (5.1 km) of Pacific coastline, inland chaparral canyons, and the Cr…
Emerald Bay State Park is a state park of California in the United States, centered on Lake Tahoe's Emerald Bay, a National Natural Landmark. Park features incl…
Donner Memorial State Park is a California State Park, located at the town of Truckee, California, United States. The park preserves a portion of the Donner Cam…
Clear Lake State Park is a state park of California, United States, on Clear Lake. The park is popular for water recreation. Amenities include 149 developed c…
D. L. Bliss State Park is a state park of California in the United States. It is located on the western shore of Lake Tahoe just north of Emerald Bay State Park…
Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park is a state park of California, United States, and a component of the Redwood National and State Parks. The park is about hal…
Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is a state park in inland San Diego County, California, United States, located 40 miles (64 km) east of the metropolitan area of San …
China Camp State Park is a state park in Marin County, California, surrounding a historic Chinese American shrimp-fishing village and a salt marsh. The park is …
Ed Z'berg Sugar Pine Point State Park is a state park in California in the United States. It occupies nearly two miles of the western shore of Lake Tahoe and a …
Coast Dairies is a state park in Santa Cruz County, California, near the city of Davenport. It is managed as part of Wilder Ranch State Park, which is south of …
Dos Rios State Park in Stanislaus County, California, United States, is about 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Modesto. The California state park opened to the publ…
Gaviota State Park is a state park of California, United States. It is located in southern Santa Barbara County, California, about 33 miles (53 km) west of the…
Grover Hot Springs State Park is a state park of California, United States, containing natural hot springs on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. Park ameni…
Fremont Peak State Park is a California State Park located in Monterey County and San Benito County, California. The park encompasses the summit of 3,173-foot (…
The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park is a state park of California, United States, protecting a secondary forest in the watershed of Aptos Creek and Soquel Cre…
Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park is a state park of California, United States, harboring groves of coast redwoods in three separate units along the Van Duzen R…
Hendy Woods State Park is a California state park, located in the Anderson Valley of Mendocino County. It is known for its old-growth coast redwoods and also p…
Fort Ord Dunes State Park is a state park in California, United States, along 4 miles (6.4 km) of coastline on Monterey Bay and created from part of the closed …
Garrapata State Park is a state park of California, United States, located on California State Route 1 6.7 miles (10.8 km) south of Carmel-by-the-Sea and 18 mil…
Great Valley Grasslands State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving a parcel of remnant native grassland in the San Joaquin Valley. Such…
Hearst San Simeon State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving rocky coast and rare habitats. It is located between Cambria and San Sime…
Harmony Headlands State Park preserves an undeveloped parcel of Pacific coast in California, United States. Located in San Luis Obispo County on Highway 1, the…
Estero Bluffs State Park is a state park of California, United States, on Estero Bay. The park protects a grassland-dominated marine terrace that slopes from Ca…
Humboldt Redwoods State Park is a state park of California, United States, containing Rockefeller Forest, the world's largest remaining contiguous old-growth fo…
Limekiln State Park is a California state park on the Big Sur coast. It contains four lime kilns from an 1887–1890 lime-calcining operation, plus a beach, red…
Malibu Creek State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving the Malibu Creek canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains. The 8,215-acre (3,324 h…
Henry W. Coe State Park (often known simply as Henry Coe or Coe Park) is a state park of California, United States, preserving a vast tract of the Diablo Range.…
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving mainly forest and riparian areas in the watershed of the San Lorenzo R…
Ishxenta State Park is an 1,315-acre (532 ha) California state park in the northern region of Big Sur, California, United States. San Jose Creek on the ranch wa…
Leo Carrillo State Park is a state park in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Situated along the Malibu coast, the park is a component of Santa Moni…
Humboldt Lagoons State Park is a California State Park on the Redwood Coast, in Humboldt County, California. It is located along U.S. Route 101 between Trinidad…
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving old-growth redwoods along the Smith River. It is located along U.S.…
The Redwood Grove of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, which is located in Santa Cruz County in Northern California, is a grove of Coast Redwoods with trees ext…
MacKerricher State Park is a state park in California in the United States. It is located 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Fort Bragg in Mendocino County. It covers 9 …
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park is a state park in California, 12 miles south of Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park on California's Pacific coast. A main feature of t…
Mount Diablo is a mountain of the Diablo Range, in Contra Costa County of the eastern San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. It is south of Clayton and …
McArthur–Burney Falls Memorial State Park is the second oldest state park in the California State Parks system, located approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) north of …
Mount Tamalpais State Park is a California state park, located in Marin County, California. The primary feature of the park is the 2,571 feet (784 m) Mount Tama…
Morro Bay State Park is a state park on the Morro Bay lagoon, in western San Luis Obispo County, on the Central Coast of California. On the lagoon's northeaster…
The Mendocino Woodlands State Park is a group camping facility located at 39350 Little Lake Road, Mendocino County, California, seven miles (11 km) inland from …
Manchester State Park (also known as Manchester State Beach) is a state park of California, United States. It includes 18,000 feet (5,500 m) of protected beach…
Montaña de Oro ("Mountain of Gold" in Spanish) is a state park in Central Coastal California, six miles southwest of Morro Bay and two miles south of Los Osos. …
McLaughlin Eastshore State Park is a state park and wildlife refuge along the San Francisco Bay shoreline of the East Bay between the cities of Richmond, Albany…
Mendocino Headlands State Park is a California State Park in Mendocino, California. It consists of 347 acres (1.4 km2) of undeveloped seaside bluffs and islets …
McNee Ranch is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains of the United States, near the unincorporated community of Montara, California in San Mateo County. The high…
Mount San Jacinto State Park is in the San Jacinto Mountains, of the Peninsular Ranges system, in Riverside County, California, United States. A majority of th…
Marsh Creek State Park is a State Historic Park in east Contra Costa County, California, United States. about 3.3 miles (5.3 km) south of downtown Brentwood. Th…
The Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP) are a complex of one United States national park and three California state parks located along the coast of norther…
Palomar Mountain ( PAL-ə-mar; Spanish: Monte Palomar [paloˈmaɾ]) is a mountain ridge in the Peninsular Ranges in northern San Diego County, California. It is kn…
Portola Redwoods State Park is a 2,800 acres (1,100 ha) state park in California situated in San Mateo County. The parks' primary watercourses — Peters Creek, P…
Red Rock Canyon State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of California which features scenic desert cliffs, buttes and spectacular rock formations. The park…
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is a state park in Monterey County, California, near the area of Big Sur on the state's Central Coast. It covers approximately 1,006…
Navarro River Redwoods State Park is a state park in Mendocino County, California, consisting of 660 acres (2.7 km2) of second-growth redwood forest in a narrow…
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is a state park, located in Humboldt County, California, near the town of Orick and 50 miles (80 km) north of Eureka. The 14,0…
Pacheco State Park is a California State Park to the south of Pacheco Pass in the Diablo Range, located mostly in western Merced County, California but extendi…
Point Mugu State Park is a state park located in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in Southern California. The rugged, nearly impassible shore…
Plumas-Eureka State Park is a California state park located in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range in Plumas County, California. The park, as a mining museum, s…
Placerita Canyon State Park is a California State Park located on the north slope of the western San Gabriel Mountains, in an unincorporated rural area of Los A…
Pelican State Beach is a designated California State Beach located in Del Norte County, California. Located 21 miles (30 km) north of Crescent City on US Route …
Samuel P. Taylor State Park is a state park located in Marin County, California, United States, which includes approximately 2,700 acres (11 km2) of redwood for…
Saddleback Butte State Park is a state park in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert, in Southern California. It is located east of Lancaster, north …
San Bruno Mountain State Park, officially San Bruno Mountain State and County Park, is a park located in northern San Mateo County, California. It is adjacent t…
Salt Point State Park is a state park in Sonoma County, California, United States. The park covers 6,000 acres (2,428 ha) on the coast of Northern California, w…
Robert Louis Stevenson State Park is a California state park, located in Sonoma, Lake and Napa counties. The park offers a 5-mile (8 km) hike to the summit of M…
Russian Gulch State Park is a California State Park in coastal Mendocino County, California, 2 mi (3.2 km) north of Mendocino and 7 mi (11 km) south of Fort Bra…
Richardson Grove State Park is located at the southernmost border of Humboldt County, 75 miles (121 km) south of Eureka, California, United States, and 200 mile…
San Timoteo Canyon is a river valley canyon southeast of Redlands, in the far northwestern foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains in the Inland Empire region of…
Sinkyone Wilderness State Park is a state park in Mendocino County, California. The wilderness area borders the Pacific Ocean to the west and the King Range Na…
Rio de Los Angeles State Park is a California State Park along the Los Angeles River north of downtown Los Angeles in the neighborhood of Glassell Park, Los Ang…
San Clemente State Beach is a public beach located in the south end of the city of San Clemente, California, United States. Located halfway between Los Angeles …
Schooner Gulch State Beach is a public beach located in Mendocino County, California. It is located approximately 50 miles northwest of Santa Rosa. The park is …
South Yuba River State Park is located along the South Fork of the Yuba River in the Sierra Nevada, within Nevada County, in Northern California.
Topanga State Park ( ) is a California state park located in the Santa Monica Mountains, within Los Angeles County, California. It is part of the Santa Monica M…
Van Damme State Park is a public beach consisting of about 1,831 acres (7.41 km2) of land in Mendocino County, California, near the town of Little River on Stat…
Trione-Annadel State Park is a California state park in the United States. It is situated at the northern edge of Sonoma Valley and is adjacent to Spring Lake R…
Tomales Bay State Park is a California state park in Marin County, California. It consists of approximately 2,000 acres (8 km²) divided between two areas, one …
Sonoma Coast State Park is a State of California property in Sonoma County consisting of public access use on lands adjoining the Pacific Ocean. This extent of …
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park is a state park in Northern California, United States. Located in the Mayacamas Mountains northeast of Kenwood, the park straddles t…
Tolowa Dunes State Park is a 4,000-acre (16 km2) California State Park located in Del Norte County, on the North Coast of California.
Sue-meg State Park (formerly Patrick's Point State Park) is a 640-acre California State Park (260 ha) in Humboldt County, California near Trinidad on the Redwo…
Trinidad State Beach is a state beach 20 miles (30 km) north of Eureka in Humboldt County, California. The offshore rocks are part of the California Coastal Nat…
Westport-Union Landing State Beach is located in Mendocino County in Northern California. Covering over 3 miles (4.8 km) of rugged and scenic coastline, this be…
Washoe Meadows State Park is a state park in California, consisting of more than 600 acres (240 ha) of woodlands and meadows. It is located south of Lake Tahoe …
Wilder Ranch State Park is a California State Park on the Pacific Ocean coast north of Santa Cruz, California. The park was formerly a dairy ranch, and many of …
The Fort McKavett State Historic Site is a former United States Army installation located in Menard County, Texas. The fort was first established in 1852 as par…
Goose Lake State Recreation Area is located on Stateline Road, between New Pine Creek, Oregon and Goose Lake in Lake County, Oregon. It is on the east side of G…
Hilgard Junction State Recreation Area is a state park in Hilgard, Oregon, United States, administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Located al…
As of 2026, there are 125 state parks in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks, a division of the Pennsylvania Department of Co…
Iron Range Off-Highway Vehicle State Recreation Area is a Minnesota state park located east of Lake Ore-be-gone in Gilbert, Minnesota. The recreation area consi…