All tagged California

Guide to Travel Capitola

If quaint and charming checks your list then Santa Cruz’s small neighboring beach town Capitola might just be perfect for your next vacation. Capitola is what California beach cities used to be and provides its residents and visitors with a quiet laid-back lifestyle that is hard to find on the California Coast these days. It is slightly quirky with its colorful Venetian-style beachfront condos and tends to conjure up a warm welcoming feel as you meander through its car-less back streets.

Guide to Travel Santa Cruz, California

Santa Cruz is a small coastal city of around 55,000 people that is located in Central California. The city is perhaps best known for its laid-back bohemian atmosphere and like many cities along California’s coast, Santa Cruz has deep roots in the surf culture. Not only is the city known for its cool surf vibes, but also for the incredible beaches, splendid weather, and breathtaking scenery that surrounds it. The abundance of beauty and ideal temperatures in Santa Cruz draws in a ton of tourists, especially in the summer months when the weather is near-perfect.

Guide to Travel San Clemente, California

San Clemente is a small city of around 65,000 people that has been aptly dubbed the "little Spanish village by the sea". The moniker can be attributed to its heavy Spanish influence and the Meditteranean-style architecture that you see around the city. This laid-back beach town lies along California’s Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and is just one of many picture-perfect communities situated along the country’s most scenic drive. But what sets San Clemente apart is the overall lack of hustle and bustle, making for a much slower-paced lifestyle than many other towns along the coast.

Guide to Travel Carmel-by-the-Sea

Carmel-by-the-Sea is a picturesque town on the central coast of California and is well known for its fairytale-like architecture that would make the perfect backdrop for a Hansel and Gretel movie. The town is also known for its incredible beauty that is abundant in scenic ocean bluffs and gorgeous white sand beaches. Aside from its whimsical storybook flavor, and endless beauty, this quaint village of only 4,000 people is packed full of art galleries, boutiques, hotels, shops, and restaurants.

Willis Palms Trail

The Willis Palms Trail takes you to a natural oasis caused by a water spring that leaks from the earth and allows for the growth of a Palm forest. Located in the vast and dry desert of the Coachella Valley near 1000 Palms and a short drive from Palm Springs, California. Willis Palm Oasis is part of several oases in the area that the result of the San Andreas Fault line which runs directly under the park.

Natural Bridges State Beach

Natural Bridges State Beach is a 65-acre park in Santa Cruz, California is a wonderful example of how Mother Nature can manipulate even the largest of stones. The cove and beach provide a great place for wildlife lovers to spot many different types of birds, seals, otters, and even whales gracefully swimming by. There is also a trail to get some better vantage points and explore the tidepools, where you can see all kinds of ocean life like sea stars, crabs, and other interesting sea creatures.

Sandy Dune, Malibu

Sandy Dune is an interesting attraction along the Pacific Coast Highway in the Malibu area of California. It is essentially a build-up of beautiful powdery sand that has been carried by the wind up from the ocean below and pushed up against a mountainside. it is definitely not a main attraction of Malibu by any standards but it is a fun place to stop and hike up for some great photography looking out into the pacific ocean near Point Mugu.