Petra Shepherd takes a trip around the Golden State
California is fun and free spirited, the ultimate playground. There are few places in the world that generate more iconic imagery, from towering redwood forests to sun-kissed Southern California beaches. Captured in countless films, California is made for multi-centre holidays. There are simply too many great places to visit to confine yourself to just one city or National Park, so in May I spent a week travelling from Los Angeles to Palm Springs and then on to Mammoth Lakes, these are just a few of my highlights.
Palm Springs
Just a two-hour drive from Los Angeles, the desert city of Palm Springs is where 1950s celebrities like Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley built sleek estates, played golf at championship courses and wined and dined the desert night away. With good weather, a laid back vide and a buzzing arts scene, it’s the place to relive your rat pack fantasies amongst regal palm groves and discover mid-century modern architecture. The town is littered with clean-lined; futuristic-looking houses created by an impressive array of architects.
For some stunning views be sure to take The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, the world’s largest rotating tram car and number one attraction in the city. The tram (or as Europeans would think of it, a cable car) travels over two and a half miles along the cliffs of Chino Canyon, transporting passengers to the pristine wilderness of the Mt. San Jacinto State Park. During the approximately ten-minute journey, the tram car rotates slowly, offering picturesque and spectacular vistas of the valley floor below. Once you reach the mountain station at an elevation of 8,516 feet, there are two restaurants to enjoy, observation decks, a natural history museum, two documentary theatres, a gift shop and over 50 miles of hiking trails.
However, Palm Spring is above all a place to unwind and my home for the night La Quinta Resort and Club (two miles from downtown La Quinta and 20 miles from Palm Springs International Airport) was the perfect place to do this with 41 pools and 53 hot tubs. A hangout for star celebrities since its inception, La Quinta Resort’s greatest claim to fame is as the site which film director and frequent guest Frank Capra wrote the screenplay for Lost Horizon poolside in 1937.
Joshua Tree National Park
With nearly 800,000 acres of mystical beauty, Joshua Tree National Park is undoubtedly one of the world’s most incredible natural deserts. The park lies at an ecological crossroads, where the high Mojave Desert meets the low Colorado Desert. That marriage results in amazing desert flora, including those distinctive namesake trees (actually a type of yucca). Sweeping, grand in scale and populated by granite monoliths, voluptuous rock and boulder formations, it’s a place to hike on countless trails suitable for all levels of hikers or plan an adrenaline-infused rock climb. Ranger-led tours educate visitors about the park’s geography, wildlife, and plant life, as well as its colourful history dating back to the gold seekers of the 1800s. Recently designated an International Dark Sky Park, night visitors will be dazzled by the star display above but it was the oddball trees that most won me over.
Bishop and Owens Valley Palute Shohone Cultural Centre
Bishop serves as a gateway to some of the Sierra’s most dramatic high country. This ‘small town with a big backyard’ is heaven for skiers, hikers, climbers, mountain bikers, and anglers. It provides easy access to the breathtaking peaks of the Sierra Nevada, including 14,505 ft Mount Whitney, the highest summit in the contiguous U.S. Shimmering panes of glass reflecting giant peaks, nothing is more energising than an alpine lake and while there are many that take hours or even days by foot to experience, there are five lakes nearby that you can drive to.
Bishop is also home to Owens Valley Palute Shoshone Cultural Centre. The centre reflects the history, culture, and living history of the Nuumu (Paiute) and Newe (Shoshone) people, the indigenous people of the Owens Valley. Be sure to also check out a series of colourful murals that adorn many downtown buildings depicting the region’s unique history, mining, agriculture, mule packing and western traditions.
Eastern Sierra and Mono County
The Eastern Sierra of California has long been an iconic destination, from the indigenous Paiute people to early gold miners of Bodie. The larger-than-life landscape of deserts and mountains, alpine forests and waterfalls ranks as one of the most photographed in the USA and didn’t disappoint. Home to the largest natural lake in California, hauntingly beautiful Mono Lake is an amazing two and a half times saltier than the ocean and one of the western hemisphere’s oldest lakes.
The lake’s most distinctive feature is its eerie tufa towers – mineral structures created when fresh-water springs bubble up through the lake’s alkaline waters. It’s also one of the most studied and photographed bird sanctuaries in North America. Migratory and resident birds feast on the lake’s abundant brine shrimp and alkali fly population. Nearly 300 bird species have been identified including osprey and great horned owl with approximately 50,000 California gulls nesting every year on the lake’s two islands.
A popular way of exploring the region is to take the E.S.T (Eastern Sierra Tour), a linear route spanning 555 miles from Death Valley at 282 feet below sea level to the towering peaks of Tioga Pass at 9,943 feet.
June Lake Loop
The town of June Lake, just 20 minutes north of Mammoth Lakes, is a thriving yet intimate alpine village with a handful of cozy restaurants, art galleries, speciality stores, charming hotels and a lively brewery along Main Street. Often called the Swiss Alps of California, the views from everywhere around the scenic 16-mile Loop are jaw-dropping and the Loop’s four glistening lakes are renowned for fishing and stocked with trophy sized trout.
Mammoth Lakes
Mammoth is one of the oldest mountain resorts in the US, boasting a 11,053-foot summit, 28 chairlifts and 3,500 acres of skiable terrain. Mammoth Mountain is a member of the Ikon Pass family, with access to over 50 iconic resorts, including Mammoth and June mountains. However, I visited very late in the season, so rather than skiing (although there was still plenty of skiing available in mid-May), I took an electric bike tour instead. Visitors who have become locals often say that they came to Mammoth for the winter but stayed for the summer, the pleasant alpine temperatures, clear blue skies and awesome scenery were hard to fault and easily enjoyed from the comfort of my electric bike.
Passing lakes and waterfalls beneath towering mountain crags, another Mammoth highlight is riding the scenic gondola to the top of Mammoth Mountain to snap a selfie at the summit sign, enjoy lunch with panoramic views at the Eleven53 cafe and discover the Sierra’s history at the interpretive centre. Hiking is excellent with over 17 lakes within a 20-minute drive whilst Mammoth Lakes also boasts a year-round calendar of events and festivals that showcase the unique character of the region. I like the sound of The Feel-Good Music Festival, the Rock N Rye Whiskey Festival, The Giddy Up-Country Music Festival and the gloriously named The Festival of Beers and Bluesapalooza. Which means there’s only one thing for it, another visit to California.
Next steps
Go to https://www.visitcalifornia.com/ for more information and call our Silver Travel Advisors on 0800 412 5678 to get a quote and book your holiday in California.
