* California is the most visited state in the United States, Disneyland is the United States' second most visited theme park, and California's national parks attract almost 30 million visitors a year. * Los Angeles-as the fourth largest destination for domestic travel in the U.S. and the second-ranked destination for overseas visitors, behind only New York-welcomed 25 million visitors in 2008. San Francisco is ranked in the top 10 most visited US cities, with over 15 million visitors per year. Neighboring Napa County greeted 4 million visitors in 2008, and Sonoma Valley hosted 7 million visitors.

Table of Contents

List of Maps. Acknowledgments. About the Authors. Introduction. PART ONE San Diego County. PART TWO Orange County. PART THREE Los Angeles and Vicinity: South Bay, Pasadena, Mountain Towns, Deserts, and Catalina Island. PART FOUR The Central Coast. PART FIVE The Sierra Nevada. PART SIX San Francisco Bay Area. PART SEVEN Gold Country. PART EIGHT Northern California. Indexes and Reader Survey.

About the Author

LOS ANGELES NATIVE Colleen Dunn Bates is the founder and publisher of Prospect Park Media, a book-publishing company in Pasa dena, California. She is also the author of many books, including Hometown Pasadena: The Insider's Guide and Storybook Travels: From Eloise's New York to Harry Potter's London, Visits to 30 of the Best-Loved Landmarks in Children's Literature, which she cowrote with Susan LaTempa. She lives in Pasadena with her husband, Darryl Bates, and their two daughters. CULVER CITY RESIDENT Susan LaTempa wrote Story book Travels with Colleen, has written for many national magazines, and is now an editor for the Los Angeles Times. Susan and her husband, Dan Milder, have two daughters.