Hidden in the Santa Ynez Mountains off Highway 154, this tiny restaurant once served as a stagecoach stop.

An iconic location along the Los Angeles River where countless movie scenes are filmed.

Like a kitschy mirage in the Mojave, this eatery serves up classic 50s-style diner meals and a dinosaur sculpture garden.

Happy harbor seals frolic and snooze on this warm, sandy stretch of coast.

The hidden jewel of Disneyland: a members only playground for the Disney elite.

Outposts of this restaurant chain were shaped like jaunty chapeaus.

Hollywood's oldest hotel is the site of the first Academy Awards, the birthplace of Marilyn Monroe's career, and the home of Montgomery Clift's ghost.

The awe-inspiring ship from the golden era of cruising has an incomparable history and a reputation as one of the world’s most haunted places.

A popular tourist cave with a dark past.

Dive bar built out of the remains of a whaling ship.

The interior of the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" was based on this Yosemite original.

A giant donut stands as a popular symbol of Los Angeles iconography.

One of the oldest reform schools in the United States, home to wayward boys such as Merle Haggard, now abandoned.

One of the most unusual geological features, recognizable from a dozen hit movies.

An old California photo stand has been turned into a shrine to the cozy art of crochet.

A modern day curiosity cabinet.

Not merely a museum – but a whirring powerhouse that offers a subterranean peek into the heart and soul of cable car operations.

Once strictly off-limits, this lower level housing curious and priceless vehicles of the Petersen Automotive Museum is now open to the public.

One of the oldest producers of hand-folded fortune cookies still uses its original secret recipe.

A desert ghost town—occupied for only 12 years—was once home to more than 500 silver mines.

A multimedia experience that chronicles the atrocities of racism.

A fashion designer's dazzling world of Japanese collectibles is hidden in a warehouse downtown.

Standing in a state of "arrested decay," this ghost town allows for a detailed peek into Gold Rush life in an unusually harsh climate.

This private residence was the template for one of the most beloved television homes of all time.