Places dearestnature Wants to Go

A free, public museum dedicated to the fascinating science of sight.

San Francisco's urban bison herd has persisted in the face of extinction, development, and disease.

A pair of slides and a tree-lined stair corridor have been an urban oasis for nearly 40 years.

A raised boardwalk winds through a thicket of stunted, century-old trees no more than nine feet tall.

A trash dump made beautiful by nature's power.

One of the largest trees of its kind in California.

Gnomes have their very own bonsai-landscaped settlement on a university campus.

The 10-foot-wide Long Beach home was built on a dare.

This beautiful ridge-top trail is dotted by tiny homes apparently built by a group of itinerant fairies.

The site of murders and Satanic cult gatherings.

One of the largest helium balloons in the U.S. is a 112-foot ginormous orange.

A quirky collection of figurines backdropped by city views is hidden next to a popular restaurant in the Hollywood hills.

Two men, two visionaries of Venice Beach, one little hotel that smells like cookies.

A common entry point to the Griffith Observatory trail holds its own wonders.

The L.A. Zoo has a secret garden of rare bootleg cycads, a palm specimen dating back 280 million years.

A ghost town at the airport is now a refuge for blue butterflies.

A spiritual retreat in the heart of Los Angeles offers stunning gardens and a labyrinth to lose yourself in.

One man's homage to the sun continues to grow like a glass fractal.

A library and museum dedicated to typography.

In this century-old literary safehouse, print is alive and well.

An essential stop before plundering, BYO Cutlass.

A psychedelic labyrinth on the San Francisco bay.

Residents of Fremont in Seattle have considered it the center of the universe since the 1970s.

Spanning an elevation of 160 feet and containing 388 steps, this is Seattle's longest staircase.