A hand-built folk art installation covered with messages of God's love.

The ghostly remains of an accidental sea.

These lush groves of fan palms rise up like oases out of southern California's Colorado Desert.

A remote desert lookout offers unparalleled views of the California badlands for those who brave the trek.

A monument to a one-legged kidnapper, horse thief, and charlatan asks visitors to throw rocks in a pile.

Along a California highway is a kind of Jurassic Park made of metal.

A strenuous, unofficial trail leads to spectacular views in one of America's most remote national monuments.

America's only nuclear missile silo open to the public.

This open-pit mine is now an abandoned symbol of Bisbee's copper-mining heritage.

A small metropolis of Pueblo cave dwellings have been carved right into the hillside of this national monument.

The 7,000-year-old calcium carbonate formation creates a magnificent natural bridge.

Once a year, the ruins of an ancient village come alive with hundreds of glowing farolitos.

Explore the largest pure gypsum deposit in the world, and go dune sledding while you're at it.

Located near the U.S.-Mexico border, this park remembers the famous raid of General Francisco “Pancho” Villa and his soldiers.

This abandoned church dominates the landscape of a former mining boomtown.

Each winter this underground cave forms a dazzling ice palace.

The flow from this waterfall sometimes comes out of springs below its rim.

A whimsical display of massive metal sculptures made from recycled materials.

A large lava tube that can be walked through with no special equipment.

At the edge of the high desert, California's second-largest natural lake is home to a unique subspecies of trout adapted to its alkaline waters.

Downieville's largest Gold Rush structure still standing has one of the longest bars in California.

A fire lookout atop a glacial pinnacle is reached by climbing three vertiginous flights of stairs.

The viewpoint for this attractive, off-the-beaten-path waterfall is reached by a paved, wheelchair-accessible trail.

The geographic center point of the Golden State.