This rock formation named for its unique shape is one of many that call the Alabama Hills home.

Four hundred granite steps were built into this massive rock by the National Park Service.

This former stomping grounds of the most eminent astronomers of the early 20th century.

This little museum has an exhibit devoted to the elusive forest denizens.

Thousands of migrating monarchs overwinter clustered amongst the eucalyptus trees.

A tribute to the life and work of the beloved "Peanuts" cartoonist.

Millions of years of oxidation make a drive down this winding Death Valley road surprisingly colorful.

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

First LEED-certified gas station in the United States.

Coastal dunes, site of buried Egyptian movie set and former utopian colony.

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

“It's the quality” (but probably also the drive-through donut tunnel) that has attracted diners since 1968.

The lighthouse central to the 1980s horror classic "The Fog" is, in fact, located in one of the foggiest areas of the Pacific Coast.

Mexican food and folk art.

The highest dunes in California are the most likely place in the area to hear the Singing Sands.

L.A.'s oldest operating bowling alley is a beautifully restored homage to its speakeasy days.

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

Commonly referred to as the most photographed Victorian home in the United States.

Abandoned bridge hidden deep in the San Gabriel Mountains.

An unfortunate geological resemblance to Satan has labeled this Pasadena gorge as a passage to the underworld.

The unbelievably opulent home built for an infamous newspaperman.

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

The lowest point in North America is home to an undrinkable pool surrounded by fields of geometric salt flats.

The "world's biggest dinosaur" once housed a creationist museum in its abdomen.