Places packedandwandering Wants to Go

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

A poignant memorial to a young boy whose death spurred a dramatic increase in organ donations in Italy—dubbed the "Nicholas Effect."

Massive prehistoric mammals used these stones as oversized scratching posts.

The southernmost outpost of the Russian Empire in colonial America.

This whimsical seashell-shaped place of worship was designed to blend into its surroundings.

The mysterious round rocks of Schooner Gulch.

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.

This massive redwood tree has a hole in the base big enough to drive through.

In this roadside "community for the small," abandoned toys gain new lives.

Spend a day hanging out with domesticated Russian foxes.

Where there's quartz, there must be gold. Thus is the story of the mines of Julian, and the titillating times of the Gold Rush.

This historic tower in the California desert promises visitors a "vortex of good vibes".

A UFO scrapyard in the California desert.

Catch a glimpse of the elusive Peninsular bighorns right off of the desert freeway.

Erroneously called the world's tallest flagpole, this landmark is devoted to "good neighborliness."

An off-grid art installation that encourages its visitors to imagine a world without waste.

Burping, gurgling geothermal mud pots by the Salton Sea.

At this deceptively beautiful beach, nothing is what it seems.

Huge otherworldly domed rocks on the shore of a deadly lake.

The sea once considered an ecological wasteland is now called "crown jewel of avian biodiversity" by scientists.

A giant desert bird that once swung music fans at Coachella now has a home in a nearby traffic circle.

A monument to the frontier doctor who came up with the idea of delineating highways with a painted line.

Inspiration struck on this seat outside the Griffith Park merry-go-round.