This Big Sur waterfall drops 80 feet directly into the Pacific Ocean, and inspired the hillside house up top.

This lonesome Monterey cypress has survived centuries of wind, salt, and at least one attempt at arson.

This little valley along Highway 1 is engulfed by thousands of lilies during the spring season.

Get up close to emus and ostriches, or buy their tasty meat.

A massive volcanic plug is now a protected area that hosts a number of bird species.

This Oakland fairytale kingdom, fiercely devoted to childlike whimsy, was an early inspiration for Disneyland.

Bonsai garden in Oakland is curated by the first non-Japanese female bonsai master in the United States.

This mysterious series of teeny guerrilla installations sheds a whimsical light on street art in Oakland.

Three plaques mark the spot where the "forgotten father of broadcasting" worked.

It is locally loved and ridiculed for literally looking like poop.

This airfield played a key role in both World War II and the Cold War.

This now-deactivated naval base defended the Florida coast for centuries.

A local landmark with generations of spraypainted messages, and more being added each day.

Pensacola's UFO home has withstood many hurricanes—just as the experimental 1960s design intended.

An oasis of lilies cultivated by the "Indiana Jones of Water Lilies."

The world's tallest doric column is this Ohio monument to a naval victory in the War of 1812.

A throwback train ride transports passengers through one of the lesser-known national parks in the country.

340 bicycles, 65 feet high.

The key to turning shifting dunes into the green oasis of Golden Gate Park.

The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.

Shoot for par over the bodies of the dead on this cemetery-cum-golf course.

The United States' first transcontinental automobile road came to its end at this spot in San Francisco's Lincoln Park.

This massive redwood tree has stood in Northern California for nearly 2,000 years.

The last remaining relic of San Francisco's glittering 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.