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

A small side chapel in Santa Fe's basilica is home to the oldest statute of the Virgin Mary in North America.

This old-world mansion with lush gardens is a gem in the heart of Silicon Valley.

A classically inspired temple in Redwood City.

A burnt orange monolithic dome structure perched on a hillside near Interstate 280.

This controversial depiction of the "Founder of California" looks as though it was sculpted from mashed potatoes.

A shop full of natural curiosities, carnivorous plants, and costumed taxidermied mice.

An essential stop before plundering, BYO Cutlass.

Lombard Street may be more famous, but this is the real “crookedest street in the world.”

California's own medieval Italian castle, authentic down to the 300-year-old iron maiden in the dungeon.

California's own majestic geyser is powered by a subterranean volcano.

The fossilized remains of ancient California redwoods.

A trash dump made beautiful by nature's power.

Climb 200 stairs up the tallest lighthouse on the West Coast for an unbeatable view.

The mysterious round rocks of Schooner Gulch.

Canyon walls shrouded in ferns.

One of the most scenic stretches of road in America winds between some of the country's oldest trees.

Beneath the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge is the “Gibraltar of the West Coast,” a fort built to protect the San Francisco Bay from naval attack.

Carnivorous plants, medieval aphrodisiacs, and the largest original wood structure glass conservatory in the western hemisphere.

Golden Gate Park's historic collection of plants.

A garden oasis filled with flowers mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare.

The taxidermied remains of the "last wild grizzly bear in California" and of the symbol of the state of California.

An elaborate gift from Claus Spreckels is now a piece of San Francisco history.

San Francisco's first World's Fair, dedicated to the wonders of California.