Places zacharymbest Wants to Go

The sun acts as a key that only fits this giant keyhole twice a year.

Remains of a Greek freighter trapped off of Rocky Point in 1961.

A Swedenborgian glass church surrounded by redwoods sits perched atop a massive landslide area.

A "haunted" landmark on the coast of Southern California.

Where NASA's satellites and rovers phone home.

The largest dune field in the Mojave offers a chance of hearing the 'singing sands.'

This unlicensed collection of fast-food memorabilia sits on the site of the first ever McDonald's restaurant.

One of the ghostly stops along Route 66.

A former utopian healing center created by a huckster and built by derelicts.

The "Fun Spot of the Desert" is now a haunting ruin, and a reminder that putting a water park in a desert is a bad idea.

The world’s largest concentrated solar plant generates as many problems as megawatts.

This dormant volcanic crater has been converted from a roiling pit of magma to a pleasant hiking spot.

Southern California’s Theme Park Beginnings.

An airy would-be solution to a housing shortage.

The most popular attraction in Southern California was once a flock of ornery bipedal birds that pulled carts.

Delve into a wealth of oddities, antiques, and taxidermy treasures.

Victoriana on Orange Grove Avenue.

Honoring the famed folktale author, this California museum looks like it belongs in the Black Forest.

California's oldest wind harp represents a historic piece of America's Danish history.

A 1914 beaux arts auditorium that sat shuttered for 20 years, restored and reopened in 2026

The century-old bell and clock tower at UC Berkeley is the third-tallest in the world, and has fossils.

A pier that used to act as a busy ferry dock is now a decaying favorite of local fisherman and urban artists.

A celebration of once forgotten materials.

The only museum of sake in the United States is nestled in an unlikely California college town.