Alcatraz Island
Alcatraz Island, one of San Francisco Bay's most popular destinations, is home to the
infamous federal prison, and the first and oldest lighthouse on the West Coast. The island
features many natural features as well - gardens, tide pools, bird colonies, and bay views
beyond compare
Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park has more than 3.3 million acres of spectacular desert scenery,
interesting and rare desert wildlife, complex geology, undisturbed wilderness, and sites of
historical and cultural interest.
Devils Postpile National Monument
The Devils Postpile formation, a rare sight in the geologic world, ranks as one of the
worlds finest examples of columnar basalt. Its columns tower 60-feet high and display an
unusual symmetry. Another wonder is just downstream from the Postpile at Rainbow Falls. When
the sun is overhead, a bright rainbow highlights the spectacular Falls.
Eugene ONeill National Historic Site
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill, the only Nobel Prize winning playwright from the United States
and the architect of modern American theater, lived at Tao House in the hills above Danville
from 1937 to 1944.
Fort Point National Historic Site
Fort Point was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1853 and 1861 to
prevent entrance of a hostile fleet into San Francisco Bay. The fort was occupied throughout
the Civil War, but the advent of faster, more powerful rifled cannon made brick forts such as
Fort Point obsolete.
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
One of the largest urban national parks in the world., the total park area is 75,398
acres of land and water. Approximately 28 miles of coastline lie within its boundaries. Golden
Gate NRA comprises Alcatraz, Marin Headlands, Fort Funston, Fort Mason, as well as Muir Woods
National Monument, Fort Point National Historic Site, and the Presidio of San Francisco.
John Muir National Historic Site
The Site preserves the 14 room mansion where the naturalist John Muir lived from 1890 to his death in 1914. Muir accomplished many things: he battled to prevent Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy Valley from being dammed, served as the first president and one of the founders of the Sierra Club and played a prominent role in the creation of several national parks. Muir's work laid the foundations for the creation of the National Park Service in 1916.
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lassen Volcanic became a national park in 1916 because of its significance as an active volcanic landscape. All four types of volcanoes in the world are found in the park. Over 150 miles of trails and a culturally significant scenic highway provide access to volcanic wonders.
Lava Beds National Monument
Volcanic eruptions on the Medicine Lake shield a volcano which has created an incredibly rugged landscape punctuated by cinder cones, lava flows, spatter cones, lava tube caves and pit craters.
Manzanar National Historic Site
Muir Woods National Monument
Many northern California coastal valleys were covered with coast redwood trees similar to those now found in Muir Woods National Monument. The forest along Redwood Creek in today's Muir Woods was spared from logging because it was hard to get to. Redwood Creek contains one of the San Francisco Bay Area's last uncut stands of old-growth redwood.
Oregon Caves National Monument
Oregon Caves National Monument is small in size, 480 acres, but rich in diversity. Above ground, the monument encompasses a remnant old-growth coniferous forest. It harbors a fantastic array of plants, and a Douglas-fir tree with the widest known girth in Oregon. Below ground is an active marble cave created by natural forces over years.
Pinnacles National Monument
Rising out of the chaparral-covered Gabilan Mountains, are the spectacular remains of an
ancient volcano. Massive monoliths, spires, sheer-walled canyons and talus passages define
millions of years of erosion, faulting and tectonic plate movement.
Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes National Seashore contains unique elements of biological and historical interest in a spectacularly scenic panorama of thunderous ocean breakers, open grasslands, bushy hillsides and forested ridges.
Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial
Port Chicago Naval Magazine honors the courage and commitment of the Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, Merchant Mariners, and working civilians killed and injured in the largest homeland disaster during World War II. 320 men, over 200 of which were African-Americans, were instantly killed when a loaded munition ship blew up during loading operations.
Presidio of San Francisco
The Presidio served as a military post under the flags of Spain, Mexico, and the United States. As a U.S. Army post, the Presidio protected commerce and trade, and played a logistical role in every major U.S. military conflict over the last 150 years. On October 1, 1994, the Presidio became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
Redwood National and State Parks
Redwood National and State Parks are home to some of the world's tallest trees:
old-growth coast redwoods. The parks' mosaic of habitats include prairie/oak woodlands, mighty
rivers and streams, and 37 miles of pristine Pacific coastline.
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
This park includes the fleet of national historic landmark vessels at Hyde Street Pier, a maritime museum, and a maritime library.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park
These two adjoining parks protect immense mountains, deep canyons, huge trees, and stunningly diverse habitats. Sequoia and Kings Canyon share miles of boundary and are managed as one park.
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
The Whiskeytown Unit, with its mountainous back country and large, man-made reservoir, offers many summer activities such as hiking and boating, as well as historical remains of the California Gold Rush.
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park harbors a grand collection of waterfalls, meadows, and forests
that include groves of giant sequoias, the world's largest living things.
Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area
Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge
Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
Bear Valley National Wildlife Refuge
Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge
Castle Rock National Wildlife Refuge
Clear Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Colusa National Wildlife Refuge
Delevan National Wildlife Refuge
Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge
Fallon National Wildlife Refuge
Farallon National Wildlife Refuge
Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge
Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge
Merced National Wildlife Refuge
Modoc National Wildlife Refuge
Pixley National Wildlife Refuge
Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge
Salinas River National Wildlife Refuge
San Luis National Wildlife Refuge
San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge
Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge
Sutter National Wildlife Refuge
Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge
Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve
Columbia