California Active and Adventure Vacations

California Active and Adventure Travel Guide

• California Overview
• California Hotels
• California Attractions
• California Feature Articles
• California Vacation Rentals

Other Guides for California

Active and Adventure Guide
• Biking
• Climbing
• Hiking and Backpacking
• Paddling
• Skiing
• Snow Sports
• Beach Guide
  • Kiteboarding
  • Sailing
  • Scuba Diving
  • Snorkeling
  • Surfing
  • Windsurfing
• Family Guide
• Gay and Lesbian Guide
• Parks and Outdoors Guide
  • Camping
  • Fishing
  • Horses and Riding
  • Nature
  • Road and Rail Journeys

Top Active and Adventure Destinations In California

• Los Angeles, CA
  
• Santa Barbara, CA
  
• Yosemite National Park, CA
  
• Sacramento, CA
  
• Havasu National Wildlife Refuge, AZ
  
• Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA
  
• Napa Valley, CA
  
• Pacific Crest Trail, WA
  
• Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, OR
  
• Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, CA
  

Travel Guides In California

• Los Angeles, CA
  • Gay and Lesbian Guide
  • Family Guide
• Oceanside, CA
  • Beach Guide
• Dana Point, CA
  • Beach Guide
• Half Moon Bay, CA
  • Beach Guide
• Huntington Beach, CA
  • Beach Guide
• MacKerricher State Park, CA
  • Beach Guide
• Marina del Rey, CA
  • Beach Guide
• Pacific Grove, CA
  • Beach Guide
• Point Reyes National Seashore, CA
  • Parks and Outdoors Guide
• Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, OR
  • Parks and Outdoors Guide

Pacific Coast Active and Adventure States/Provinces

• Alaska
• California
• Hawaii
• Oregon
• Washington

Active and Adventure Travel Destinations

• Mid-Atlantic
  • Maryland
  • New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania
  • West Virginia
• Midwest
  • Indiana
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • South Dakota
  • Wisconsin
• Mountain West
  • Colorado
  • Idaho
  • Montana
  • Utah
  • Wyoming
• Northeast
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • New York
  • Vermont
• Pacific Coast
  • Alaska
  • California
  • Hawaii
  • Oregon
  • Washington
• Southeast
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Virginia
• Southwest
  • Arizona
  • Nevada
  • New Mexico
  • Texas

Santa Barbara at sunset, California (Corbis)

Top California Active and Adventure Destinations

• California's Highway One
• Havasu National Wildlife Refuge
• John Muir Wilderness Area
• Joshua Tree National Park
• Lake Tahoe
• Lassen Volcanic National Park
• Los Angeles
• Marin County
• Napa Valley
• Pacific Crest Trail
• Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest
• Sacramento
• Santa Barbara
• Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park
• Shasta-Trinity National Forests
• Sonoma
• Yosemite National Park

Photos

Feature Articles

• Struck
  outside
  Rod Liberal was climbing in the Grand Tetons when the worst happened—a flash of lightning blasted him and a group of his climbing friends, leaving one dead. What's life like after high voltage rips through your body? You don't want to know.
• Snow Report 2005
  outside
  
• Worldwide Wild
  outside
  California, Maine, Alaska, British Columbia, Montana/Alberta
• California's Secret Stash
  outside
  The Big River's been saved—and just in time. Here's how to enjoy the northern coast's newest playground and its spectacular environs.
• March Parks and the Outdoors Travel Guide
  

Trip Ideas

• Backyard Playgrounds
  Whether it’s for a few hours or a few days, we’ve all got to get away sometime. Since we can’t always explore the Amazon after work or trek Tibet in a weekend, we bring you an inspired list of the country’s best city-centric, all-natural playgrounds—ones within city limits, and ones just beyond the suburban sprawl—tailor-made for bite-sized bursts of urban adventuring.
• Nordic Northern California: Hut-to-Hut Across the Sierras
  
• Secret Cycling in the City by the Bay
  Over 1,000 acres, an endless maze of singletrack, Eucalyptus-lined descents to the crashing Pacific.... Sometimes rules are made to be broken
• The Big Sweep
  Mountain Biking the Santa Monicas
• Top Ten California Singletrack
  Introduction

Practical Advice

• Fix a Busted Tire with a Buck
  outside
  Flatten your bike tire on a thorn and you can patch the inner tube or swap in a new one—no problem. Damage the tire itself (say, by tearing your sidewall on a sharp rock)—much bigger problem. Here's a quick field solution to keep you on the roll.
• How to Build a Bomber Anchor
  outside
  To set up your own anchor for a climbing top rope (or slackline, or car stuck in a ditch), all you need is a 20-foot piece of webbing, a carabiner, and a tree.
• Fix a Flat
  outside
  
• Welcome to Home Rental Country: The Refuge of the Un-Hotel
  Take the brand-name anonymity out of your next foray into the vacation world by getting the scoop on finding the best homes away from home.
• Adventure Travel 101
  GORPTravel’s Kate Tucker and Linda Long answer our burning questions about the tao of adventure travel

GORPTravel Trips

• 
  Yosemite - Sierra Multi-Sport
  The World Outdoors
  from $1898, 6 days
  Cascading rivers, lofty peaks, and stands of giant sequoia trees constitute the landscape of Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks....
  
• 
  San Francisco to the Wine Country Trek
  Wine Country Trekking
  from $2450, 10 days
  Enjoy a ten day signature trek vacation where you will see and experience the best of the San Francisco Bay Area. This vacation takes you to San...
  
• 
  Yosemite Family: Domes, Rivers & Waterfalls
  Austin Lehman Adventures
  from $2298, 6 days
  Your daughter gazes skyward in amazement at the "Grizzly Giant," Yosemite National Park's ~2,000-year-old Sequoia tree. It's not until you've been in...
  
• 
  Tomales Bay to the Wine Country Trek
  Wine Country Trekking
  from $1300, 4 days
  Enjoy this four day trek vacation which is designed for those looking for a short, luxurious getaway. You begin your vacation on the shore of...
  
• 
  Mount Tamalpais to the Wine Country Trek
  Wine Country Trekking
  from $1500, 6 days
  Enjoy this six day trek vacation which traverses beautiful Mount Tamalpais and finishes in the Wine Country. You will visit Sausalito and Muir...
  

Gear

• Complete Gear Archives: Day-Hiking, Backpacking, and Trekking
  From in-depth gear review articles and Gear Guy Q&A highlights to the latest—and past—entries in Outside magazine’s award-giving Summer and Winter Buyer’s Guides, a detailed overview of all things hiking.
• Complete Gear Archives: Paddling
  From in-depth gear review articles and Gear Guy Q&A highlights to the latest—and past—entries in Outside magazine’s award-giving Summer and Winter Buyer’s Guides, a detailed overview of all things paddling.
• Complete Gear Archives: Climbing
  From in-depth gear review articles and Gear Guy Q&A highlights to the latest—and past—entries in Outside magazine’s award-giving Summer and Winter Buyer’s Guides, a detailed overview of all things climbing.
• Complete Gear Archives: Cycling
  From in-depth gear review articles and Gear Guy Q&A highlights to the latest—and past—entries in Outside magazine’s award-giving Summer and Winter Buyer’s Guides, a detailed overview of all things related to cycling.
• How I Came to Know and Love the Backcountry
  The Basics of Telemark Skiing

Fitness

• Mountain Athlete
  outside
  Jackson, Wyoming
• Chalk It Up
  outside
  Experience is the key to mountaineering prowess, but high-altitude fitness makes all the difference on summit day
• Blitzing the Backcountry
  outside
  Turn your winter fitness routine into a brand-new adventure
• The Rowbike
  outside
  Video
• Saddle Up
  outside
  Spring is here. Time to wipe the cobwebs off your bike, oil your chain, and kick your fitness into a new gear. Here's how.

• See All California Articles »
• See All Active and Adventure Articles »

Attractions

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Hotels

• View More Photos

from: $70

Comfort Inn Yosemite Valley Gateway
4994 Bullion St.
Mariposa, CA 95338 Map

Hotel Class:

Active Expert Rating

3.0 out of 5

Traveler Rating

Not Yet Rated

Recommended for:

Marina International Hotel
4200 Admiralty Way
Marina Del Rey, CA 90292 Map

Hotel Class:

Active Expert Rating

3.0 out of 5

Traveler Rating

Not Yet Rated

Recommended for:

• View More Photos

from: $385

Malibu Beach Inn
22878 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90265 Map

Hotel Class:

Active Expert Rating

Not Yet Rated

Traveler Rating

Not Yet Rated

Recommended for:

California Active and Adventure Destinations

California Active and Adventure Travel Guides

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