Wild places with ‘wow’

Coming up with a list of California’s ultimate parks and wild places is like being asked to choose your favorite family member. Each one is special in his own way, even that annoying brother who still owes you $100. How can you pick?

If you choose the most popular parks, you end up with a list of the state’s most crowded and overdeveloped parks. (Old Town San Diego State Historic Park averages 5 million visitors a year but is more like a collection of historic buildings than a park.) Choose the wildest, most pristine spots and you will come up with a list of isolated areas that are virtually inaccessible.

The topography and geology of the Golden State make the choice even more difficult. California has 1,100 miles of coastline, a mountain range topped by the tallest peak in the lower 48 (Mt. Whitney), one of the nation’s largest expanses of forest land, and the country’s lowest point (Death Valley’s Badwater Flat).

With so many criteria to choose from, I settled on an unscientific measure I call the “wow factor.” On my assignments covering the outdoors, here are places that stopped me in my tracks, left me dumbfounded and had me fumbling for my camera. I have visited only a tiny fraction of the nation’s third-largest state, so I’m sure I missed many other “wow” places. Send your nominees to tellus@latimes.com.

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

California’s north-central coast is lush with redwoods, ferns and coastal live oaks, a heavenly stretch of shoreline that is home to great Big Sur and Point Lobos parks. But Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park has a serene and rugged feel that sets it apart from other nearby enclaves. These 3,580 acres are in a redwood canyon that rises from the beach to about 1,500 feet. The cherry on top of this visual feast is the 80-foot McWay Waterfall, which crashes from a rocky cliff onto the sand in a wonderful, secluded cove. It’s an iconic scene no one should miss. The park is 37 miles south of Carmel along California 1. Info: (831) 667-2315, www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=578.

Yosemite National Park

No list of California parks would be complete without a mention of Yosemite. It can be crowded and noisy in the summer, but if you stay clear of the tourist-clogged Yosemite Village, you will see why John Muir, the father of America’s environmental movement, said, “No temple made by hands can compare with Yosemite.” The real magic happens in the late afternoon, when the setting sun casts a violet glow on the iconic Half Dome and Bridalveil Fall. Yosemite is about 80 miles east of Merced, along California 140. Info: (209) 372-0200, www.nps.gov/yose.

Point Reyes National Seashore

Once upon a time, while wandering along the beach at this national seashore, I came across a herd of cattle strolling on the sand. Who can blame them? These 70,000 acres on a peninsula north of San Francisco, shrouded in cool fog and blanketed by green grass, resemble a postcard of the rocky shores of Ireland. But it’s the wildlife that sets Point Reyes apart: More than 1,000 species call the park home, including a menagerie of shorebirds and raptors. The park is about 30 miles from San Francisco along California 1. Info: (415) 464-5100, www.nps.gov/pore.

Redwood National and State Parks

Want to put life and its annoying problems into perspective? Get lost in the land of the giants, home to some of the largest trees in the world. At Redwood National and State Parks, the union of three state parks and a national park near Orick, you’ll feel you are a part of a bigger, more beautiful world inhabited by bear, elk, Steller’s Jays and banana slugs. The stars of these parks are the coastal redwoods that soar more than 365 feet into the sky, span more than 22 feet in diameter and date back to the days of Christ. The parks are along U.S. 101, about 80 miles north of Eureka. Info: (707) 464-6101, www.nps.gov/redw/index.htm.

Joshua Tree National Park

Several California desert parks deserve inclusion in an ultimate list, particularly Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, where spring wildflowers turn the parched badlands into a sea of color and life. But the surreal rock formations at Joshua Tree, east of Palm Springs, give it that added magical feel, particularly if you visit during a new moon, when the stars gleam like crushed diamonds on black velvet. And then you have the Joshua trees, which Mormon pioneers believed resembled the upstretched arms of Joshua leading them to the promised land. For rock climbers and stargazers, Joshua Tree is the promised land. The park is 140 miles east of Los Angeles along Interstate 10. Info: (760) 367-5500, www.nps.gov/jotr.

John Muir Wilderness

California is home to 138 designated wilderness areas, protected by some of the nation’s strictest land protection laws. For hikers, the John Muir Wilderness, southwest of Mammoth Lakes, has few equals. With 590 miles of trails, dozens of pristine aquamarine lakes and the most spectacular peaks in the Sierra Nevada, this wilderness area exemplifies the beauty its namesake so prized. The office to obtain permits to enter the wilderness is at 351 Pacu Lane, Bishop. Info: (760) 873-2485, www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/recreation/wild/john-muir.shtml

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hugo.martin@latimes.com

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BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX

STATE’S NATIONAL PARKS

Here is contact information for California’s national parks, monuments and recreation areas, as well as the state’s historic and scenic sites:

Alcatraz Island, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Ft. Mason, B201, San Francisco, CA 94123; (415) 561-4900 or (415) 981-7625 (tickets), fax (415) 705-1050, www.nps.gov/alcatraz.

Cabrillo National Monument, 1800 Cabrillo Memorial Drive, San Diego, CA 92106; (619) 557-5450, fax (619) 226-6311, www.nps.gov/cabr.

California National Historic Trail, 324 S. State St., Suite 200, Box 30, Salt Lake City, UT 84111; (801) 741-1012, fax (801) 741-1102, www.nps.gov/cali.

Channel Islands National Park, 1901 Spinnaker Drive, Ventura, CA 93001; (805) 658-5730, fax (805) 658-5799, www.nps.gov/chis.

Death Valley National Park, California 190, Visitors Center, P.O. Box 579, Death Valley, CA 92328; (760) 786-3200, fax (760) 786-3283, www.nps.gov/deva.

Devils Postpile National Monument, near Mammoth Lakes but administered by Sequoia & Kings Canyon national parks, 47050 Generals Highway, Three Rivers, CA 93271; Mammoth Lakes Visitors Center, (760) 934-2289; Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, (559) 565-3341, www.nps.gov/depo.

Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site, P.O. Box 280, Danville, CA 94526; (925) 838-0249, fax (925) 838-9471, www.nps.gov/euon.

Fort Point National Historic Site, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Ft. Mason, B201, San Francisco, CA 94123; (415) 556-1693, www.nps.gov/fopo.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area (includes Crissy Field, Ocean Beach, Sweeney Ridge, Marin Headlands, Phleger Estate, Ft. Funston, Alcatraz and the Presidio), Ft. Mason, B201, San Francisco, CA 94123; (415) 561-4700, www.nps.gov/goga.

John Muir National Historic Site, 4202 Alhambra Ave., Martinez, CA 94553; (925) 228-8860, fax (925) 228-8192, www.nps.gov/jomu.

Joshua Tree National Park, 74485 National Park Drive, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277; (760) 367-5500, fax (760) 367-6392, www.nps.gov/jotr.

Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, 1111 Jackson St., Suite 700, Oakland, CA 94607; (510) 817-1438, fax (510) 817-1505, www.nps.gov/juba.

Lassen Volcanic National Park, P.O. Box 100, Mineral, CA 96063; (530) 595-4480, fax (530) 595-3262, www.nps.gov/lavo.

Lava Beds National Monument, 1 Indian Well Headquarters, Tulelake, CA 96134; (530) 667-8100, fax (530) 667-2737, www.nps.gov/labe.

Manzanar National Historic Site, P.O. Box 426, 5001 U.S. Highway 395, Independence, CA 93526; (760) 878-2194, fax (760) 878-2949, www.nps.gov/manz.

Mojave National Preserve, 2701 Barstow Road, Barstow, CA 92311; (760) 252-6100, fax (760) 252-6174, www.nps.gov/moja.

Muir Woods National Monument, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Mill Valley, CA 94941; (415) 388-2596, fax (415) 389-6957, www.nps.gov/muwo.

Pinnacles National Monument, 5000 California 146, Paicines, CA 95043; (831) 389-4485, fax (831) 389-4489 (numbers are for east district; west does not have a phone), www.nps.gov/pinn.

Point Reyes National Seashore, 1 Bear Valley Road, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956; (415) 464-5100, camping reservations (415) 663-8054, www.nps.gov/pore.

Pony Express National Historic Trail, 324 S. State St., Suite 200, Box 30, Salt Lake City, UT 84111; (801) 741-1012, fax (801) 741-1102, www.nps.gov/poex.

Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial, 1000 Kuss Road, Danville, CA 94526, administered by Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site; (925) 838-0249, fax (925) 838-9471, www.nps.gov/poch.

Presidio of San Francisco, Presidio Trust, 34 Graham St., San Francisco, CA 94129, officers club and visitors center (415) 561-4323, fax (415) 561-5315, www.presidio.gov.

Redwood National and State Parks, 1111 2nd St., Crescent City, CA 95531; (707) 464-6101, fax (707) 464-1812, California State Park camping reservations (800) 444-7275, www.nps.gov/redw.

Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park, 1401 Marina Way South, Richmond, CA 94804; message center (510) 232-5050, www.nps.gov/rori.

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Lower Ft. Mason, Building E, Room 254, San Francisco, CA 94123. Museum at 900 Beach St. closed for renovation, but historic ships moored at Hyde Street Pier are open; (415) 447-5000, fax (415) 556-1624, www.nps.gov/safr.

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, 401 W. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360; (805) 370-2301, www.nps.gov/samo.

Sequoia & Kings Canyon national parks, 47050 Generals Highway, Three Rivers, CA 93271; (559) 565-3341, fax (559) 565-3730, www.nps.gov/seki.

Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, 14412 Kennedy Memorial Drive, P.O. Box 188, Whiskeytown, CA 96095; (530) 246-1225, fax (530) 246-5154, www.nps.gov/whis.

Yosemite National Park, P.O. Box 577, Yosemite National Park, CA 95389; (209) 372-0200, www.nps.gov/yose.