best vacation places in northern california?

Public Comments

1. What do you want to see - the coast and the redwoods: Eureka or Crescent City. Culture and nightlife: San Francisco Colleges and Universities: Berkeley or Palo Alto ... The political system at work: Sacramento. There is no one-size-fits-all answer ... you have to decide what you want to see or do.
2. I liked Santa Cruz quite a bit.
3. The Carmel/Monterey area is beautiful. The ocean is right there, and so is the Monterey Bay Aquarium (which is really neat). There is so much to do here. Did I mention that it is gorgeous?
4. San francisco is a must. It is an amazing city full of culture and diversity. There is so much to do there but definitely stop by the Palace of Fine Arts and the Legion of Honor and Golden Gate Park (especially the Japanese Tea Garden). Also Chinatown is really fun and Little Italy is a really great neighborhood to walk through. A little more than an hour north of San Francisco is Marin County which has beautiful beaches and quaint little towns. Stop by Point Reyes and Inverness and go have lunch at the Drake's Beach Cafe. All of these sites are just gorgeous with an understated charm. Also Nevada City, closer to the Sierras, is a really cute old gold mining town which has transformed into a center of unique botiques and graceful, old houses. The two more obvious places are Lake Tahoe. During the winter it is stunning and there are great ski spots if you are into that. Another astonishing site is Yosemite. And during the winter it is usually not as crowded as during the summer. If you have never been to Yosemite you should make a point to visit the valley floor where you willl find majestic, rock-formed giants towering over you and reducing you to the size of an ant. Also if you want to make your way to central California the Monterey Peninsula is a very refreshing and beutiful area. Carmel has the charm of an old English town and I highly recomend going to afternoon tea at the Cypress Inn. Also the Monterey area is host to some of the most magnificent golf cources in the world (Pebble Beach especially). Carmel Valley is a cute little ranch town that has a quiet village center not far from Carmel . It is definately worth it to stop by the village. And Big Sur which is about 45 minutes south of Carmel beholds one of the most breathtaking coastlines in the United States. Note the Big Sur Bridge as you drive down the coast and visit either Nepenthe or the River Inn for a bite to eat. Those are what I would say to be the highlights of Northern California. I hope you find this to be usefull.
5. i loved it at pine lodge in the giant sequoias. there is also a beautiful camp ground there, the highest public camp grounds at 10,000 feet above sea level. i will go there again at 1st chance i get. i spent 2 great weeks up there. 1 week in the camp grounds,1 week in the lodge. BEAUTIFUL place, very nice people there too.
6. San Francisco of course and once you're ready to travel , head north to the '' wine country'' , Sanoma County , Mendocino etc. Mendo. and Humbold Counties are home to great wines , redwood forest , and some of the most beautiful and wild costal areas around. For a true old growth redwood forest go to Eureka , Ca. -north to Prarie Creek Mendo/ Humbolt area is also the in/famous '' golden triangle'' which grows some of the best marijuana -it's actully legal to grow and use 6-25 plants -for '' medical'' uses.
7. east ya west indian is best see india first janooooo
8. South Lake Tahoe.