Anaheimer

Canyon Park is another hidden gem in southern California where you can enjoy nature, have a picnic or go on a hike to a waterfall. Canyon Park is situated at the foothills of San Gabriel Mountains and is operated by the city of Monrovia.

The park offers several picnic areas, educational tours and a nature center. The picnic areas have tables and barbeques.  At the Nature Center you can enjoy displays of local flora and wildlife indigenous to Canyon Park. Learn about the early history of the Canyon residents, and the present day natural hazards in visiting a wilderness environment.

At the end of August in Southern California you don’t expect to find running water and a beautiful cascading waterfall – but that is exactly what we found during our hike through Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks, California.

Thousand Oaks is situated at the southern end of Ventura County adjacent to Los Angeles County. The area in and around TO, as it is called by its residents, is full of parks and recreational facilities.

Our surprising waterfall was hidden within a deep valley at the park - near Avenida De Los Arboles and North Big Sky Drive intersection. Free parking is available off West Avenida De Los Arboles.

The Getty Center is located in Los Angeles and houses the main Museum, the Getty Research Institute, the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Foundation, and the administrative offices.

The Museum has 5 Pavilions. The Exhibition Pavilion houses traveling collections of art while the other 4 Pavilions house the permanent collections. You can find the oldest art collections at the North Pavilion while the newest collections are located at the West Pavilion.

The first time I saw Joshua Tree NP I thought I just crossed through the twilight zone and into another planet. The eerie landscape and the uncanny tree formations combine to transport you to a different state of mind.
This 800,000 acres park straddles the Mojave and Sonoran deserts in California. It is home to the most stunning rock formations, desert views and an unexpected oasis here and there.
The park was named after the most prevalent tree in the area. Mormons passing through the area called it Joshua Tree because it resembled their prophet Joshua praying to God.

Sturtevant Falls Hiking Trail is located in the foothills above Arcadia and Pasadena in the heart of the Angeles National Forest.  This is only one of many hikes available in the Chantry Flats area, but it is my favorite hike because of the reward at the end of the hike – the waterfall.

Once you reach the Chantry Flats area, find a parking spot and purchase a parking tag (Wilderness pass) - they cost $10. There is a general store at the flats that sells snacks, gear, maps and the parking tags.

SVRA stands for State Vehicular Recreation Area, which really means lots of fun and adventure for you and I.

Oceano Dunes is around 2 hours drive north of Los Angeles CA - right next to Pismo Beach. The beautiful scenery along the way will make those 3 hours pass quickly.

Disneyland opened its doors to the public on July 18, 1955. Since then over 500 million people visited the park from all over the world. It is considered the most visited park in the world, second only to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. If you really want to know the history, go to Wikipedia. The park is very large. It sits on 85 acres of land with 60 attractions in 7 themed lands. So it is very easy to get overwhelmed by all that it can offer.

The park is usually open from 10 AM to 8 PM on weekdays and from 8 AM to 12 Midnight on weekends and holidays (times can vary).