I confess it’s taken me years to pull together my ultimate California bucket list — but that’s probably because there’s so much to do in the Golden State!
I’ve been chipping away at items ever since I moved here in 2005. Some things I did immediately (road trip along State Route 1), some fell off the list entirely (appear as a contestant on The Price is Right), and many I’d still like to do (bike the Golden Gate Bridge, hike in Yosemite, and so on). This post is a compilation of my top 50.
Keep in mind, this list is in no particular order. Also since I live in Southern California, it’s heavy on items in this part of the state.
What else would you add?
50 things you must do in California
- Hike to the Hollywood sign
- Stay at Madonna Inn
- Watch a show at Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace
- Summit Mount Whitney
- See a Joshua Tree sunrise
- Bike the Golden Gate bridge
- Check out the mud pots in Lassen Volcanic National Park
- Attend the Indigenous sunrise gathering on Alcatraz
- Stay overnight in the haunted room at the Queen Mary
- Tour Hearst Castle
- Drive State Route 1
- Visit General Sherman at Sequoia National Park
- Whale watching at Dana Point
- Disneyland
- Visit La Brea Tar Pits
- Sound bath at the Integratron
- See Solvang during the holiday season
- Go camping in Big Sur
- Swim in Lake Tahoe
- Drive around Catalina in a golf cart
- Stay at Esalen
- Order from the secret menu at In-N-Out (Actually I should do a separate list of California bucket-list foods)
- Visit the Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt County
- Spend time in Channel Islands National Park
- Visit Watts Towers
- Ride in a San Francisco cable car
- See a movie in Hollywood Forever Cemetery
- Buy books at City Lights
- Tour Winchester Mystery House
- Watch the rocks at Death Valley racetrack
- See the swallows at San Juan Capistrano Mission
- Hike Half Dome in Yosemite
- See the Antelope Valley poppies in full bloom
- Attend Pageant of the Masters
- Help build floats for the Tournament of Roses Parade
- Drive (the CA portion of) Route 66
- Look through the telescopes at Griffith Observatory
- Visit a fire lookout
- See a live taping of a TV show
- Experience the Magic Castle
- Climb Kelso Dunes in the Mojave Desert
- See the Mono Lake Tufa towers
- Watch the sunset from Sunset Cliffs in San Diego
- See a show at the Hollywood Bowl
- Hike to Potato Chip Rock
- Put dimes on Frank Sinatra’s grave
- Visit Golden Gate fortune cookie factory in San Francisco’s Chinatown
- Stroll Rodeo Drive
- Explore Salvation Mountain and East Jesus
- Be an extra in a film