#2: Four Beautiful Seasons

People from the East Coast often tell me that they like California, but they need "all four seasons." While I admit that much of the West Coast doesn't have as drastic of seasonal changes as the East Coast does, I do argue that you can have the best of both worlds when you travel throughout California at different times of the year.  Here's why:

Summers are sunny, warm, and not humid.  If you like the heat, you can venture to hotter parts of the state, but if you want to stay cool, the coast is always waiting for you!  Pictured below is a hiking trail and a beach, which are only an hour apart by car.

You can go for an afternoon hike in the sun if you like the heat...

...or you can cool down at the beach!

Leaves in Bay Area neighborhoods change colors as summer turns into fall, so you get to see greens, yellows, oranges, and hints of red on the trees. As you can see in the unedited picture below, red autumn leaves seemed to tie-dye the sunlight my camera captured!

Sunrise through the autumn leaves in my neighborhood.

Spring is a gorgeous time for hiking. Forest flowers are in bloom and the vegetation is lush from winter rains. Hiking trails made of dirt are still damp but not soggy, which gives your shoes a firm grip to prevent you from slipping on eroded soil (which happens more often when trails dry out). Spring hikes are my absolute favorite!

One of many cute flowers I spotted on a springtime hike.

Last but not least, winter in California is truly unique.  The majority of California is snow-free, meaning no roads to plow or black ice to slip on unless you head up to the mountains.  Instead, there are decent amounts of rain throughout the state on a good year. Currently, California is in a severe drought, more precipitation would be a blessing this winter— so as you can tell, it doesn't even rain that much.  

When it isn't raining, winter is one of the best times to go to San Francisco and even Bay Area beaches.  It might be a little chilly, but there's less fog in winter than in summer! 

Santa Cruz, mid-December.  Can you believe it?

But of course, if you crave your snow, California mountains got you covered.  Lake Tahoe is one of my personal favorite snowy spots.  If you're a skiing fanatic, Tahoe has tons of awesome ski resorts to choose from.  And if you just want to play around in the snow, go sledding, snowshoeing, etc, there are lots of options for you too.  Tahoe is great for the whole family, and is just a four hour drive from the Bay Area!

View of the lake as seen from the ski slopes of Squaw Valley

My takeaway message is that California does have all four seasons, and you can customize them to your liking by taking trips around the state.  While you may not get all the four seasons in one city, you're sure to find them all if you go exploring the state at different parts of the year— and you don't even have to shovel your driveway!  

Thanks for reading!

#1: Yosemite

Just returned from a weekend trip to Yosemite with my family, and let me tell you, a weekend was not enough time to take advantage of all that Yosemite has to offer— there's just so much to do, I wish I could have spent a whole week in Yosemite!  Of course, if you only have a weekend to visit, by all means, go!  But I have a feeling you'll be itching to come back, and here's why:

View of Yosemite Valley

First of all, Yosemite is absolutely beautiful.  The rock formations are truly one of a kind, which can be attributed to their unique history.  Yosemite Valley was once covered with glaciers that froze over and thawed repetitively, eroding the large granite rocks that the glaciers formed upon.  Repeated glaciation resulted in stunning formations like Half Dome, whose name is self explanatory!

Half Dome, as seen from Glacier Point

The beauty of Yosemite is that there's something for everyone to do, regardless of budget.  Lodging options include pitching your own tent, renting a tent-cabin, renting a cabin, staying in a hotel outside the park, or staying in a high-class resort inside the park. So if you're on a tight budget, have no fear, there are options for you that won't break the bank! Or, if you're willing to shell out over $600 a night to live in country club level luxury, the Ahwahnee Lodge is the place for you. If you're a hiking fanatic, you can brave a hike from Yosemite Valley to the top of Half Dome.  Or, if you're more like my family, you can also drive to Glacier Point and get a nice view of Half Dome without breaking a sweat.  

Another View from Glacier Point

Now, if you don't feel like driving or hiking, you can always relax along calmer parts of Merced River.  Be warned, the river water feels positively arctic!  The Merced originates from fresh snow melt, so even if you're feeling hot an sweaty after a grueling hike, take caution before diving in head-first.  Below is a picture I took while standing waist-deep in the river water after a crazy day of hiking.  The frigid waters are a great way to get the same effects of icing your muscles after a tough work out, so I personally recommend wading around the river after a nice hike. 

The Beach!

Be warned, the majority of the Merced river is too dangerous to go near.  The violent currents and countless rocks are lethal if you happen to slip and fall in the river in a less calm location.  Take caution before wading, and make sure the location you choose is designated for swimming!  

The picture below was taken from the patio area of our hotel room.  Each room at the Yosemite View Lodge comes with a beautiful view of the river!  Now as you can see, the rapids are a lot stronger on this section of river, and falling into the river here would be lethal.  Lucky for us, the hotel puts up tall iron bars to prevent an accidental tumble into the Merced.  Either way, the river is gorgeous and this hotel was great! 

What you see from the patio of Yosemite View Lodge!

The last point I want to mention-- which was also my favorite part of the trip-- is about hiking.  I'm a decently experienced hiker when it comes to trails in the bay area.  I'm used to doing 14 mile hikes on dirt trails up steep terrain.  However, I was completely at a loss hiking in Yosemite.  The trails may start off paved and give you a false sense of security, but after a mile or so, the pavement ends and the trail progresses into a path of uneven rocks.  I have never hiked on a rocky trail, so I was shocked when my trail shoes started to give way on the slippery rocks.  I have never used hiking boots before, but I would assume they would be a better investment for hiking in Yosemite than trail shoes are. 

My family chose to do a 7 mile hike from Yosemite Valley to Vernal Falls to Nevada Falls and back down through the John Muir trail.  Now let me tell you, hiking to the top of a waterfall is hard!  First of all, everyone loves waterfalls, so the trails are crowded.  Second of all, waterfall trails involve climbing high in elevation over short stretches of trail, so the hikes are steep and tend to be along the edges of cliff-like drop-offs. Lastly, if the trail is called a "mist trail," don't be fooled by the idea of a nice damp breeze to cool you off after a physically taxing uphill battle.

Turns out, the mist trail to the top of Vernal Falls was completely covered in water, which meant that the trail was even more slippery than before!  I was literally climbing on all fours up the stair-like stony trail while trying to simultaneously dodge the hoards of people surrounding me, wipe the freezing mist out of my eyes and not fall of the edge of the trail into the churning river.  I actually hyperventilated at multiple points during the mist trail, but it was worth it in the end when we finally made it to the top of Vernal Falls.

Top of Vernal Falls

The hike to the top of Nevada Falls was thankfully not a mist trail, but it was equally as steep and rocky. Parts of the hike were extremely narrow and there was almost always a canyon to one side of the trail, which lead to a beautiful, but scary view (It's only scary if you're afraid of heights like me).  Again, I hyperventilated while climbing on all fours up a steep stretch of trail, but in the end, the hike was totally worth it!  In my opinion, there's something about adrenaline-pumping hikes that make them x100 more rewarding than relaxed hikes.

Top of Nevada Falls

The four mile trip from the top of Nevada Falls back down to the Valley felt like a breeze after all the struggle climbing uphill. However, be warned, hiking downhill on rocky trails is surprisingly difficult because it's extremely easy to slip.  As long as you stay focused on your footwork, you'll be fine!  We deliberately chose the John Muir trail because the elevation drop occurred over a larger stretch of hike, meaning that the trail down was less steep than the trip up.    

And with that, I'll leave you with a plethora of waterfall pictures to convince you to come to Yosemite. There are far more sites to see, hikes to try and activities to do.  Now, go experience it for yourself!  Thanks for reading!

Vernal Falls, as seen from the Mist Trail

Nevada Falls as seen from the Nevada Trail

Vernal Falls (bottom) and Nevada Falls (top) as seen from Glacier Point

Bridal Veil Falls