Winter Vacation Spots in California

The third largest State of US, California, is popular worldwide as it houses many of the top ten best vacation spots in America. Snowboarding and skiing are just some of the irresistible attractions that winter vacations offer in California. Those who don't like roughing out in the snow can try some sunny and warm winter vacation spots and soak their bodies in the warmth of the sun in California beaches. So without much ado, let us go through numerous vacation spots, exclusively for winter lovers, in California, USA.

Popular Winter Vacation Destinations in California

Desert Hot Springs
Located on the direct route from Los Angeles (LA) to Phoenix, Desert Hot Springs is a beautiful city full of numerous spas and luxury resorts. It is situated in the foothills of San Bernardino Mountains and is approximately 112 miles from LA. Palm Springs International Airport, that is 12 miles from Desert Hot Springs provides connectivity to almost all major cities across the world. It is mostly visited during winter as the warm, sunny, clear and dry days attracts tourists.

At 1,185 feet elevation, Desert Hot Springs is most popular for its educational park, the Hot Springs Park, that showcases visitors and locals how the entire area is able to get access to high quality and pristine drinking water. Numerous activities in this city include hiking, golf, tennis, shuffleboard, sightseeing, bicycle riding, ballooning and horseback riding. Moreover, nights are always filled of joyful activities like music concerts, theaters, museums visits, movies and cultural events related to this region. So if you're planning to spend some good winter time, do consider this beautiful city, that has been specially constructed over the world's finest natural hot mineral water aquifers.

Yosemite National Park
If you're planning for a winter vacation with your entire family or friends, you can bank upon Yosemite National Park, that is one of the first wildernesses parks built in the eastern central California, USA. In fact, it is one of the best California vacation spots for families. Although, the entire park area covers thousands of sq. Km area, nearly 4 million tourists visiting this grand park, spend most of their time in the Yosemite valley, spanning in an area of just 18 sq. Km. Yosemite valley, a world heritage site since 1984, is popular world wide for waterfalls, meadows and wetlands, rock formations, giant sequoias, granite cliffs, its amazing biological diversity and wildlife tourism. This is just a glimpse of numerous hot spots in this national park. A detailed description of various places can be found out on the park's website.

This park has been constantly ranked to be among the top 10 best winter vacation destinations in the world. Generally, from mid December to March, winter tourists crowd this park. Some must visit spots during winters are Badger pass, Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias and Crane Flat area. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, ice skating and numerous other Yosemite national park activities are available for those who love to play. In fact, Yosemite national park is so huge that you must plan out your day with the tour guide before you start moving in the inner parts of this fabulous forest. You can go by your car or use shuttle buses to reach this place.

Lake Tahoe
The 2nd deepest (501m) freshwater lake in the US and largest in North America, situated in the Sierra Nevada range of the United States, Lake Tahoe is known for its beautiful and clear water. This place is more apt for adventure and sports enthusiasts and is known for number of ski resorts, summer outdoor recreations, and Lake Tahoe recreation and vacations. In deed, snowboarding and skiing are among some of the most popular things to do in Lake Tahoe and they form a major source of income of this area.

Moreover, closely connected Nevada contains large number of resorts and casinos and by the help of highways, there is an ease of access to Sacramento and Carson cities. Water sports, hiking and bicycling, gambling games, down hill snow skiing are some of the most popular activities in Tahoe and these make it to be one of the secluded and yet best vacation spots in this State. Tahoe can be an ideal California vacation spots for couples, as they can escape from the hustle bustle of city life into this natural beauty.

San Diego
The 2nd largest city of California, San Diego is bordered within 4200 sq. miles and houses 18 cities. San Diego is a major tourist attractor in US owing to its excellent climate and some very popular destinations. Some of the major attractions in San Diego are Wild Animal Park, SeaWorld San Diego, the San Diego Zoo and Legoland California. East San Diego offers nature lovers numerous activities like hiking, camping, fishing, observing wildlife in the 600,000-acre Anza Borrego Desert State Park.

With Mexico in the south, San Diego's geographical borders are a melting pot of numerous cultures. Balboa Park, that houses 15 museums, many art galleries and beautiful gardens is the largest urban park in the US. Amazing beaches of San Diego stretching to nearly 70 miles coastline, give San Diego the status of a complete tourism oriented city with options of plenty of things do in San Diego. Owing to many luxury spas, gaming, sports and 92 gold courses certainly, one may always face difficulty in choosing amongst innumerable fun things to do in San Diego! It is one of the best places to visit in California during winter.

Besides these places, you can also opt for going to the fun filled Disneyland resort, the historic Golden Gate bridge, the glamorous Hollywood, the beautiful Monterey Bay Aquarium, the magnificent California Giant Redwoods, abode of nature; Napa Valley Wine Country, the vibrant Los Angeles, and most importantly, breathtaking Pacific ocean. California travel will be an amazing experience for you, if you're able to visit some or all of these places.