SoCal Close-ups: A walk around Los Angeles' park neighborhoods

It's no easy job, being the lungs of Los Angeles.

Requiem for César Chávez

Despite the rumble of locomotives idling on a track just a few yards away, there's a sense of serenity at a memorial tucked into the...

Big Sur: Landslide shuts Highway 1 near Bixby Bridge

Central California: Watch for fruit-tree blossoms in Fresno County

Over the next few weeks, the back roads of California'...

Two California cities make National Trust's top 12 U.S. destinations

Two California towns have earned a place on the National...

Death Valley: A different kind of winter wonderland

In the summer, the sun in Death Valley shows no mercy, pushing the mercury over the 115-degree mark, sucking every drop of moisture from the...

More For Your Money: Simple and fun Valentine's Day trips

With Valentine's Day two weeks away, hotels are romancing travelers' pocketbooks with Champagne, chocolates, flowers and more. Hand over...

Trailer accommodations in Joshua Tree

I had my doubts as I turned off the isolated highway onto the sandy open desert.

California tourism is in a bright spot

Who wants to hang around you when you're down on your luck? And yet California, mired in budget distress and other economic woes,...

Snow hits Lake Tahoe area, Utah, Colorado slopes early and often this season

The skies have dropped seasonal gifts of snow on many winter resorts in the Western United States, earlier and in greater quantity than...

Budget-friendly destinations for the holidays

Tired of the same holiday traditions? Is the neighbor's decoration aesthetic too Barnum & Bailey? Had it with the drunken Dec. 31 frat...

The joys of snowshoeing

Winter hopscotched into Southern California early this year, riding an arctic blast of air and snow at local ski resorts. On the mountain,...

Yosemite National Park, in winter's grip

It is early February — Super Bowl weekend — and Yosemite is quiet.

Skiing: the West's outstanding early-season conditions

Powerful late-fall storms have dropped many feet of snow on mountains throughout the West, creating some of the best early-season skiing and...

California hostels offer budget-luxury accommodations

With 30 bucks and an open mind, you can stay in some prime spots in California — on the Pacific Beach boardwalk in San Diego, for...

Sleep where the legends slept in grand old California hotels

"Oh sleep! It is a gentle thing, beloved from pole to pole," British poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner....

Exploring Mitchell Caverns in Providence Mountains State Recreation Area

Reporting from the Providence Mountains State Recreation Area, Calif.

West Hollywood hotel: Charlie Chaplin Tramp stayed here

Entering the Charlie Chaplin cottage, I stooped to avoid hitting my head. At 5 feet 8, I'm about 3 inches taller than Chaplin. (It's said...

Keeping the Old West alive in Santa Ynez Valley

Santa Barbara County's Santa Ynez Valley is known for its fine wines and upscale horse farms, but some of the Old West remains, including...