Trip IdeasFodor's Southern California 2009
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About This Book
Fodor’s. For Choice Travel Experiences.
Fodor’s helps you unleash the possibilities of travel by providing the insightful tools you need to experience the trips you want. Although you’re at the helm, Fodor’s offers the assurance of our expertise, the guarantee of selectivity, and the choice details that truly define a destination. It’s like having a friend in Southern California!
•Updated annually, Fodor’s Southern California provides the most accurate and up-to-date information available in a guidebook.
•Fodor’s Southern California features options for a variety of budgets, interests, and tastes, so you make the choices to plan your trip of a lifetime.
•If it’s not worth your time, it’s not in this book. Fodor’s discriminating ratings, including our top tier Fodor’s Choice designations, ensure that you’ll know about the most interesting and enjoyable places in Southern California.
•Experience Southern California like a local! Fodor’s Southern California includes choices for every traveler, from hiking Death Valley and catching the perfect wave to sampling authentic Mexican cuisine and shopping L.A.’s trendy boutiques, and much more!
•Indispensable, customized trip planning tools include “Top Reasons to Go,” “Word of Mouth” advice from other travelers, and tips to help save money, bypass lines, and avoid common travel pitfalls.
•Fodor’s Southern California includes a pullout map!
Visit Fodors.com for more ideas and information, travel deals, vacation planning tips, reviews and to exchange travel advice with other travelers.
Fodor’s helps you unleash the possibilities of travel by providing the insightful tools you need to experience the trips you want. Although you’re at the helm, Fodor’s offers the assurance of our expertise, the guarantee of selectivity, and the choice details that truly define a destination. It’s like having a friend in Southern California!
•Updated annually, Fodor’s Southern California provides the most accurate and up-to-date information available in a guidebook.
•Fodor’s Southern California features options for a variety of budgets, interests, and tastes, so you make the choices to plan your trip of a lifetime.
•If it’s not worth your time, it’s not in this book. Fodor’s discriminating ratings, including our top tier Fodor’s Choice designations, ensure that you’ll know about the most interesting and enjoyable places in Southern California.
•Experience Southern California like a local! Fodor’s Southern California includes choices for every traveler, from hiking Death Valley and catching the perfect wave to sampling authentic Mexican cuisine and shopping L.A.’s trendy boutiques, and much more!
•Indispensable, customized trip planning tools include “Top Reasons to Go,” “Word of Mouth” advice from other travelers, and tips to help save money, bypass lines, and avoid common travel pitfalls.
•Fodor’s Southern California includes a pullout map!
Visit Fodors.com for more ideas and information, travel deals, vacation planning tips, reviews and to exchange travel advice with other travelers.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Experience Southern California ............ 7
What’s New in Southern California ............ 8
When to Go ............ 9
What’s Where ............ 10
California Today ............ 12
Quintessential Southern California ............ 14
Top Southern California Attractions ............ 16
Southern California’s Top Experiences ............ 18
FAQ ............ 19
Great Itineraries ............ 20
Chapter 2: San Diego ............ 23
Welcome to San Diego ............ 24
Exploring San Diego ............ 27
La Jolla ............ 49
Where to Eat ............ 52
Where to Stay ............ 63
Nightlife & the Arts ............ 75
Sports & the Outdoors ............ 80
Shopping ............ 88
Side Trips to North County ............ 90
Chapter 3: Orange County & Catalina Island ............ 95
Welcome to Orange County & Catalina Island ............ 96
Disneyland Resort ............ 99
Knott’s Berry Farm ............ 108
The Coast ............ 111
Catalina Island ............ 124
Chapter 4: Los Angeles ............ 131
Welcome to Los Angeles ............ 132
Exploring Los Angeles ............ 135
Where to Eat ............ 162
Where to Stay ............ 172
Nightlife & the Arts ............ 181
Sports & the Outdoors ............ 189
Shopping ............ 194
Chapter 5: Channel Islands National Park ............ 201
Welcome to Channel Islands National Park ............ 202
Where to Stay & Eat ............ 212
Chapter 6: The Inland Empire ............ 215
Welcome to The Inland Empire ............ 216
The Western Inland Empire ............ 219
Riverside Area ............ 225
San Bernardino Mountains ............ 232
The Southern Inland Empire ............ 236
Chapter 7: Palm Springs & the Southern Desert ............ 247
Welcome to Palm Springs & the Southern Desert ............ 248
The Desert Resorts ............ 251
Along Twentynine Palms Highway ............ 274
Anza-Borrego Desert ............ 276
Chapter 8: Joshua Tree National Park ............ 285
Welcome to Joshua Tree National Park ............ 286
Where to Stay & Eat ............ 296
Chapter 9: Death Valley National Park ............ 299
Welcome to Death Valley ............ 300
Where to Stay & Eat ............ 313
Chapter 10: The Mojave Desert ............ 319
Welcome to The Mojave Desert ............ 320
The Western Mojave ............ 323
The Eastern Mojave ............ 329
Owens Valley ............ 338
Chapter 11: The Southern Sierra ............ 345
Welcome to The Southern Sierra ............ 346
South of Yosemite ............ 350
Mammoth Area ............ 352
East of Yosemite National Park ............ 359
Chapter 12: Yosemite National Park ............ 363
Welcome to Yosemite ............ 364
Where to Stay & Eat ............ 384
Chapter 13: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks ............ 393
Welcome to Sequoia and Kings Canyon ............ 394
Exploring Sequoia National Park ............ 399
Exploring Kings Canyon National Park ............ 405
Where to Stay & Eat ............ 409
Chapter 14: The Central Valley ............ 417
Welcome to The Central Valley ............ 418
Southern Central Valley ............ 421
Mid-Central Valley ............ 425
North Central Valley ............ 431
Chapter 15: The Central Coast ............ 439
Welcome to The Central Coast ............ 440
Ventura County ............ 443
Santa Barbara ............ 448
Santa Barbara County ............ 461
San Luis Obispo County ............ 466
Big Sur Coastline ............ 483
Chapter 16: The Monterey Bay Area ............ 491
Welcome to The Monterey Bay Area ............ 492
Carmel & Pacific Grove ............ 495
Monterey ............ 511
Around the Bay ............ 520
Santa Cruz ............ 525
Southern California Essentials ............ 535
Index ............ 549
About Our Writers ............ 560
Maps
Balboa Park ............ 29
Central San Diego & Mission Bay ............ 36—37
Old Town San Diego ............ 47
La Jolla ............ 50
Where to Eat in San Diego ............ 54-55
Where to Stay in San Diego ............ 66-67
Where to Stay & Eat in Anaheim ............ 105
The Orange County Coast ............ 112
Catalina Island ............ 126
Downtown Los Angeles ............ 136
Hollywood ............ 140
Wilshire Boulevard, Museum Row & Farmers Market ............ 144
West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Century City & the Westside ............ 148
Santa Monica, Venice & Malibu ............ 152
The San Fernando Valley ............ 154
Pasadena Area ............ 158
Where to Stay & Eat in Beverly Hills, Century City, Hollywood, Los Feliz & West Hollywood ............ 163
Where to Stay & Eat in Downtown Los Angeles ............ 168
Where to Stay & Eat in Coastal & Western Los Angeles ............ 170
Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, & Anacapa Islands ............ 207
The Desert Resorts ............ 253
Palm Springs ............ 255
Joshua Tree NP Western Area ............ 293
Darwin Falls Trail ............ 311
Mojave Desert ............ 324
Yosemite’s Valley Floor ............ 371
Western Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park ............ 402
Kings Canyon’s Cedar Grove Area ............ 406
The Central Valley ............ 422
Fresno Area ............ 428
Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties ............ 445
Santa Barbara ............ 450
San Luis Obispo County & Big Sur ............ 468
Monterey Bay Area ............ 496
Monterey ............ 511
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