Mammoth, California
Mammoth Mountain is home to the tallest ski resort in California. It is notable in that it gets an unusually large amount of snow, about 400″ annually. At 3,500 acres, it’s more than three times the size of the so-called “Beast of the East”, (Killington), and certainly lives up to its name. Mammoth lies in close proximity to the Oregon stateline to the north and Nevada to the east. So it is accessible by road from major cities like Sacramento, Portland and Reno.
Northern California – California is a country unto itself. In fact, it is impossible to experience all of California in one trip. So I would consider it two separate destinations. Northern California is flanked by the ocean to the west and by the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range (with great winter skiing at Lake Mammoth) to the east. It offers some of the best wineries in the world in Napa Valley and Sonoma. Northern California is heavily influenced by Silicon Valley, home of world tecnology giants like Apple, Google, Yahoo, Cisco and Oracle. San Francisco, with the Golden Gate bridge and the infamous Alcatraz Island is known for its liberal vitality and seafood. If nature is your medicine, the Yosemite National Park is one of the best national parks in the country, and along with Lake Tahoe and Lake Mammoth, round out some of the most scenic landscapes in the western US. Moving south, there is the beautiful coastline of Monterey and Carmel, with Pebble Beach, one of the best golf courses in the world, nestled between them.
Southern California – If you were to take a drive from Northern California to Southern California, a very scenic highway known as the Pacific Coast Highway takes you down the coast in style. As you enter Southern California, the beautiful beaches of Santa Barbara greet you along the curves, with miles of white sand and curved coastline. Another two hours south, you will run into the entertainment capital of the world – Los Angeles with Hollywood, Kodak Theatre (home of the Oscars), and Avenue of the Stars. Los Angeles is also home to some of the most diverse beaches in the west, like Venice Beach, Santa Monica and Malibu, all of which have played host to the famous TV series – Baywatch. And for family vacationers, there is always Disneyland, San Diego Wild Animal Park and Zoo, Six Flags theme park and Sea World. California truly has everything for everyone.
