Travel Guide to California

2017 Travel Guide to California

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Washington's Puget Sound. The city of 27,000 also serves as the unofficial capital of the state's Redwood Empire. Once famed for its timber, mines and fisheries, Eureka is a leading West Coast purveyor of succu- lent farmed oysters. Most significantly for visitors, Eureka offers an attractive preserve of Victorian architecture such as the grand 1886 Carson Mansion at 2 nd and M streets. Shops, restaurants and B&Bs occupy some of a staggering 1,500 Eureka buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. One-million-acre Six Rivers National Forest is a near neighbor. SONOMA: Wine & a Whole Lot More Laid out around a traditional Mexican plaza bordered by heritage buildings, this city of 11,000 an hour north of San Francisco grew up around Mission San Francisco Solano. The northernmost and last of the Roman Catholic missions built by Franciscan friars along the north-south spine of California, the 1823 adobe with its historic olive groves is still a focal point of spiritual and cultural life. Sonoma was home to the 25-day Bear Flag Revolt and "Republic of California'' of 1846, an American uprising against Mexican authorities that led to California statehood in 1850. The plaza's mid 19 th -century build- ings now comprise Sonoma State Historic Park. Contemporary Sonoma is a family- friendly getaway and jumping-off point to Sonoma Valley wineries and the Sonoma County coast. A variety of appealing restau- rants and one-of-a-kind shops thrive on and near the plaza, as does the 1931 Sebastiani Theatre cinema. The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa is a popular resort hotel with a respected fine-dining restaurant in Sante, while the Basque Boulangerie Café on the plaza draws visitors and locals alike. TRUCKEE: Classic Western Mountain Town An atmospheric Nevada County hub of 16,000 on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, Truckee is a classic Western mountain town. As a frontier settlement in the mid 19 th century, it played a key role in American westward migration along the Emigrant Trail. Historically a lumber and ice production center, con- temporary Truckee is an urban base for exploring the Sierra and visiting Lake Tahoe. Some 200 miles east of San Fran- cisco and 12 miles north of Lake Tahoe, Truckee, with an elevation of nearly 6,000 feet, receives an average of 200 inches of snow, making it a winter desti- nation for skiers, snowboarders and ice skaters. The easily walked downtown, just off Interstate 80 and also served by Amtrak, claims pride of place on the National Register of Historic Places. 2 0 1 7 T R A V E L G U I D E T O C A L I F O R N I A 25 » FIND YOUR CITY FUN Bakersfield visitbakersfield.com, 866-425-7353 Buellton visitbuellton.com, 800-324-3800 Eureka redwoods.info, 800-346-3482 La Quinta visitgreaterpalmsprings.com/ our-cities/la-quinta, 800-967-3767 Oakland visitoakland.org, 510-839-9000 San Luis Obispo visitslo.com, 805-781-2777 Sonoma sonomavalley.com, 866-996-1090 sonomacounty.com, 800-576-6662 Truckee truckee.com, 866-443-2027

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