Detourmap
Places worth the detour in California
Detourmap lists 463 places in California, United States, across 2 kinds of detour. Best known: Yosemite National Park. 382 rank as little-known. Click any card to open it on the map.
- Places
- 463
- Oldest
- Fort Ross 1812
- Little known
- 382 of 463
- Share of United States
- 11%
California 463
The 120 best known of 463. The other 343 are on the map and on the United States pages.
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2.Death Valley
Nature · Iconic
Desert basin in Inyo and San Bernadino counties in California, United States
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4.San Francisco Bay
Nature · Renowned
Bay of the Pacific Ocean on the California coast of the United States
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7.Death Valley National Park
Nature · 20th century · Renowned
National park in California and Nevada in the United States
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8.Salton Sea
Nature · Renowned
Saline lake in Imperial and Riverside counties in California, United States
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10.Sequoia National Park
Nature · 19th century · Renowned
National park in the Sierra Nevada mountains, California, U.S.
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14.San Fernando Valley
Nature · Renowned
Urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States
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15.General Sherman
Nature · Renowned
Giant sequoia in Giant Forest, California; largest single-stem tree in the world by volume
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17.El Capitan
Nature · Renowned
Vertical rock formation in Yosemite Valley, California, United States
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18.Channel Islands National Park
Nature · 20th century · Renowned
National park of the United States
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20.Redwood National and State Parks
Nature · 20th century · Notable
U.S. national park in California
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21.Kings Canyon National Park
Nature · 20th century · Notable
National park in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California, USA
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23.Fort Ross
Archaeological · 19th century · Notable
Former Russian establishment in the United States of America
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30.Methuselah
Nature · Notable
Bristlecone pine tree in Inyo County, California; oldest known living non-clonal organism
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31.Darwin
Archaeological · Notable
Census-designated place in Inyo County, California, United States
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32.Pinnacles National Park
Nature · 21st century · Notable
National park in California, United States of America
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33.San Joaquin Valley
Nature · Notable
Southern part of the Central Valley in California, United States
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38.Sacramento Valley
Nature · Notable
Northern part of the Central Valley in California, United States
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41.Mammoth Mountain
Nature · Notable
Mountain in the Sierra Nevada of California, home to a ski resort
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48.General Grant
Nature · Notable
Giant sequoia in General Grant Grove, California; second largest tree in the world by volume
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51.Gibson Amphitheatre
Archaeological · 20th century · Notable
Former concert venue located in Los Angeles, California, United States of America
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59.Pechanga Arena
Archaeological · 20th century · Notable
Arena in San Diego, California, United States
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62.Chilnualna Falls
Nature · Notable
Waterfall on Chilnualna Creek in Yosemite National Park, California
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63.Mount Ritter
Nature · Notable
Mountain in the Ritter Range subrange of the Sierra Nevada of California
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71.Lake Havasu
Nature · 20th century · Notable
Reservoir on the Colorado River in California and Arizona, United States
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84.Pioneer Cabin Tree
Nature · Hidden gem
Historical giant sequoia tunnel tree in Calaveras Big Trees State Park, California
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85.Pacific Air Lines Flight 773
Archaeological · 20th century · Hidden gem
Aviation accident caused by hijacking
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86.Continental Airlines Flight 603
Archaeological · 20th century · Hidden gem
1978 air crash at Los Angeles International Airport
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94.Sutro Baths
Archaeological · 19th century · Hidden gem
Large defunct saltwater swimming pool complex in San Francisco
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95.Ludlow
Archaeological · 19th century · Hidden gem
Ghost town in San Bernardino County, California, United States
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100.Mount Sill
Nature · Hidden gem
Mountain in the Palisades of the Sierra Nevada, Fresno and Inyo counties, California
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101.Mount Tyndall
Nature · Hidden gem
Mountain in the Sierra Nevada, Inyo and Tulare County, California, United States
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112.Drakes Bay
Nature · Hidden gem
Bay on the Point Reyes National Seashore on the coast of northern California in the United States
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113.Wawona Tree
Nature · Hidden gem
Historical giant sequoia tunnel tree in Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, California
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114.Cerro Gordo Mines
Archaeological · 19th century · Hidden gem
Abandoned mines located in the Inyo Mountains, California
Elsewhere in United States
Questions about this page
What is the best known place worth the detour in California?
Yosemite National Park, 19th century. National park in California, United States. It leads because more Wikipedia language editions cover it than any other place here.
How many places worth the detour are there in California?
463: 356 nature & landscapes and 107 archaeological & historic sites. 382 of them are little known — they carry a Wikipedia article in only a handful of languages.
What is the oldest place on this map in California?
Fort Ross, dated to 1812. 74 of the 463 places here carry a founding date at all.
What counts as California here?
Wikidata's own administrative boundary: a place is in California if its located in the administrative territorial entity chain leads there. California is a first-level division of United States, the same level as a state or a province.
Where does this information come from?
Every place is drawn from Wikidata (CC0), with photographs from Wikimedia Commons and a link to its English Wikipedia article. Selection is deterministic: a place is here because Wikidata files it under one of the classes this atlas carries and it has coordinates, a photo and an article. Nothing is written or chosen by an AI, and the ranking is simply how many Wikipedia language editions cover a place.