California
Discover California
Introduction
California is the largest American state by population, with over 39 million people, and the third-largest by area at 163,696 square miles, running some 900 miles from Oregon to the Mexican border along the Pacific. Its economy, with a gross state product estimated at $4.3 trillion in 2025, is the largest of any state and the largest sub-national economy in the world; as a country it would rank fourth, behind Germany and ahead of Japan. The geography is the point: from the redwood coast and its temperate rainforest in the north-west to the Mojave Desert in the south-east, the fertile Central Valley in the middle, the Sierra Nevada rising to Mount Whitney at 14,505 feet, the highest point in the contiguous states, and Death Valley 282 feet below sea level, the lowest, with two-thirds of the nation's earthquake risk underneath it all.
The Spanish came by sea in 1542 and by land in 1769, planting 21 missions along El Camino Real; Mexico inherited the province in 1821; American settlers raised the Bear Flag at Sonoma in 1846; gold at Sutter's Mill in January 1848 brought some 300,000 people and statehood in 1850, and destroyed the native nations that had made this the most linguistically diverse corner of the continent. Since then it has invented Hollywood, the freeway, the personal computer, fast food and the hippie, and it is a minority-majority state where Hispanics are the largest group, Spanish is spoken by 28 per cent, and nearly 43 per cent speak a language other than English at home.
For the visitor it is the most visited state in the country: Yosemite and its granite, the giant sequoias and coast redwoods, Big Sur on Highway 1, the Golden Gate and Alcatraz, Hollywood and Disneyland, the wine country north of the bay, Lake Tahoe's snow and Death Valley's heat. A car is the assumption, the national parks charge $20 to $35 a vehicle and now a $100 fee per non-resident, fire season and Santa Ana winds shape autumn, and 911 answers everything.
Do I need a visa?
Every visitor needs an approved ESTA or a visa before travelling, by any route; Canadians can usually stay six months without one. Carry your passport as proof of status.
Do I need a car?
Almost everywhere, yes; the exceptions are San Francisco, where BART, Muni and Caltrain work, the three Amtrak California corridors, and the Surfliner coast. Foreign licences are accepted; get an IDP.
What do the national parks cost?
Yosemite and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks $35 a car for seven days, Death Valley and Joshua Tree $15 to $30, the Redwood parks free, and from 2026 a $100 fee per non-US resident aged 16 and over at each unless you hold an annual or America the Beautiful pass; cashless.
Is Highway 1 open?
Check before you go: the Big Sur stretch has been closed by landslides more than 55 times, and Caltrans publishes the current state on QuickMap and 1-800-427-7623.
When is Tioga Pass open?
Normally from about the end of May to the end of October, with wide variation by snow year.
When is fire season?
Fires burn year-round but the danger peaks in the dry, hot autumn when the Santa Ana and Diablo winds blow; check conditions daily and obey evacuation orders.
What is the emergency number?
911.
