Trails in California
There are 14 National Park Service units that include territory in California. The directory below links to every park guide we maintain for the state. For multi-state parks, you'll see the same entry on each state's page — the trail catalog itself is identical.
Trip planning from California typically means balancing drive time against trail effort. A weekend out of state can be more efficient than a one-day push to a closer unit if it means daylight on the actual trail rather than behind the wheel. Use the per-park guides to compare difficulty and seasonality before locking in dates.
Cabrillo National Monument
Tip of the Point Loma peninsula in San Diego, with tide pools, the historic 1855 lighthouse, and panoramic views of the Pacific.
Channel Islands National Park
Five rugged islands off the southern California coast, often called the Galápagos of North America for their concentrated endemic species.
Death Valley National Park
Largest national park in the lower 48, covering scorched salt flats below sea level, towering dunes, and 11,000-foot snow-capped peaks within sight of one anot…
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
One of the largest urban national parks in the world, spanning San Francisco coastline, Marin Headlands, and Muir Woods.
Joshua Tree National Park
Where the high Mojave meets the low Colorado Desert — twisted Joshua trees, monzogranite boulder piles, and dark night skies.
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Compact park containing every type of volcano found on Earth, plus boiling mud pots, fumaroles, and crystal alpine lakes.
Mojave National Preserve
1.6 million acres of high desert between Las Vegas and Los Angeles — sand dunes, cinder cones, Joshua tree forests, and historic ranches.
Muir Woods National Monument
Old-growth coast redwood grove just north of the Golden Gate, named for conservationist John Muir.
Old Spanish National Historic Trail
2,700-mile 19th-century trade route linking Santa Fe to Los Angeles across the southwestern deserts.
Pinnacles National Park
Eroded remnants of an ancient volcano east of Salinas, with talus caves, sheer rock walls, and a successful condor reintroduction site.
Point Reyes National Seashore
Wild Pacific peninsula north of San Francisco — fog-soaked forests, tule elk preserves, and one of the windiest spots on the West Coast.
Redwood National and State Parks
45 percent of remaining old-growth coast redwood forest — the tallest trees on Earth — protected along the rugged northern California coast.
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
High Sierra wilderness containing the largest trees on Earth by volume, the highest peak in the lower 48 (Mount Whitney), and one of the deepest canyons in Nor…
Yosemite National Park
Granite cliffs, ancient sequoia groves, plunging waterfalls, and 1,200 square miles of high-Sierra wilderness from Tuolumne Meadows to the Yosemite Valley floo…