All the United States California

The Atlas Obscura Guide To California

1,515 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in California

Updated August 26, 2025

From coastal road trips to wild natural adventures, from desert to mountains, from Hollywood to redwoods, the Golden State has it all. No trip there would be complete without some hidden wonder you werenʼt expecting, and weʼre going to help you find it.

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Cities

Top Cities
All Cities
  1. Agoura Hills
  2. Alameda
  3. Albany
  4. Altadena
  5. Amboy
  6. Anaheim
  7. Aptos
  8. Arcadia
  9. Auburn
  10. Avalon
  11. Baker
  12. Bakersfield
  13. Barstow
  14. Belvedere Tiburon
  15. Benicia
  16. Berkeley
  17. Beverly Hills
  18. Big Sur
  19. Bishop
  20. Blythe
  21. Bodfish
  22. Borrego Springs
  23. Bridgeport
  24. Burbank
  25. Calabasas
  26. California City
  27. Calipatria
  28. Calistoga
  29. Camarillo
  30. Cambria
  31. Carlsbad
  32. Carmel By The Sea
  33. Carpinteria
  34. Carson
  35. Castroville
  36. Colma
  37. Crescent City
  38. Crestline
  39. Crockett
  40. Culver City
  41. Daly City
  42. Davis
  43. Edwards Air Force Base
  44. El Segundo
  45. Encinitas
  46. Escondido
  47. Eureka
  48. Folsom
  49. Fort Bragg
  50. Fremont
  51. Fresno
  52. Garden Grove
  53. Glendale
  54. Goleta
  55. Grass Valley
  56. Hacienda Heights
  57. Hawthorne
  58. Healdsburg
  59. Hillsborough
  60. Hume
  61. Huntington Beach
  62. Indio
  63. Inverness
  64. Inyo County
  65. Irvine
  66. Jenner
  67. Joshua Tree
  68. Klamath
  69. La Cañada Flintridge
  70. Laguna Beach
  71. La Jolla
  72. Lancaster
  73. Landers
  74. Lee Vining
  75. Lemon Grove
  76. Livermore
  77. Lone Pine
  78. Long Beach
  79. Los Angeles
  80. Los Gatos
  81. Loyalton
  82. Lucerne Valley
  83. Malibu
  84. Mecca
  85. Menlo Park
  86. Mill Valley
  87. Modesto
  88. Mono County
  89. Monterey
  90. Morro Bay
  91. Moss Landing
  92. Mountain View
  93. Mount Hamilton
  94. Napa
  95. Nevada City
  96. Newberry Springs
  97. Newport Beach
  98. Norden
  99. Oakland
  100. Ocotillo
  101. Ojai
  102. Old Station
  103. Oroville
  104. Oxnard
  105. Pacifica
  106. Pacific Grove
  107. Paicines
  108. Palm Desert
  109. Palm Springs
  110. Palo Alto
  111. Pasadena
  112. Pescadero
  113. Petaluma
  114. Pioneertown
  115. Placerville
  116. Pomona
  117. Port Costa
  118. Rancho Palos Verdes
  119. Redwood City
  120. Richmond
  121. Riverside
  122. Rosemead
  123. Sacramento
  124. Salinas
  125. San Bernardino
  126. San Bernardino County
  127. San Diego
  128. San Francisco
  129. San Jose
  130. San Juan Capistrano
  131. San Luis Obispo
  132. San Rafael
  133. San Simeon
  134. Santa Barbara
  135. Santa Clara
  136. Santa Clarita
  137. Santa Cruz
  138. Santa Margarita
  139. Santa Monica
  140. Santa Rosa
  141. Sausalito
  142. Sebastopol
  143. Silverado
  144. Simi Valley
  145. Solvang
  146. Sonoma
  147. Sonora
  148. South Pasadena
  149. South San Francisco
  150. Stanford
  151. Stockton
  152. Sunnyvale
  153. Tecopa
  154. Tehachapi
  155. Three Rivers
  156. Topanga
  157. Torrance
  158. Truckee
  159. Tulelake
  160. Tustin
  161. Twentynine Palms
  162. Ukiah
  163. Vallejo
  164. Ventura
  165. West Hollywood
  166. West Sacramento
  167. Winterhaven
  168. Winters
  169. Woodside
  170. Yermo
  171. Yosemite National Park
  172. Yucca Valley

Atlas Obscura Itineraries

Coastal Trails and Hidden Tales: A Family Trip Exploring Santa Barbara’s Wonders

Sponsored by Land Rover Discovery

Nestled by the Santa Ynez Mountains on California’s rugged coastline, Santa Barbara is the perfect destination for a road trip. The historic city has something for everyone: amazing restaurants, a vibrant art scene, and plenty of wilderness for the whole family to explore. In a single day you might indulge your curiosity on a fossil-digging expedition, stroll through fields of native flowers at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, and split a wood-fired pizza in the Funk Zone art district. Or head down to the beach, where budding oceanographers can search tide pools for starfish, snails, and anemones, and maybe even spot a whale or a dolphin on the horizon. But whatever you do, be sure to take the scenic route, and take the time to pull over and take in the wonder the American Riviera has to offer.

View Itinerary

Unusual Attractions in California

See All 1,515 Things To Do in California

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in California

See all 104 Places to Eat in California
In partnership with KAYAK

Plan Your Trip

In partnership with GetYourGuide

Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Explore California

Architecture 183
Architectural Oddities 122
Museums 110
Art 101
Collections 97
Plants 94
Homes 90
Shops 82

California Leaderboard

Recent California Activity

Stories About California

Echo Park Time Travel Mart.

Atlas Obscura Presents: Traveling Back in Time for Coconut Cake With The Sporkful

In search of an elusive slice of coconut cake, Dan Pashman of The Sporkful takes a detour through LA’s abandoned underground tunnel system, visiting a former speakeasy and an unusual store along the way.
by The Podcast Team
Food-shaped vehicles have been around for at least a century.

On the Road in a Giant Almond

Nothing captures the attention like big food on wheels.
by Anne Ewbank
Northern elephant seals hunt nearly nonstop for more than half the year, with each seal making tens of thousands of dives in search of food.

Are There Plenty of Fish in the Sea? Ask an Elephant Seal.

In California, deep-diving marine mammals help scientists count how many fish live in the ocean's twilight zone.
by Atlas Obscura
The Coffee Center aims to demystify the craft of coffee.

How a UC Davis Research Center Is Changing the World of Coffee

That’s that UC espresso.
by Anne Ewbank
The square-shaped, blood-filled toe tips of a wandering salamander (Aneides vagrans) help them navigate their treetop habitat.

Blood-Powered Toes Give ‘Skydiving’ Salamanders a Boost

These amphibians evolved unique strategies to move around the canopies of the world's tallest trees.
by Michelle Cassidy
The lights of Los Angeles shine behind this mountain lion, photographed with a motion sensor camera. These big cats share the scrubby landscape with wealthy suburbs.

How Will California’s Wildfires Affect Wildlife?

From fleeing mountain lions to scorched soil, the aftermath of intense fires shows an ecosystem transformed.
by Atlas Obscura
Firefighters and natural resource specialists wrap the base of General Sherman, the largest tree in the world by volume, with fire-resistant material.

In the National Parks, Fire Crews Do More Than Fight Fires

Protecting sensitive habitats and cultural resources from the smoke and flames is part of the job too.
by Partner Story
The Malki Museum’s annual Agave Roast Native Food Tasting keeps the culinary tradition alive.

The Indigenous Communities Preserving the Ancient Art of Roasting Agave

Now more famous as a distilling ingredient, agave has been a traditional food in Southern California for millennia.
by Sarah Lohman

Lists Featuring California

The Capitol Records building.
The newly named alleyway.
Cahuenga Building
Museum of Death

The 11 Best Places to Visit Near the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Curious Travelers

11

Including Capitol Records Building Morse Code, Chaplin Keaton Lloyd Alley, and Cahuenga Building

The shiniest beach you’ll ever see.
Venice of America Canals

California Dream: Art Show Inspiration

Sponsored by Visit California
12

Including Glass Beach, Devils Postpile National Monument, and Venice of America Canals

Western Pacific Railroad Museum
F14 Fighter Jet
19th century pump

9 Marvelous Museums in California for the Curious Kid

Sponsored by Visit California
9

Including Western Pacific Railroad Museum, USS Hornet Sea, Air and Space Museum, and Los Angeles Fire Department Museum

Portal of books.
Fairy Post Office
Exterior of Bart’s Books.

30 Curious Corners in California

Sponsored by Visit California
30

Including The Last Bookstore, Secret Tiled Staircase, and Fairy Post Office

Lobby of the Majestic Yosemite Hotel, formerly known as the Ahwahnee.
The ivy covered hotel.
Staircase at Hotel Vertigo
Mid Eastern-themed billiards room

19 Unusual Hotels in California

Remarkable places to stay—or at least visit—in the Golden State.

19

Including The Ahwahnee Hotel, Venice Beach House, and Hotel Vertigo

Original letter of Abraham, the son of Maimonides found in the Cairo genizah.
A sculpture of the Tower of Babel, by Alan Baughman, from the Introductory Room of the Museum of the Alphabet
Boontling word of the week in the tap room of the Anderson Valley Brewing Company.

A Linguistics Lover's Tour of the World

12 places to marvel at the history of human language.

12

Including The Cairo Genizah , The Museum of the Alphabet , and Boontling Language of Boonville

Winter Solstice 2019
The Spiral Jetty
Double Negative’s north trench

A Tour of Spectacular 1970s Art Made From the Landscape Itself

Eight places to witness the incredible ambition of the Southwest land art movement.

8

Including Sun Tunnels, The Spiral Jetty, and Complex City

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
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