California Central Valley Day Trips Things To Do

Bravo Farms is a roadside attraction on Highway 99 Tulare and Fresno. The Kettleman City location is the largest of the four Bravo Farms stores. The theme here is the wild west, complete with a ghost town, restaurant, and huge farm store; there is even an area for dogs to play. There is something … [Read more...]

Kern County is often referred to as the “Golden Empire,” and for a good reason. Kern County is located in the southern Central Valley of California. It extends east beyond the southern slope of the eastern Sierra Nevada range into the Mojave Desert. The area was first settled in 1866 and had rich … [Read more...]

Right, where Interstate 5 and California Highway 99 meet, is the home of the newest outlet mall in Southern California. Let’s welcome the Outlets at Tejon Ranch. Outlet Mall Hours Monday – Saturday: 10 am to 9 pm Sunday: 10 am to 8 pm. The outlets are everything you would expect from something … [Read more...]

Travelers who find themselves with a bit of time while making the trek from northern to southern California should take a detour in Fresno to visit the fascinating underground home of Baldassare Forestiere. A Sicilian immigrant born in 1879 and came to America in the early 1900s to plant a citrus … [Read more...]

The Central Valley city of Stockton is located in the middle of the rolling hills and rural vistas of the San Joaquin Valley's farm and vineyard country. But it's not just Stockton's location that makes it a good fit for day-trippers in northern California. Stockton is the hub of the California … [Read more...]

Located in the center of Roeding Park in Fresno, California, the smaller than average, the zoo sits on 46 acres and is home to nearly 700 animals and over 200 different species. Visitors from all over the state come to see the zoo's various animals in habitats created to mimic their own, … [Read more...]

Located 80 miles northeast of Fresno in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Huntington Lake was constructed in 1912. The lake is part of the Big Creek Hydroelectric Project that provides power to Southern California. The lake has four dams and feeds into Shaver Lake to the southwest. One of the most … [Read more...]

Caswell Memorial State Park is located along the Stanislaus River near the town of Ripon, California. The Park is an 80-mile drive from San Francisco and an excellent weekend camping destination. Caswell Memorial State Park is surrounded by farmland, but the area around the river remains much the … [Read more...]

Hilmar Cheese Company Visitor Center is a fun place to stop while traveling through California's Central Valley. Cheese samples, self-guided tours, sandwiches, and cheese products are available at the center. Hilmar's is the world's largest producer of natural American-style cheese and whey … [Read more...]

If you want to spend a day soaking up the essence of rural Central California, then it’s time for a trip to the “Gateway to Yosemite”– Merced, California. Less than two hours by automobile from Yosemite National Park, Merced has a lot to offer travelers with a wide variety of attractions, … [Read more...]

Sequoia-Kings Canyon Park's point of interest. Things to do and see along the General's Highway. Tucked side by side in the Southern Sierra Nevada Mountains, east of the San Joaquin Valley. Both parks are connected by a single road that provides nearly 866,000 acres of outdoor adventure in the … [Read more...]

Gilroy is a town of about 60,000, located in Santa Clara County. It is a bedroom community for the famous Silicon Valley and a balanced blend of agriculture, residential, and retail offerings. For many people, when they hear Gilroy, they think garlic. While Gilroy is coined the Garlic Capital of … [Read more...]