All the United States California

The Atlas Obscura Guide To California

1,510 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in California

Updated July 7, 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. Barstow
  13. Belvedere Tiburon
  14. Benicia
  15. Berkeley
  16. Beverly Hills
  17. Big Sur
  18. Bishop
  19. Blythe
  20. Bodfish
  21. Borrego Springs
  22. Bridgeport
  23. Burbank
  24. Calabasas
  25. California City
  26. Calipatria
  27. Calistoga
  28. Camarillo
  29. Cambria
  30. Carlsbad
  31. Carmel By The Sea
  32. Carpinteria
  33. Carson
  34. Castroville
  35. Colma
  36. Crescent City
  37. Crestline
  38. Crockett
  39. Culver City
  40. Daly City
  41. Davis
  42. Edwards Air Force Base
  43. El Segundo
  44. Encinitas
  45. Escondido
  46. Eureka
  47. Folsom
  48. Fort Bragg
  49. Fremont
  50. Fresno
  51. Garden Grove
  52. Glendale
  53. Goleta
  54. Grass Valley
  55. Hacienda Heights
  56. Hawthorne
  57. Healdsburg
  58. Hillsborough
  59. Hume
  60. Huntington Beach
  61. Indio
  62. Inverness
  63. Inyo County
  64. Irvine
  65. Jenner
  66. Joshua Tree
  67. Klamath
  68. La Cañada Flintridge
  69. Laguna Beach
  70. La Jolla
  71. Lancaster
  72. Landers
  73. Lee Vining
  74. Lemon Grove
  75. Livermore
  76. Lone Pine
  77. Long Beach
  78. Los Angeles
  79. Los Gatos
  80. Loyalton
  81. Lucerne Valley
  82. Malibu
  83. Mecca
  84. Menlo Park
  85. Mill Valley
  86. Modesto
  87. Mono County
  88. Monterey
  89. Morro Bay
  90. Mountain View
  91. Mount Hamilton
  92. Napa
  93. Nevada City
  94. Newberry Springs
  95. Newport Beach
  96. Norden
  97. Oakland
  98. Ocotillo
  99. Ojai
  100. Oroville
  101. Oxnard
  102. Pacifica
  103. Pacific Grove
  104. Paicines
  105. Palm Desert
  106. Palm Springs
  107. Palo Alto
  108. Pasadena
  109. Pescadero
  110. Pioneertown
  111. Placerville
  112. Pomona
  113. Port Costa
  114. Rancho Palos Verdes
  115. Redwood City
  116. Richmond
  117. Riverside
  118. Rosemead
  119. Sacramento
  120. Salinas
  121. San Bernardino
  122. San Bernardino County
  123. San Diego
  124. San Francisco
  125. San Jose
  126. San Juan Capistrano
  127. San Luis Obispo
  128. San Rafael
  129. San Simeon
  130. Santa Barbara
  131. Santa Clara
  132. Santa Clarita
  133. Santa Cruz
  134. Santa Margarita
  135. Santa Monica
  136. Santa Rosa
  137. Sausalito
  138. Sebastopol
  139. Silverado
  140. Simi Valley
  141. Solvang
  142. Sonoma
  143. Sonora
  144. South Pasadena
  145. South San Francisco
  146. Stanford
  147. Stockton
  148. Sunnyvale
  149. Tecopa
  150. Tehachapi
  151. Three Rivers
  152. Topanga
  153. Torrance
  154. Truckee
  155. Tulelake
  156. Tustin
  157. Twentynine Palms
  158. Ukiah
  159. Vallejo
  160. Ventura
  161. West Hollywood
  162. West Sacramento
  163. Winterhaven
  164. Winters
  165. Woodside
  166. Yermo
  167. Yosemite National Park
  168. 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 1,510 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 180
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

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