The interior of the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" was based on this Yosemite original.

The location of the last stand of Charles Manson's doomsday cult.

A quirky collection of figurines backdropped by city views is hidden next to a popular restaurant in the Hollywood hills.

A fake town founded by Western movie stars is now becoming a hip desert community.

Sunset-colored dunes of volcanic ash make taking a poor photo impossible.

Ten 25-foot-tall, beehive-shaped kilns, abandoned in Death Valley.

A little barn in the middle of the city preserving Hollywood treasures since 1985.

The fossilized remains of ancient California redwoods.

A large instrument played by the wind.

"Only the devil could play golf here."

The liveliest ghost town in the state.

Named after a bandit and the star of several Hollywood prehistoric landscapes, these sandstone formations are a historical part of the Los Angeles natural landscape.

A collection of memorabilia from the Beat era in the back of a San Francisco bookstore.

A former utopian healing center created by a huckster and built by derelicts.

One of the most unusual geological features, recognizable from a dozen hit movies.

Hidden above a drug store on a nondescript corner of Lincoln Heights is a private clubhouse for intrepid explorers.

A desert ghost town—occupied for only 12 years—was once home to more than 500 silver mines.

Located on 420 acres in the high desert, this spiritual center is dedicated to the "science of the future."

An extensive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts and mummies.

An unreal vintage shop that wears its dadaist influence on its zombie fish.

A modern day curiosity cabinet.

Hundreds of trees made from glass bottles make up this forest on Route 66.

Julia Morgan's Moorish-Gothic labyrinth of fountains, trees, natural light and Oakland's notable dead.

A volcanic tunnel illuminated by natural skylights offers a shaded respite from the desert sun.