A cozy bookstore is tucked within an old gold mine shaft beneath the cafe and ice cream shop.

The mysterious round rocks of Schooner Gulch.

One of the oldest reform schools in the United States, home to wayward boys such as Merle Haggard, now abandoned.

This turn of the century masterpiece has a mysterious goaty interloper.

A historic hotel that made a cameo in Hitchcock's classic film has no intention of letting guests forget its fame.

Commonly referred to as the most photographed Victorian home in the United States.

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

A still functioning vaudeville carousel that has operated for over a century boasts a colorful menagerie and past.

The unbelievably opulent home built for an infamous newspaperman.

Standing in a state of "arrested decay," this ghost town allows for a detailed peek into Gold Rush life in an unusually harsh climate.

The remains of a ruined mansion memorialize the 1906 earthquake.

This rare example of a "tidefall" is a spectacular drop from the cliffs down onto the beach.

Aqueducts have dramatically changed this old lake, now home to tufa towers and its very own species of tiny brine shrimp.

The last remaining relic of San Francisco's glittering 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.

This Big Sur waterfall drops 80 feet directly into the Pacific Ocean, and inspired the hillside house up top.

The one-time watch house for incoming ships at the Golden Gate now stands abandoned and hidden in trees.

San Francisco's newly reopened hands-on science museum.

Quite simply the largest tree in the world (by volume).

The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.

A walk-in working camera obscura produces 360-degree live images of the San Francisco coast.

There is no trying to fall in love with this Star Wars fountain, you just do or do not.

A pair of slides and a tree-lined stair corridor have been an urban oasis for nearly 40 years.

A trash dump made beautiful by nature's power.

Get lost in this haunting fairytale art walk through a man-made eucalyptus grove.