The fossilized remains of ancient California redwoods.

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

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

"Only the devil could play golf here."

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

This impressive tunnel was dug entirely by hand over the course of 36 years.

A hard-to-reach oasis in a desolate corner of Death Valley National Park.

The mysterious round rocks of Schooner Gulch.

From Japan to Italy, this California park explores the world's cultures through their gardens.

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

A crumbling wizard is one of the final reminders of a roadside Middle Earth.

A deserted hodgepodge of experimental structures designed by nearby university students.

One of the world's largest collections of rare and magnificent bird specimens.

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

This Pringle-shaped ledge makes for the perfect photo op.

A pair of large white marble lions guard this stretch of the Mojave Desert, and it is utterly mysterious how they got there.

Ancient human, animal, and geometric figures drawn in the earth.

A burnt orange monolithic dome structure perched on a hillside near Interstate 280.

Along a California highway is a kind of Jurassic Park made of metal.

The "3rd largest" city in California is an empty mirage of suburbia in the middle of nowhere.

The abandoned train depot now doubles as a well-placed rest stop for those who take the road less traveled.

An old California photo stand has been turned into a shrine to the cozy art of crochet.

Coastal dunes, site of buried Egyptian movie set and former utopian colony.

Smooth basaltic rocks tell a tale of ancient glacial waterfalls.