This iconic L.A. bookshop is housed in an abandoned bank—both symbolic and chic.

An artsy hidden staircase leads to breathtaking views of San Francisco.

A peculiar mansion built by the troubled heir to the Winchester Rifle Company fortune.

A huge musical instrument played by the ocean.

An underground mansion with fruit-bearing trees and grapes growing beneath the surface of central California.

Under the right circumstances, this waterfall in Yosemite briefly turns a luminescent fiery orange.

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

A hotel and restaurant serving as the mecca of kitsch.

A winding path built in secret on the edge of the continent.

A "gravitational anomaly" located in the redwood forests just outside of Santa Cruz, California.

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

Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.

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

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

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

The lowest point in North America is home to an undrinkable pool surrounded by fields of geometric salt flats.

A 300-ship graveyard, with a few still visible at low tide.

Rodin's famous depiction of Dante's 'Inferno', amidst a sculpture garden of many of his other works.

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

A popular tourist cave with a dark past.

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

An extensive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts and mummies.

"Only the devil could play golf here."

Not merely a museum – but a whirring powerhouse that offers a subterranean peek into the heart and soul of cable car operations.