This infamous prison has a store where you can buy goods crafted by incarcerated people.

Gorgeous purple flowers drape from the world's largest blossoming plant.

An abandoned Jazz Age dream home and con man's hideout in Death Valley.

A vast city of the dead, where the deceased outnumber the living by more than a million.

While exploring the desert, you can stop by the home of a fictional heretic from a parallel universe.

The rusting remains of the largest assembled WWII fleet on the West Coast.

An eccentric folk art landmark made out of discarded bottles by an inspired "grandma."

Smooth basaltic rocks tell a tale of ancient glacial waterfalls.

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

An abandoned, unfinished mansion on grounds strewn with lava rocks.

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

360-degree virtual reality chamber physically immerses scientists into their data.

Where there's quartz, there must be gold. Thus is the story of the mines of Julian, and the titillating times of the Gold Rush.

Discover for yourself what Herb Caen referred to as "the best kept secret in the Bay Area."

California's own majestic geyser is powered by a subterranean volcano.

Once a place of peaceful repose, this sanitarium now faces an uncertain future.

Travelers leave tea kettles in a remote part of Death Valley as part of a mysterious, decades-old tradition.

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

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

This old mining town, deep in the California desert, has a year-round population of one.

Built by the inventor of the radio, this abandoned hotel has housed early radio employees, military men, and a dangerous cult.

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

The fossilized remains of ancient California redwoods.

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