This is a spot where you just drive through and stop to get gas, use the bathroom and get some…read moresnacks. Only gas stations, Fast food restaurants and a few low budget hotels exist here.

I have found that Lost Hills is a great place to hit up when you are on your way between the major…read moremetropolitan areas of Northern and Southern California. They have great gas rates at several of their filling stations just off of the freeway. They also have a number of fast food and restaurants available to service your hunger needs. They could have some great hunger games here of what would you do to get a cheeseburger if your starving... too bad they don't, it would make for some great entertainment to break up the monotony of the drive... Yeah I know its a weird idea but a giant open air stadium with gladiatorial contests or something would be entertaining... ok back from my tangent... Pro Tip: Loves usually has the best price for gas and doesn't have a surcharge for using credit. This place has a bunch of gas stations and fast food joints, a sit down eating place, some picnic stops, a couple of truck stops, a few hotels, and that is just what borders the freeway. If you go into town about a 1/2 mile or so from the freeway, you will see an actual town. Granted only about 2500 folks live here. So its not a huge place, but it does give you a sense of reality. I only ventured through town once so I am not all that familiar with it. However all of the freeway adjacent shops and filling stations are something that I am for better or worse, intimately familiar with.

So if you know me a little, you know I always love checking out local flavor…read more I travel to this area of California every summer. Last summer I had seen this chapel from Highway 46 as I entered wine country. It caught my attention so I decided to check it out on the way home. Location is easy to find and it's on McMillan Canyon Road. You can easily miss the turn so use your GPS. Once you turn onto the road the chapel comes in full view. It's like this beautiful beacon standing the middle of the foothills of central California. I pulled into the parking lot with not a soul in sight. We hiked the 300 feet up to the chapel with gorgeous vineyards keeping us company on the way up. For those that are unable to complete the steep walk, there is a paved road entrance behind the chapel but only open on Sundays. The chapel was not open but it still had a lovely exterior. The chapel was built by Judge William Clark a local Shandon resident in 1993. It was built in the style of English architect Christopher Wren who also worked on St. Paul's Cathedral in London. It is open for mass on most Sundays at 8:00am and once a year they host Festival Mozaic. The chapels name was changed to Serra Chapel in 2015. If you enjoy local flavor, this is a must stop I highly recommend.

Such a beautiful place. The small hike up the hill along their vineyards is so calming. The view is…read moreamazing from any location there. Sunset is awesome. Very convenient parking and safe path to the chapel on top of the hill.

Drove in from San Luis Obispo and immediately was greeted by antelope, which was pretty cool. The…read moreday was gorgeous, but no superblooms to be seen. The next day, as we were driving out, we saw elk, another great spot in the early morning. We stayed at the KCI campsite, which was quiet. For me, I would have preferred to spend this time in the Santa Margarita area. The elk and antelope are cool, but I missed the singing birds, and the variety of life and landscape. A day would have been enough for me. I do think, as with everything, it's all about preference. The quiet and seclusion, also pretty awesome. Not to see a single person, building or car was something I haven't experienced in a really long time. Go, try it. You might enjoy it!

This doesn't cost anything but road is NOT maintained. If you're looking to go see the San Andreas…read morefault area, you can't really see anything. If you take a look at an Ariel shot of the mountains and get in front of them, you can see the San Andreas mountain range which is pretty cool AND you can easily see it from the west side of Soda Lake. If you try and go to see where the Wallace Creek Interpretative Trail off Soda Lake Road is, I will warn you now. You get only 2 posts of the sites on the map that you can't really see and you go down a very rocky, deep crevices dirt road. WARNING! ‼ Don't go try to find sites 3, 4 or 5. There are no postings for it and you will wish you had a 4x4 to drive this as Soda Lake Road goes on for 20 miles only to find the only way out is through a locked gate or to turn back. If you proceed forward towards the mountains you will find that only 4x4's can drive the mountain roads you will now be on and some of those 4x4's don't have big enough tires to get over the huge crevices the water has created. Stay at site 1 and 2 and go back to the main road. You will trash your car otherwise AND if you get stuck, there's no cell service or GPS! Your only help will be if a 4x4 just happens to drive by. The cliffs alone are very intimidating not to mention the big crevices in the dirt road.

This is the only Italian Villa mansion with a baroque ornamentation that you would ever find in…read moreFresno, so tourist, architecture buffs and history lovers, this is perfect place for you to visit. This is a historic site and it should be on your must visit list while in Fresno. This mansion located in downtown Fresno, is one of its kind and unfortunately it is now a law office and doesn't showcase the lavish feature of its interior anymore to the public: three story twelve luxurious room, 4500 sq feet space. However the exterior of the house really is something to see and take plenty of picture off. Plus if you do visit this building, it wont be the only thing on your list to visit because 1 block away is the St John Cathedral and also the Meux mansion. There is no parking around its since its really close to the community hospital, I would suggest parking on R street near the church and take the opportunity to appreciate and take pictures of this architecture marvel. It looks like something that should be in Hollywood to be honest. most people in Fresno can pass it without even knowing that they have this beautiful building. If you must know the building was constructed for Herman H. and Helena S. Brix in 1910-1911. Herman H. Brix made a pioneering contribution to the development of Coalinga and was influential in the commercial expansion of Fresno. In addition to its historical associations, the Brix Mansion possesses considerable architectural significance. Designed by architect Edward T. Foulkes, it represents a brilliant example of a period-inspired Italian Villa, the only residence in Fresno built in this lavishly-embellished style. So take the opportunity to visit this unique mansion and bring your friends to impress them about the landmarks and historical building of Fresno.

While at The Village, be sure to cross the Arroya Grande Swinging Bridge to get to the Santa…read moreManuela Schoolhouse, which is to the left and nearby the park and residential. It swings so watch your step!

What a beautifully built bridge! We had fun crossing the swinging bridge, not at all dangerous,…read moreextremely well built! What a cool find in the small, sleepy town, well worth it when passing through the area!

The Lord told me about this place in a dream, and the upstairs is a temple. I been here 3x first 2…read moreI came it was closed but the third time I came they were open however to visit the temple upstairs you will need appointment in advance. I pray that this place will be preserved forever in Jesus name because the spirit of the LORD dwells here.

Much history here in China Alley. I used tio come here as a kid with my parents. They just…read morerecently had a fire in one of the buildings bt had minimal damage than goodness. But as I figured Id be there when the doors were closed. I strolled through and took some pics. It was fun.

Bakersfield has a pretty extensive Chinese history. A lot of which has likely been spun into myths…read moreand legends, but the vast majority of which is true. Chinatown (the center of which is currently actually names China Alley) was home to a vibrant Chinese culture. While there were tales of hidden underground tunnels (whether this be for illegal gaming and alcohol running, or actually an easier way to get round we'll never know) but the alley itself was actually placed in the Bakersfield Register of Historic Places in 1992. The plaque can be found here.

I appreciate the nod to the Filipino people! The rock/ plaque has been relocated to a better spot;…read moreI first visited in 1999. While the plaque could use some maintenance, it's still worth stopping by for a quick look.

Visited September 2024. The rock with the plaque/info with the history of the landing is closer to…read morethe lot before Coleman park between the bike and walk path. Brought my parents who weren't familiar with the history and they were pleasantly surprised. Very peaceful tourist site

I've always wanted to go inside of a Forest Service Fire Lookout, just to check out the view. A few…read moreyears ago I learned that you could actually rent them out and spend the night, like a hotel room but they always seem to be booked way in advance so I've never had the opportunity. Last week I found myself browsing the Recreation.Gov webpage, and came across the Oak Flat Lookout, which is less than an hour northeast of downtown Bakersfield. I happened to come across a vacancy mid last week and immediately booked it for $75. I spent the next several days excitedly reading about the place online, and looking at pictures others have taken up there. My fiancée and I set out for the site last Tuesday afternoon in my '87 4Runner loaded with supplies, beer and food. Rancheria Road north of SR178 turns to gravel about 5 miles in, and there was another 10 miles or so until we found the trail to go up to the lookout, which was secured with a locked gate. I had received the combination via email when I paid for my reservation and got right in, securing the gate behind me. There was another mile or so up a fairly steep and unimproved trail before we rounded a bend and bam! There it was. The Call Fire burning about 25 miles southeast of the lookout made for a hazy sky, but the view was nevertheless outstanding from 4,920 feet. We climbed the 40 stairs thirty feet above ground level, opened the trap door and emerged onto the catwalk to find an impeccable 360 degree view of the entire mountain range and east Bakersfield. We were pleasantly surprised to find the tower and surrounding campsite (and outhouse) in good condition. It was mostly clean, save for a bit of a stench coming from inside the tower. This was especially surprising considering there's really no one that goes up to the tower regularly to maintain it. You are basically relying on the last guest to have cleaned up after themselves. While there is no water or electricity as the site, there is a propane powered stove, heater, and lantern as well as several flashlights and LED lanterns in the tower, as well as two fairly comfortable and clean twin sized beds. There's also a firepit, bench, and picnic table on site. There's also phone service (T-Mobile) on the south side of the tower. We spent the evening preparing dinner, drinking wine and beer, and listening to music before we headed down to make S'mores before bed. All in all this was an awesome, and unique experience. I recommend it to anyone in the mood for something different on their next camping trip.

Pros - Views are awesome. Nice getaway. There's a fire pit, a picnic table and a bathroom. The…read moreactual lookout also has 2 beds, a sink and a stove. The stove is really easy to use. Packing tips: sheets for the beds, covers for the pillow cases, sandals to walk around in, water for drinking, water for washing dishes/hands/etc, food (can of soup, snacks, etc), toiletries, warm clothing (gets cold at night), bug spray for spiders and earwigs, paper toilet, paper towels Price: $75/night Note: No electricity and no running water Cons - Spiders and earwigs! In our first 6 hours we had already killed over 10 earwigs and 2 spiders. It also wasn't very clean - dusty and dirty. For $75/night they could do a better job at cleaning up.