Snow hits Lake Tahoe area, Utah, Colorado slopes early and often this season

The skies have dropped seasonal gifts of snow on many winter resorts in the Western United States, earlier and in greater quantity than...

Budget-friendly destinations for the holidays

Tired of the same holiday traditions? Is the neighbor's decoration aesthetic too Barnum & Bailey? Had it with the drunken Dec. 31 frat...

The joys of snowshoeing

Winter hopscotched into Southern California early this year, riding an arctic blast of air and snow at local ski resorts. On the mountain,...

Yosemite National Park, in winter's grip

It is early February — Super Bowl weekend — and Yosemite is quiet.

Skiing: the West's outstanding early-season conditions

Powerful late-fall storms have dropped many feet of snow on mountains throughout the West, creating some of the best early-season skiing and...

California hostels offer budget-luxury accommodations

With 30 bucks and an open mind, you can stay in some prime spots in California — on the Pacific Beach boardwalk in San Diego, for...

Sleep where the legends slept in grand old California hotels

"Oh sleep! It is a gentle thing, beloved from pole to pole," British poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner....

Sierra Summit, now called China Peak, expands ski facilities

Sierra Summit resort in California has reclaimed its old...

Exploring Mitchell Caverns in Providence Mountains State Recreation Area

Reporting from the Providence Mountains State Recreation Area, Calif.

West Hollywood hotel: Charlie Chaplin Tramp stayed here

Entering the Charlie Chaplin cottage, I stooped to avoid hitting my head. At 5 feet 8, I'm about 3 inches taller than Chaplin. (It's said...

Keeping the Old West alive in Santa Ynez Valley

Santa Barbara County's Santa Ynez Valley is known for its fine wines and upscale horse farms, but some of the Old West remains, including...

A 6-year-old's first visit to Disneyland hits some attractions, misses others

Don't miss the Toontown roller coaster, somebody said. Don't bother with Toontown, somebody else said. Don't risk the Matterhorn with a...

Cheap eats in San Francisco

San Francisco has a way of grabbing hold of its visitors and taking them for an incredible ride, whether they're dangling off the side of...

A weekend just for murder mystery buffs

Did Ms. Scarlet silence Mrs. Peacock with a knife to the throat? Or did Col. Mustard throttle Professor Plum with a silver-plated...

Brick-and-mortar treasures in Tinseltown

Like an old movie set, original Hollywood was dismantled ages ago, leaving what appears to be scant trace of its hallowed roots: The...

Pac-10 football visitor's guide: Football isn't the only game in town

Fall is in the air, and that means Pac-10 football. The powder blue- and tarnished cardinal-clad lads soon will embark to stadia across...

Port Chicago, site of a World War II home front tragedy, is a classroom today

The bombs erupted along Pier No. 1, thousands of them, about 30 miles northeast of San Francisco. And 66 years later, you can still spot a...

National monuments? Maybe they will be

It's tough to visit California's Bodie Hills. Although many travelers turn off U.S. Highway 395 in the Eastern Sierra to see the well-...

Favorite public golf courses in California

Forget the Scots. Golf was invented in America. There's a petroglyph at Chaco Canyon in New Mexico showing Kokopelli, a mystical Anasazi...

Beyond the beach: Try Maui's tropic scape or Point Reyes' dunes

When it comes to long walks on warm, sandy beaches, Southern Californians are spoiled by our many choices. But how about strolling miles...