TravelTips24 : North America : United States of America : California : Sierra Nevada
Sierra Nevada
Table of Contents
Regions / Counties / Cities / Other destinations / Culture and History / Travel to Sierra Nevada, visa requirements / Get around / Sierra Nevada attractions and sightseeing / City tours / Good restaurants and cheap meals / Sierra Nevada nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs. / Stay safe / Get out- For other places with the same name, see Sierra Nevada (disambiguation).
The Sierra Nevada region of California is its alpine region, covering a large portion of the state's inland territory. Rugged mountains and awe-inspiring canyons in the area's national parks and forests are truly part of the United States' national wilderness treasures.
It's a region of grandiose sizes; Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous U.S., is here, as well as the giant sequoias, the largest living things on earth. The human population, however, is relatively small. Most of the towns and cities in the Sierra Nevada region are ski resort towns, or gateways to the area's parks.
Regions
- Eastern Sierra
- Gold Country -
- Lake Tahoe
- Yosemite
Counties
- Alpine County
- Calaveras County
- El Dorado County
- Fresno County
- Inyo County
- Kern County
- Madera County
- Mariposa County
- Mono County
- Nevada County
- Placer County
- Tuolumne County
Cities
- Bishop
- Bridgeport
- El Portal
- Grass Valley
- Lee Vining
- Mammoth Lakes
- Oakhurst
- South Lake Tahoe
- Tahoe City
Other destinations
- Yosemite National Park - a shrine to human foresight, strength of granite, power of glaciers, the persistence of life, and the tranquility of the High Sierra.
- Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park - Immense mountains, rugged foothills, deep canyons, vast caverns ... and the world's largest trees!
- Devils Postpile National Monument - protects and preserves the Devils Postpile formation, the 101-foot high Rainbow Falls, and pristine mountain scenery
- Manzanar National Historic Site - one of ten camps where Japanese American citizens and resident Japanese aliens were interned during World War II
- Sequoia National Forest
- Inyo National Forest
- Sierra National Forest
- Stanislaus National Forest
- El Dorado National Forest
- Tahoe National Forest
- Desolation Wilderness
- Toiyabe National Forest
- Hoover Wilderness
- Plumas National Forest
- Mono Lake
- Mount Whitney
- Rock Creek Lake
Culture and History
Travel to Sierra Nevada & Visa Requirements
Tours & Getting around Sierra Nevada
Sierra Nevada attractions and sightseeing
Sierra Nevada city tours
Sierra Nevada Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive
Sierra Nevada nightlife, bars, clubs & pubs
Stay safe
The Sierras are a high mountain environment containing some of the snowiest places in the US. During winter you should always carry tire chains in your car and know how to use them.
When hiking or backpacking where you will be far from help, check the weather first. The first snows of Winter may come earlier than you expect.
In Summer during the North American Monsoon, thunderstorms often build up near the crest of the Sierra Nevada, particularly during late afternoon. It is unwise to be in a high, treeless place during a thunderstorm. If hiking far in Summer, it's a good idea to carry a light rain jacket just in case a thunderstorm pops up out of nowhere.
Get out
- San Francisco is just a few hours west.
- The Gold Country where the California Gold Rush began is in the Western foothills of the Sierra. There are plenty of quaint historic towns to visit there when traveling to or from points west.
- If you're headed to Los Angeles or other places to the south, taking US 395 down the Eastern Sierra is a great scenic alternative to the monotony of traveling through California's Central Valley.
This page was last edited at 17:34, on 15 October 2007 by Colin Jensen. Based on work by M. Hogue, David Mason, Tim Sandell, Ryan Holliday, Todd VerBeek, Josh and Evan Prodromou, Wikitravel user(s) Unger, Huttite, Dhum Dhum, Gjetost and Ron and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel.
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