A young explorer with a beanie and binoculars holds a lantern at night in a field of multi-colored lights.

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Childhood Rules in California

We're celebrating the best of the Golden State. Explore expert field guides, dream-job articles, and enter an art show for your chance to win a trip to California.

Enter the Art Show for a Chance to Win $5,000 to Travel to the Golden State!

Enter now

California Dream

Stories about people with one-of-a-kind California careers.

Jump to Articles

Adventurous Field Guides

Learn how to decode caves and identify birds.

Owl sitting in trees

visitcalifornia.com

Art Show

A picture is worth a thousand words—we're putting that into action and asking kids & families across America to submit drawings depicting their dream destination in California for a chance to win a trip to the Golden State.

Art Show Giveaway

The winner will receive $5,000 to put towards their California dream trip.

Art Show Inspiration

Wondrous places in California to awaken your inner artist.

California Dreams

Learn about inspiring and unusual jobs from the people who do them.

fauna

The Park Ranger Who Lives and Works in the Hottest Place in North America

In a vast, remote land of extremes, wild animals, plants, and humans adapt to survive.

By Blythe Roberson
machines

A Day in the Life of a Fortune Cookie Maker at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory

In the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown, a favorite dessert is still made the old-school way.

By Blythe Roberson
aquariums

From Shark Tanks to the Deep Sea: A Day in the Life of a Monterey Bay Aquarist

What it’s like to care for fascinating animals at an aquarium on the edge of the Pacific.

By Blythe Roberson

Expert Field Guides

Explore the natural wonders of the Bear State with these exciting DIY guides.

How to Decode a Cave

Below California’s surface lies a series of caves that can teach us a lot about our natural world—and its history.

Who Tweeted That?

A field guide to the wild and wonderful world of birding in California.

A child on the beach wearing a pink snorkel mask looking at the camera.

A group of kids dressed in fun costumes at the beach in Torrey Pines, California.

A kid smiling on a swinging carnival ride at the boardwalk.

Start Exploring Now! Download the Field Guides as printable PDFs to use in the wild.

Feeling Intrepid?
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Peter the Anteater

Irvine, California

Peter the Anteater Statue

This bronze statue commemorates the strange and beloved mascot of UC Irvine—the only university to be represented by a giant anteater.

Burney Falls.

Burney, California

Burney Falls

The flow from this waterfall sometimes comes out of springs below its rim.

The Enchanted Forest

Whitethorn, California

Enchanted Forest

A grove of "candelabra redwoods" deep in California's Lost Coast.

Museum of Ancient Wonders

Cathedral City, California

Museum of Ancient Wonders

Nestled in Coachella Valley, this museum transports guests from the Mesozoic Era, to the land of Egyptian kings.

San Francisco, California

Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company

One of the oldest producers of hand-folded fortune cookies still uses its original secret recipe.

Red fox in Eshott Animal Park.

Santa Ysabel, California

The JAB Canid Education and Conservation Center

Spend a day hanging out with domesticated Russian foxes.

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Childhood Rules

Kickoff your family trip with these inspiring travel ideas.