#idyllwild

#idyllwild

This year's festival warranted lots of discussion online and IRL, with plenty of chat circling around Justin Bieber's much-anticipated, YouTube-derailed headlining set, the ridiculous pricing and lack of last-minute ticket supply.

Kirkwood has had a pretty solid past few days, seeing 42 inches of snow through the past 7 days, 31 of which fell in the past 48 hours. As of April 13th, Kirkwood has 5 lifts spinning with 45 of 84 trails open to skiers and snowboarders.

Laguna Beach takes its history and cultural heritage seriously—from the earliest Western settlers who set up artist studios, to our Indigenous peoples who made this special place home thousands of years ago.

Sensei Porcupine Creek, located in the Santa Rosa Mountains, offers a tranquil environment with luxurious accommodations, a private golf course, and a world-class tennis facility, all designed to promote wellness.

"It was a dream that I never knew was a possibility," F10 founder Tara Lazar told SFGATE. "I love these institutions, these watering holes of the desert. The Tack Room truly has so much goodwill and a great reputation."

Palm Springs' economy hinges on the volatility of seasonal tourism, which explains why so few new restaurants open there, and why some promising upstarts can quickly disappear. But new is fun, especially for Angelenos who travel frequently to the desert.

For 2025, there was good news and bad news: overall, these areas were visited 323 million times over the course of the year. That's the good news; the bad news is that this figure was down ever so slightly - specifically, 2.7% - from a record-setting 2024.

I think today is not the kind of day that you want to assess. The conditions are impossible. - Venus Williams following her first-round loss, highlighting how extreme weather at Indian Wells makes it difficult to fairly evaluate player performance and tournament conditions.

Named after the legendary Big Sur female pioneer and rancher, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park stands out even among the rest of the region's attractions. The park features stands of centuries-old redwood trees and provides a haven for a variety of California wildlife, though it's best known for the 80-foot-high McWay Falls, an impressive cascade that drops directly from a sheer cliff to the sandy beach below.

As a SoCal resident, I visit Anza-Borrego at least once a year to explore the sandstone Slot canyon and surrounding desert, keeping an eye out for animals like chuckwalla lizards and bighorn sheep. Despite its incredibly dry environment (the park averages just four to eight inches of rain a year, and summertime temps routinely hit the hundreds), Anza-Borrego teems with life and opportunities to explore one of the nation's most unique ecosystems.

Bisbee is surrounded by the Mule Mountains, offering plenty of opportunities for hiking, rock climbing, and camping. The nearby Sabino Canyon Recreation Area has scenic hiking trails and stunning views. But beyond the art and beauty lies a long, fascinating history as a copper mining town.

Relics of L.A.'s agricultural past, when the city was more renowned as a producer of lima beans than of movie stars, these outposts provide direct links to the days when the region was knit together by a network of dusty bridle paths that have long since been paved to make way for our latest beast of burden, the car.

After a mine cave-in revealed a rich vein of ore Bodie, California became a thriving town during the years of the California gold rush. It quickly exploded in size and at its pinnacle was home to around had around 2,000 structures and a population of 8,000 people. It went bust in 1881 and what buildings remain standing represents about 10% of its original structures.

Ganesha Hills is a neighborhood of some 500 homes described by one resident as 'the San Gabriel Valley's best-kept secret.' Named for the elephant-headed Hindu god of good fortune, Ganesha Hills is situated in the rolling hills north of the San Bernardino Freeway (10), just east of the Orange (57) Freeway. The community of single-family homes in a variety of architectural styles set amid chaparral and oaks is in the northwestern section of Pomona bordering La Verne and San Dimas.

The Invisible House: a 22-story skyscraper laid on its side and made almost entirely of glass, sitting on 90 acres of desert land a quick drive from Joshua Tree National Park. It struck the perfect balance, and I booked it immediately. I soon learned that Demi Lovato, Diplo, Lizzo, and more famous faces had stayed at the property before me, and it'd even made a cameo on Netflix's The World's Most Amazing Vacation Rentals.

Located just upstream from where the Arroyo Seco and Los Angeles River merge, Mount Washington has been home base to a former mayor, a world-famous yogi and the official witch of Los Angeles County. The Arroyo Seco - which, after all, begins near a place called Devil's' Gate - has always been a location known for the offbeat, a neighborhood that was keeping it weird before Portland, Ore., or Austin, Texas, ever was.

Luxury desert resorts here aren't just places to stay; they're destinations in their own right, with trails that invite sunrise meditation hikes to spas drawing on indigenous botanicals and healing rituals inspired by centuries of Native American tradition. According to recent tourism data, nearly 44 percent of high-end visitors to Arizona choose 5-star hotels or resorts, and a significant number of travelers list relaxation and wellness experiences - including spa time and desert recreation among their top holiday motivations.

The fire then was fueled by brush - desiccated by both long-term drought and days of 90-degree heat during the peak of California's fire season. Powerful winds cast embers wide, setting shake roofs alight throughout hilly, narrow neighborhood streets. Communication between departments - including those that rushed into the area to offer mutual aid - was disorganized, with at least one unit waiting 24 hours for orders, while others freelanced, doing what they thought was best.

Following a three-day resort closure due to treacherous snow and road conditions, operations resumed, and what waited on the other side was nothing short of historic. A sincere thank you to the teams who kept everyone safe during the storm cycle.

By midwinter, Los Angeles is defined less by cold than by light. Cool, clear mornings give way to afternoons shaped by the low winter arc of the sun, painting the mountains in long shadows and the sky in improbable color. And as that low light settles in, my whole body shifts in spirit. Somewhere deep in the limbic system, a synapse fires like a flare, tracing the old circuitry of migration and memory - that annual pull toward the wide-open deserts of the American Southwest.

This quaint little town, surrounded by green pastures and granite cliffs, is the northern gateway to the High Sierra. Bridgeport always evokes nostalgia and is one of my favorite views of the Eastern Sierra. In my younger years, it was all about the resorts, and Bridgeport was a place to stretch the legs on the way to Mammoth Mountain. Now, I look more to the backcountry trailheads, and Bridgeport has become an alluring area along the 395 corridor.