# Travel >> Travel Advice >> Tourist Attractions

Activities in Northern California

Northern California stretches from the San Francisco Bay area to the Oregon border, and from the Pacific coast to Nevada. The area is dynamic and vast, encompassing the third and fourth largest cities in the state --- San Jose and San Francisco --- as well as redwood forests, the Sierra Nevada, the Pacific coastline and the Central Valley, which is one of the largest and most productive agricultural regions in the world. There is no shortage of activities in Northern California, and with such a vast array to choose from, there is certainly something for everyone.

Turtle Bay Exploration Park
- Turtle Bay Exploration Park is a scientific museum complex located in Redding, California. The park combines a natural history and science museum, botanical garden, science and educational programs, hands-on workshops and animal outreach programs, in order to educate and promote awareness of mankind's relationship with the Earth. The park was opened in the 1980s when three local museums joined efforts to create a comprehensive museum and exploratory destination for visitors, building a 60-acre complex with extensive grounds. The park includes an arboretum and a 340-acre tract of undeveloped oak savanna and riparian ecosystem, as well as 10 gardens featuring plants from all over the world. The park hosts a summer camp for children that teaches both ecology and about the history of the area.
  
  Turtle Bay Exploration Park
  840 Sundial Bridge Drive
  Redding, CA 96001
  800-887-8532
  turtlebay.org
Wine Country Balloons
- Napa Valley is known throughout the world for its wine and food culture, as well as its incomparable scenery. There are numerous ways to explore the countryside and vineyards of Napa, but one of the most unusual and exciting ways is aboard a hot-air balloon. Wine Country Balloons is the oldest balloon tour service in the region, offering a lighter-than-air perspective of Napa, Sonoma and San Francisco counties aboard safety-certified balloon gondolas. Tours take between three and four hours, with approximately two hours of actual flight time, and take in the San Francisco skyline, the Napa and Sonoma wine region, Redwood forests, the Pacific coastline and the Russian River. Tour groups and private flights are available and all outings rendezvous in Sonoma County, just north of Santa Rosa.
  
  Wine Country Balloons
  397 Aviation Blvd.
  Santa Rosa, CA 95403
  800-759-5638
  balloontours.com
Redwoods National and State Park
- Camping is a way of life in California, and perhaps the most sought-after outdoor destination in the state is Redwoods National and State Park. Located near Crescent City near the Oregon border, the park hugs the Pacific coast, offering both ocean and forest areas for exploration. The park has five visitor centers with maps and guides to help campers locate the park's most important features, such as Stout Grove, home to the largest stand of old-growth redwoods in the park, the Crescent Beach overlook, where gray whale migrations can be viewed in autumn, and the Big Tree Wayside, where herds of Roosevelt elk can be seen grazing. There are four developed campgrounds at the park, along with designated back country campsites throughout the hinterlands.
  
  Redwoods National and State Park
  Howland Hill Road
  Crescent City, CA 95531
  707-465-7335
  nps.gov/redw
Ski Lake Tahoe
- When visiting Northern California in the winter, world-class skiing is available throughout the region. Lake Tahoe is a destination unto itself, with a concentration of more ski terrain and resorts than any other place in the United States. Northstar-at-Tahoe, Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows are three of the major resorts and offer lodging, dining and thousands of acres of prime skiing. Combined, the resorts offer more than 500 runs and 100 lifts with beginner, intermediate and advanced runs to serve all levels of experience.
  
  Ski Lake Tahoe
  800-588-7669
  skilaketahoe.com