SeaWorld in San Diego is an excellent place for families. Assistance animals are welcome, and the only thing the park asks is that the animal stays six feet away from the sea animals. SeaWorld offers ride and exhibit accessibility, but it requests that guests bring along someone who is able to assist them onto rides. SeaWorld also offers special tours for the physically and developmentally challenged. Specially trained education instructors act as facilitators for the tour. American Sign Language interpreters are also provided if requested ahead of time.
Disneyland and California Adventure are also popular attractions in California. The Disney Company has been catering to families for over 30 years, and their parks are among the most handicapped-accessible in California. For people with hearing disabilities, many of the attractions and entertainment venues offer hearing assistance devices.
Service animals are welcome in Disney's hotels and parks, but certain rides, such as the park's roller coasters, prohibit their access for safety reasons. Disney also offers Braille guidebooks and digital audio tours of the park for the visually impaired.
A trip to California would not be complete without a day at the beach, and many California parks are handicapped-accessible and offer the free use of specially designed beach wheelchairs. Imperial, Silver Strand, Mission, Ocean and Coronado City beaches all offer call-ahead services to reserve a chair; for a complete list of wheelchair-accessible beaches, visit the website for the California Coastal Commission, which is below in the references.
Many who visit California enjoy skiing. Thanks to organizations such as the United States Adaptive Recreation Center, skiing has become a handicapped-accessible sport. To do this activity will take some preparation, but the experience will last a lifetime. The center has established a full-time on-site adaptive ski school in Southern California at the Bear Mountain Resort. For more information on getting ski lessons for everyone in the family, contact Bear Mountain Resort at the link below.
For hiking, visiting California's Yosemite National Park is an excellent choice. Visitors can go gold prospecting, camp and even hike on handicap-accessible trails. Visitors can stay at one of campsites in and around the park while hiking half-mile trails such as the Bridalveil Fall or the Lower Yosemite Fall. Both trails offer great views of California's natural wonders and allow accessibility for wheelchairs. The park also offers shuttle bus services.
