Places to Explore In The Central Valley

Discover the best places to explore in The Central Valley with curated recommendations from our travel experts.

Bakersfield

Bakersfield's founder, Colonel Thomas Baker, arrived with the discovery of gold in the nearby Kern River valley in 1851. With 364,000 residents, including the country’s...

  • 4 Restaurants
  • 3 Hotels
  • 7 Things To Do

Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park

In 1908 army chaplain and former slave Colonel Allen Allensworth and a group of African Americans decided to move west to create a community where...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 1 Things To Do

Hanford

Founded in 1877 as a Southern Pacific Railroad stop, Hanford had one of California's largest Chinatowns—the Chinese came to help build the railroads and stayed...

  • 1 Restaurants
  • 1 Hotels
  • 3 Things To Do

Kernville

The wild Kern River, which flows through Kernville en route from Mt. Whitney to Bakersfield, delivers some of the most exciting white-water rafting in the...

  • 1 Restaurants
  • 1 Hotels
  • 1 Things To Do

Merced

The 2005 debut of a branch of the University of California helped spur redevelopment in Merced County’s seat of government. The transformation has resulted in...

  • 3 Restaurants
  • 1 Hotels
  • 3 Things To Do

Modesto

Among the most striking "welcome to downtown" signs you'll see, the Modesto Arch, at 9th and I streets, bears the city's motto: "Water, Wealth, Contentment...

  • 3 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 5 Things To Do

Oakdale

Oakdale was founded as an orchard community and, in a real stretch, calls itself the Cowboy Capital of the World. Formerly the home of a...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 2 Things To Do

Stockton

California's first inland port—connected since 1933 to San Francisco via a 60-mile-long deepwater channel—is wedged between Interstate 5 and Highway 99, on the eastern end...

  • 1 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 1 Things To Do

Explore The Central Valley

Sights 18

Shopping 2

Nightlife 1

Performing Arts 2

Restaurants 13

Hotels 10
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Guidebooks for Every Journey

Fodor's Southern California: with Los Angeles, San Diego, the Central Coast & the Best Road Trips
Fodor's Southern California: with Los Angeles, San Diego, the Central Coast & the Best Road Trips
  • Easy Planning
  • Local Writers
  • Itineraries
  • Helpful Maps
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Fodor's Northern California: With Napa & Sonoma, Yosemite, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe & The Best Road Trips
Fodor's Northern California: With Napa & Sonoma, Yosemite, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe & The Best Road Trips
  • Easy Planning
  • Local Writers
  • Itineraries
  • Pullout Map
Buy Now See All Guideboks