An Alternative Guide To California: Unusual Activities To Do

California is filled with wonderful and weird activities to delight locals and tourists alike. If you want to explore the golden state behind the scenes, check out this curated list of our favorite adventures that will take you off the beaten path. Did you know – Culture Trip now does bookable, small-group trips? Pick from authentic, immersive Epic Trips, compact and action-packed Mini Trips and sparkling, expansive Sailing Trips.

Glass Beach

Colourful glass pebbles blanket this beach in Fort Bragg.

Fort Bragg, CA, is home to the unique and beautiful Glass Beach. This spot was once a dumping ground for local residents to throw various discarded objects. The space was later closed to the public for cleanup in 1967, and over time the waves smoothed out the discarded objects until they became the tiny, colorful knick knacks that they are today.

Winchester Mystery House

Located in San Jose, the Winchester Mystery House is a massive Victorian mansion that was inherited by Sarah Winchester, heir to the Winchester rifle fortune. A fortune teller told her that she should build onto the house continuously to alleviate her guilt over the many people killed by the Winchester Repeating Rifle. Sarah took the advice to heart, and, for years, she directed nonsensical building projects that have left the house filled with mysteries like windows that open onto walls, stairways and doors that lead to nowhere, and much more.

Salvation Mountain

Salvation Mountain stands 150 feet wide and 50 feet tall, created by Leonard Knight with the intent to spread God’s love. The mound is built of a selection of oddities and decorated quite colorfully, with an estimated 100,000 gallons of paint contributing to its maintenance over the years.

Salvation Mountain, Beal Rd, Niland, CA, USA

Madonna Inn

The Madonna Inn is a museum located in San Luis Obispo. It is lively and colorful, filled with more kitschy decorations than you can imagine. The Madonna Inn is also a hotel and restaurant, so you can stay the night surrounded by tacky knick-knacks, or just enjoy a meal surrounded by hot pink decor. There are 109 rooms on site, all with individual names and themes.

Devils Postpile National Monument

The Devils Postpile National Monument is a surprising creation of nature, consisting of more than 400 basalt columns that reach up to 600 feet high. This natural monument is located on the east of the sierras near Mammoth, and has been created due to the slow cooling of molten lava coming into contact with a moving glacier.

Devils Postpile National Monument, Devils Postpile Access Road, Mammoth Lakes, CA, USA +1 760 934 2289

Museum of Neon Art

In Glendale, you will find the bright Museum of Neon Art. This museum was founded in 1981 by a pair of artists who curated a group of bright neon signs to display. Since then, the collection has grown, displaying a rotating selection of the signs. In addition to visiting the museum, you can also take a museum-sponsored bus tour at night of the significant neon signs in the surround areas.

Forestiere Underground Gardens

Forestiere Underground Gardens is an underground dwelling place built by Baldassare Forestiere over 40 years. The space is the size of a mansion, modeled after catacombs and filled with passageways and tunnels. What truly makes this place exceptional, though, are the gardens Forestiere planted underground, filled with oranges, lemons, grapefruits, kumquats, strawberries, dates and more. You can visit on days when it isn’t raining and take a tour for $15.

Forestiere Underground Gardens, 5021 W Shaw Ave, Fresno, CA, USA +1 559 271 0734

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.