Lonely Planet Western USA , livre ebook

Western USA

Contents

Plan Your Trip

Welcome to Western USA
Western USA's Top 25
Need to Know
If You Like
Month by Month
Itineraries
Route 66 & Scenic Drives
Outdoor Activities
Eat & Drink Like a Local
Travel with Children
Regions at a Glance

On The Road

Rocky Mountains
Colorado
Denver
Boulder
Northern Mountains
Central Colorado
Southern Colorado
Wyoming
Cheyenne
Laramie
Lander
Jackson
Cody
Yellowstone National Park
Grand Teton National Park
Montana
Bozeman
Gallatin & Paradise Valleys
Billings
Helena
Missoula
Flathead Lake
Whitefish
Glacier National Park
Idaho
Boise
Ketchum & Sun Valley
Stanley
Idaho Panhandle
Southwest
Nevada
Las Vegas
Around Las Vegas
Western Nevada
The Great Basin
Arizona
Phoenix
Central Arizona
Grand Canyon National Park
Around the Grand Canyon
Northern & Eastern Arizona
Western Arizona
Southern Arizona
Around Tucson
Southeastern Arizona
Utah
Salt Lake City
Park City & Wasatch Mountains
Northeastern Utah
Moab & Southeastern Utah
Zion & Southwestern Utah
New Mexico
Albuquerque
Along I-40
Santa Fe
Around Santa Fe
Northwestern New Mexico
Northeastern New Mexico
Southwestern New Mexico
Southeastern New Mexico
California
Los Angeles
Disneyland & Anaheim
Orange County Beaches
San Diego
Palm Springs
Joshua Tree National Park
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Mojave National Preserve
Death Valley National Park
Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara to San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo
Morro Bay to Hearst Castle
Big Sur
Carmel
Monterey
Santa Cruz
San Francisco
Marin County
Berkeley
Northern California
Wine Country
North Coast
Sacramento
Gold Country
Northern Mountains
Sierra Nevada
Yosemite National Park
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
Eastern Sierra
Lake Tahoe
West Coast Beaches
Pacific Northwest
Washington
Seattle
Around Seattle
Olympic Peninsula
Northwest Washington
San Juan Islands
North Cascades
Northeastern Washington
South Cascades
Central & Southeastern Washington
Oregon
Portland
Willamette Valley
Columbia River Gorge
Oregon Cascades
Oregon Coast
Southern Oregon
Eastern Oregon

Understand

Understand Western USA
Western USA Today
History
The Way of Life
Native Americans
Arts & Architecture
The Land & Wildlife

Survive

Directory AZ
Accommodations
Customs Regulations
Discount Cards
Electricity
Embassies & Consulates
Emergency & Important Numbers
Etiquette
Gay & Lesbian Travelers
Health
Insurance
Internet Access
Legal Matters
Money
Opening Hours
Photography
Post
Public Holidays
Safe Travel
Telephone
Time
Toilets
Tourist Information
Travelers with Disabilities
Visas
Women Travelers
Transportation
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
Behind the Scenes
Our Writers
Welcome to Western USA

Landscapes and legends draw adventurers to the West, where a good day includes locavore dining, vineyard wine-sipping, Native history and outdoor adventure.


Great Outdoors
When it comes to scenery in the West, the hyperbole is usually on point. Awesome. Epic. Once-in-a-lifetime. But what gives Western views extra punch? The sounds of adventure – woosh! splash! clink! – rippling across the landscape. Surfers, kayakers and beachcombers flock to the Western coastline, which stretches from sunny San Diego to the bluffs of central California and on to the rocky, mood-filled beaches of Oregon and Washington. Red rocks, plunging gorges and prickly-pear deserts lure hikers and cyclists to the Southwest and the Grand Canyon. Meanwhile, in the Rockies, the snowcapped peaks offer some of the world's best skiing and snowboarding.

Grapes, Green Chiles & Going Local
Fish tacos in San Diego, Sonoran dogs in Tucson, trout and bison in the Rockies, green and red chiles in New Mexico and wild salmon in the Pacific Northwest. Regional specialties are as diverse as the landscapes. One commonality? Chefs and consumers alike are focusing on fresh and locally grown food, a locavore trend that started in the West. This eco-consciousness has also been embraced by wine producers, who are increasingly implementing organic and biodynamic growing principles. And speaking of winemaking, Napa and Sonoma now share the spotlight with Washington, Oregon and central California.

Urban Allure
Western cities have distinct personalities. In California there's the hey-bro friendliness of San Diego, the Hollywood flash of Los Angeles and silicon-meets-bohemian in San Francisco. Further north in Seattle, cutting-edge joins homegrown, often over a cup of joe. Rootsy vibes and outdoor fun pair in Denver, while patio preening and spa pampering give Phoenix a strangely compelling spoiled-girl vibe. Artsy, historic Santa Fe is a world unto itself. And then there's Vegas, a glitzy neon playground where you can get hitched in the Elvis Chapel, spend your honeymoon in Paris and then bet the mortgage – all in the very same weekend.

Hands-on History
Museums? Save 'em for later. First you'll want to climb a wooden ladder into a cliff dwelling, poke around the ruins of a Pony Express station, or simply join the congregation inside a 1700s Spanish mission. What else is there to explore in the West? Crumbling forts and trading posts. Abandoned ghost towns. Adobe pueblos. A former Titan Missile silo and the town that didn't exist – that's where the A-bomb was designed. Petroglyphs etched onto boulders and cliff faces. Wander historic sites like these for up-close and evocative links to the region's rich, multilayered past.

Rocky Mountain National Park | MIKE BERENSON / GETTY IMAGES ©


Why I Love Western USA
By Christopher Pitts, Writer
Like so many people, I first fell in love with the West on a road trip. I remember the exact moment: sitting next to a campfire in Colorado and gazing up at the stars, which were so bright and thickly scattered that I could finally imagine them stretching into infinity. Everything else that followed lived up to that moment: the surrealistic desert landscapes, the coyotes and bison roaming beneath big cobalt skies, the wild and untamed Pacific Coast and, of course, those majestic national parks. All reasons why I finally chose to make the West my home.
Western USA's Top 25

Yellowstone National Park
What makes the world's first national park so enduring? Geologic wonders for one thing, from geysers and fluorescent hot springs to fumaroles and bubbling mud pots. Then there's the wildlife: grizzlies, black bears, wolf packs, elk, bison and moose, roaming across some 3500 sq miles of wilderness. Pitch a tent in Yellowstone's own Grand Canyon, admire the Upper and Lower Falls, wait for Old Faithful to blow and hike through the primeval, fuming landscape for a real taste of what is truly the Wild West.

Grand Prismatic Spring | NOPPAWAT TOM CHAROENSINPHON / GETTY IMAGES ©


Top Experiences
San Francisco
Change is afoot in this boom-and-bust city, currently enjoying a very high-profile boom. Amid the growth, the fog and the clatter of old-fashioned trams, the diverse neighborhoods of San Francisco invite long days of wandering, with great indie shops, fabulous restaurants and bohemian nightlife. Highlights include peering into Alcatraz, strolling across the Golden Gate and dining inside the Ferry Building. And you must take at least one ride on the trolley. How cool is San Francisco? Trust us – turn that first corner to a stunning waterfront view, and you'll be hooked.

GAGAN KAUSHAL / 500PX ©


Top Experiences
Grand Canyon National Park
The sheer immensity of the canyon is what grabs you at first – a two-billion-year-old rip across the landscape that reveals the earth's geological secrets with commanding authority. But it's Mother Nature's artistic touches, from sun-dappled ridges and crimson buttes to lush oases and a ribbon-like river, that hold your attention and demand your return. To explore the canyon, take your pick of adventures: hiking, biking, rafting or mule riding. Or simply grab a seat along the Rim Trail and watch the earth change colors before you.

STEPHEN MOEHLE / 500PX ©


Top Experiences
Los Angeles
A perpetual influx of dreamers, go-getters and hustlers gives this sprawling coastal city an energetic buzz. Learn the tricks of movie-making during a studio tour. Bliss out to acoustically perfect symphony sounds in the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Wander gardens and galleries at the hilltop Getty Museum. And stargazing? Take in the big picture at the revamped Griffith Observatory or look for stylish, earthbound 'stars' at the Grove. Ready for your close-up, darling? You will be – an hour on the beach guarantees that sun-kissed LA glow.

SEAN PAVONE / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Top Experiences
Coastal Highways
A drive along America's stunning western coastline is road tripping at its finest. In California, Hwy 1 – also called the Pacific Coast Highway – Hwy 101 and I-5 pass dizzying sea cliffs, idiosyncratic beach towns and a few major cities: laid-back San Diego, rocker LA and beatnik San Francisco. North of the redwoods, Hwy 101 swoops into Oregon for windswept capes, rocky tide pools and, for Twilight fans, Ecola State Park, the stand-in for werewolf haven La Push, Washington. Cross the Columbia River into Washington for wet-and-wild Olympic National Park.

Bixby Creek Bridge | MARK READ / LONELY PLANET ©


Top Experiences
The Deserts
The human-like saguaro cactus is one of the West's most enduring symbols. A denizen of the Sonoran Desert, it's a hardy survivor in a landscape both harsh and unforgiving, but also strangely beautiful. Five deserts – the Sonoran, Mojave, Chihuahuan, Great Basin and high Colorado Plateau – stretch across the Southwest and California, each with its own distinct climate. Each is also home to an amazing array of well-adapte