Yosemite National Park

If there were just one reason to go inland in California, it would be Yosemite National Park. The massive wilderness area covers almost 1,200 sq mi across the Sierra Nevada Mountains and is full of obscenely beautiful natural eye-candy—towering granite cliffs and domes, jagged peaks, waterfalls, sunshine-filled meadows, and groves of giant sequoias.
You’re free to simply putter around the village on beach cruisers or walk to easy-to-access waterfalls and viewpoints—but it doesn’t end there. You can hike seven miles, then tackle the cables on Half Dome to climb 4,737 ft straight up a steep granite slope above the valley floor, before hiking another seven miles back. Actual rock climbers can head to vertical rock formations like El Capitan for some of the most challenging and photo-op worthy climbing around. And, then of course, there are whole other sections of the park and ample wilderness beyond, making Yosemite a starting point for exploring the region at large, including via the John Muir Trail.