Yosemite National Park (4.5-hour drive from Los Angeles)
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Spring is everywhere in Yosemite National Park, from gushing waterfalls to wildflowers blooming. The iconic postcard of Tunnel View framing the granite features of Half Dome and El Capitan are etched in the minds of visitors from all over the world. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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El Capitan is reflected in the Merced River at sunset in February. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
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The movement of the clouds and a slight rainbow at the base of Upper Yosemite Fall can be seen during a 30-second time exposure. ( Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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Visitors gather on a hazy day at Yosemite Valley in 2017. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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The Merced River flows at a strong, steady pace, taking on the colors of the evening near the Valley View turnoff in the Yosemite Valley, (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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The trail to Yosemite Falls. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Sequoia National Park (4-hour drive from Los Angeles)
A researcher climbs a tree in Sequoia National Park.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Kings Canyon National Park (4-hour drive from Los Angeles)
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Roaring River Falls in the Kings Canyon National Park. (roman_slavik / Getty Images / iStockphoto)
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John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada (july7th / Getty Images / iStockphoto)
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A person jumps into the South Fork of Kings River from Muir Rock at Kings Canyon National Park. (Calvin B. Alagot / Los Angeles Times)
Joshua Tree National Park (2-hour drive from Los Angeles)
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The sun sets behind the hills near the Hidden Valley area of Joshua Tree National Park, Calif., on Nov. 20, 2018. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Rock climbers enjoy the scenery at Joshua Tree National Park in 2019. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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A Joshua tree at night. (Calvin B. Alagot / Los Angeles Times)
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Rock formations at White Tank Campground in Joshua Tree National Park. (Calvin B. Alagot / Los Angeles Times)
Death Valley National Park (5-hour drive from Los Angeles)
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The stars shine over Death Valley National Park near Furnace Creek Ranch. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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A rainbow forms during a rare stormy sunrise at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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Mesquite Dunes (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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DEATH VALLEY, CA., DECEMBER 9, 2014: There are signs along Hwy 190 that remind visitors just how low Death Valley National Park i. Death Valley is also the largest national park, at 3.4 million acres, stretching across two states December 9, 2014 (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times ). (Los Angeles Times)
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A photographer on an early morning walk in the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park is dwarfed by the size of the land. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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Visitors to the Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park are in for a treat when they visit the lowest spot in North America at 282 feet below sea level. The highest spot in the park, Telescope Peak (11,049 feet) is reflected in the water. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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The architecture of Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley’s Grapevine Canyon is on display, where millionaires Al and Bessie Johnson built their iconic castle in the 1920s after forging a friendship with con-man Walter Scott. Scott tempted the Johnsons into investing in a fictional gold mine and even after realizing he was being swindled, Albert Johnson formed a lifelong friendship with Scotty and even housed him on their property. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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Rhyolite, Nev., is a ghost town a short drive away from Death Valley National Park where structures like the Tom Kelly Bottle House are still standing. Kelly built the house in 1906 from the bottles discarded by the more than 53 saloons in town. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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Desert sunflowers stretch out near Highway 190 near Father Crowley Vista Point during a rare “super bloom” of wildflowers in Death Valley National Park in March 2016. The hottest, driest, lowest place in North America is carpeted in gold and patches of purple, attracting tourists from all over the world (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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Floodwaters filling a never-completed swimming pool reflect Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley National Park in 2015. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Channel Islands National Park (1-hour boat ride from Ventura/Oxnard + 1-hour drive from Los Angeles)
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The rocky shore of Anacapa Island in Channel Islands National Park near Oxnard, California. (trekandshoot / Getty Images / iStockphoto)
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Anacapa Island, part of Channel Islands National Park, is home to thousands of western gulls. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Calvin B. Alagot is a photo editor at the Los Angeles Times working with the features sections including Saturday, Travel, Image and Food. Previously, he was a page designer at the Malibu Times and The Malibu Times Magazine. He attended Los Angeles Pierce College where he was editor-in-chief of the Roundup.
Carolyn Cole is a staff photographer for the Los Angeles Times. Her coverage of the civil crisis in Liberia won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography. Cole has been named U.S. newspaper photographer of the year three times. Cole grew up in California and Virginia, before attending the University of Texas, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She went on to earn a master of art’s degree from Ohio University.
Marcus Yam is a foreign correspondent and photographer for the Los Angeles Times. Since joining in 2014, he has covered a wide range of topics including humanitarian issues, social justice, terrorism, foreign conflicts, natural disasters, politics and celebrity portraiture. He won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography in 2022 for images documenting the U.S. departure from Afghanistan that capture the human cost of the historic change in the country. Yam is a two-time recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Journalism Award, notably in 2019, for his unflinching body of work showing the everyday plight of Gazans during deadly clashes in the Gaza Strip. He has been part of two Pulitzer Prize-winning breaking news teams.
Gina Ferazzi grew up in the small New England town of Longmeadow, Mass. She has been a staff photographer with the Los Angeles Times since 1994. Her photos are a part of the staff Pulitzer Prizes for Breaking News in 2016 for the San Bernardino terrorist attack and for the wildfires in 2004. She’s an all-around photographer covering assignments from Winter Olympics, presidential campaigns to local and national news events. Her video documentaries include stories on black tar heroin, health clinics, women priests and Marine suicide. A two-sport scholarship athlete at the University of Maine, Orono, she still holds the record for five goals in one field hockey game.
