California's Golden Parks

Pio Pico State Historic Park welcomes Huell Howser. It is the site of "El Ranchito," the final home of the last Mexican Governor of California.

Huell's off to Henry W. Coe State Park to attend their annual TarantulaFest. Put on specifically to help break down the negative myths and stereotypes so many of us have about these spiders, this festival has become a big hit. There are tarantula nature walks and tarantula lectures, but Huell's favorite event is the up close and personal tarantula experience. In fact, people of all ages line up for the opportunity to allow these huge spiders to crawl up their arms, around their necks and across their faces.

Huell tours the the Victorian residence in Martinez where the naturalist John Muir lived from 1890 to his death in 1914, and meets the special folks who are responsible for preserving this important site. While living there, Muir laid the foundations for the creation of the National Park Service in 1916.

Huell travels to the Yuba Gold fields near Marysville and learns about the mining operation along the Yuba River that was at one time the most profitable operation in the world.

Join popular PBS host Huell Howser and ecologist Jim Cornett as they explore Joshua Tree National Park for a look at these amazing trees found in only four states and no where else in the world. Included is a visit to the record holding “Barber Pole” tree and an up close look at the desert night lizard, one of the smallest reptiles in the world, which lives under the dead limbs of the Joshua Tree.

The Carrizo Plain is a southerly extension of the San Juan Valley, about 20 miles southwest of Bakersfield. Its 250,000 acres allow visitors to imagine what much of California was like 300 years ago. Huell learns about its rare plants and animals, as well as its human history.

Join Huell as he visits Bidwell Park in Chico. Encompassing almost 3,670 acres, it is one of the largest municipal parks in the United States. 2005 marks the centennial of the park’s original gift of pristine California countryside by the Bidwell family, Chico’s founders, for the “pleasure of the people of said city for all time.”

Once the second largest city in California, Columbia is a wonderfully preserved gold rush-era town, and it's where Huell attends the annual Columbia Diggin's celebration.

Huell's off to Yosemite National Park where he walks the newly rehabilitated trails to the base of Yosemite Falls, the highest waterfall in North America.

Huell sets off from where the Sacramento and American River meet on a bike ride along the beautiful 23-mile American River Parkway.

At one time it was home to one of California’s most important and powerful families. Today its been beautifully restored and is open to everyone as one of California’s State Historic Parks. Join PBS host Huell Howser as he tours this historic mansion and discovers its treasures!

Before it was dammed in the early 1900s, John Muir called it more beautiful than Yosemite Valley itself. And now, in a one-hour special, Huell travels to this historic and spectacular place to document its past and talk about its future.