(This article by Louisiana-based writer Kathie Rowell originally appeared in the June 2024 issue of Military Officer, a magazine available to all MOAA Premium and Life members. Learn more about the magazine here; learn more about joining MOAA here.)

With nine national parks and 280 state parks — the country’s most in each category — California is truly the Golden State for outdoor adventure.

“We have just a tremendous natural beauty,” said former Staff Sgt. Stephen Dunwoody, ANG, who has lived there 12 years and is a volunteer with the Sierra Club’s Military Outdoors program, an effort to connect veterans with the outdoors as a way for them to get to know the homeland they defended and for therapeutic benefits for those suffering from post-traumatic stress.

“The biodiversity that’s present there — plant life, animal life, the natural beauty of the landscape itself — being able to see that up close and personal is really enthralling,” he said. “I really enjoy hiking in general, and I think the national parks provide more of a challenge than maybe just local parks.”

Dunwoody has visited four of California’s national parks so far, and his favorite is Joshua Tree, less than two hours from his home.

“Yosemite is the most breathtakingly beautiful, but Joshua Tree is my favorite because it’s also the one I’m most familiar with, and it’s just surprising to see the greenery, the lushness of the area in the middle of the desert.”

One of the most popular hikes there, he said, is the Ryan Mountain Trail, a difficult 3-mile trail that gains 1,050 feet of elevation leading to long-distance panoramic views of the Sheephole Valley Wilderness, Mount San Jacinto, and Mount San Gorgonio, the tallest peak in Southern California. Lucky hikers with sharp eyes might spot an elusive desert bighorn sheep.

He also recommends the 49 Palms Oasis Trail, a 3-mile moderately challenging trek to a natural oasis featuring a large stand of California fan palms.

For those who would rather drive than walk, Joshua Tree offers miles of backcountry dirt roads to explore. Climbers have more than 8,000 routes for all ability levels.

Ask Dunwoody his favorite hike, and he switches to Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks — adjoining parks that are administered jointly — and a different form of exercise: cross-country skiing.

“That was certainly an experience,” he said. “I would choose that because it opened my eyes up to the national parks, and the sequoia trees are just breathtakingly beautiful.”

Senior Chief Petty Officer Dave Lutz, USN (Ret), and his wife, longtime California residents, have visited all of California’s national parks and state parks. In fact, they’ve been to 428 of the 429 national park units and have plans to close the loop this year.

“We enjoy the national parks as opposed to any of the other 18 different classifications in that they’re scenic, they’re inspirational, they’re educational, and they’re good places to find recreation,” Lutz said.

Hiking is their favorite way to explore the parks and Kings Canyon/Sequoia national parks are among their favorite locations to do it.

“I think it’s just the diversity, the different trails that you can walk, the different sceneries, the different climate areas that you can go through,” he said. “You go through the scrub brush into the trees up beyond the timber line. It’s just a marvelous experience, especially if you’re backpacking.”

He’s especially enamored with the trees for which Sequoia is named.

“You feel quite insignificant walking among these giant trees,” he said. “It’s the kind of place where you just enjoy being out in nature, especially in the backcountry where you don’t have all the multitudes tramping through the forest.”

For backpackers who want a multiday experience, Lutz recommends the High Sierra Trail, a challenging 70-mile trek that crosses the Sierra Nevada from west to east. Advance permits are required.

Two of his favorite state parks are Empire Mine State Historic Park and Angel Island State Park, both steeped in history.

The Empire Mine was one of the deepest and richest gold mines in California. Angel Island was the site of an immigration center that processed hundreds of thousands of immigrants, many of them from China who came to work on the transcontinental railroad. During World War II, it was the site where Japanese and German POWs were processed.

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Both Lutz and Dunwoody believe California is the perfect vacation destination.

“I like to say to folks, ‘Even just in the Los Angeles area, if I wanted to visit different national parks, depending on the time of the year, I could go swimming in one, I could go hiking in the mountains in another, I could go skiing in another, I could ride a vehicle in the desert,’” Dunwoody said. “That just speaks to the natural beauty and possibility California has.”

Military Site: The San Diego Air & Space Museum, a Smithsonian Institution affiliate, is a wonderland of historic aircraft and spacecraft from all over the world.