Things To Do in Fresno, CA
Yosemite National Park
About 1.5 hr drive from Fresno, Yosemite National Park is in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. It’s famed for its giant, ancient sequoia trees, and for Tunnel View, the iconic vista of towering Bridalveil Fall and the granite cliffs of El Capitan and Half Dome. In Yosemite Village are shops, restaurants, lodging, the Yosemite Museum and the Ansel Adams Gallery, with prints of the photographer’s renowned black-and-white landscapes of the area.
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park
About 1.5 hr drive from Fresno, these two parks are separate and adjacent. Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks create a recreational wonderland covered by ancient forests, soaring domes, granite canyons, and rivers that roar or ripple, depending on the season. And all of it, kissed by some of the Sierra Nevada's most consistently sunny weather. Sequoia National park is notable for its giant sequoia trees, including the General Sherman tree, the largest tree on Earth by volume. Kings Canyon National Park is named for the deepest canyon in North America, surpassing even the Grand Canyon.
Forestiere Underground Gardens
Baldassare Forestiere, a Sicilian immigrant, came to America in 1901 to pursue his dreams of becoming a citrus farmer. In Fresno, California, Forestiere crafted a subterranean complex of patios, grottoes, and garden courts, all featuring arches and stonework using the local hardpan sedimentary rock. He patterned his underground world after the ancient catacombs he admired as a boy, near his home town of Filari, Sicily. No plans were put on paper; each room and passageway was created in Forestiere’s mind as he worked. With simple farm tools (a pick, a shovel, and a wheelbarrow) he chipped, and carved the unforgiving hardpan for 40 years, all in his spare time!
Woodward Park
With a large lake, ponds, and forested areas, including a redwood glen, this 300-acre urban oasis along the south bank of the San Joaquin River is the largest of Fresno’s 80 parks. Woodward Park’s most exotic destination is the tranquil Shinzen Japanese Garden. Retreat into a serene world that changes with the seasons, as camellias and ume trees (Japanese apricot) bloom in spring and the red leaves of maples put on a brilliant display during autumn. The authentically designed garden includes a teahouse made of Japanese red cedar and gorgeous spots to take in the Zen environment, such as the stone Double Moon Bridge, which looks out over a pond filled with brilliantly hued koi.