Even when much of California looks like nuclear winter and feels like a hellhole, there are ways to find your own private escape.

Some are obvious: For adventures with clean air and cool temperatures, you can get fast relief by heading to the coast, anywhere from San Mateo County on up through Marin and to the Oregon border. With a little more work, you'll find the Redwood Empire on the California north coast and the crest along the central Sierra Nevada provide pristine landscapes and often spring-like conditions.

But a real secret is to take the outdoors underground. There might be no faster way to transform your reality than visiting the subterranean world of California's caverns and caves. You can find spectacular adventures with cool temperatures and sweet-tasting, moist air. The ancient limestone formations and underground lakes, streams (more...)