Travel Ideas: Tips, Guides & Road Trips for the Western U.S. - Sunset

The Latest From Sunset

Travel

From Eco-Friendly Booze to an Animal Mayor, These Seven Towns Have the Coolest Claims to Fame

We confess to a little bit of envy: We wish our hometowns had claims to fame this cool.

April 6, 2020

Travel

75 Reasons to Love the West

The top people, places, things, and trends that make us happy to live here now

May 16, 2013

April 1, 2020

Hawaii

Seek out These Hidden Gems for a Secluded Hawaii Getaway

A relaxing trip to the recently-renovated Queen Kapiolani hotel offers a luxurious experience, including Haku lei workshops, Native Hawaiian guitar, and a grand Sunday brunch starring fresh lillikoi margaritas

March 21, 2020

March 29, 2020

Travel

Escape Into Underwater Bliss with These Aquarium Webcams

Feeling stressed? Let these live underwater scenes from some of the West's top aquariums relax and soothe you.

March 16, 2020

March 29, 2020

Where to Encounter Spring Blooms

Travel

The Best Spring Flower Festivals for Seeing the Season in Full Bloom

Where to go in the West to see the season in full bloom

March 10, 2020

March 12, 2020

Travel

The Basics of Super Bloom Etiquette: Or, How Not to Be a Wildflower Jerk

After the influencers, the motorcycles, and the helicopter (!), it's clearly time for this simpler-than-simple guide to visiting California's blossoming lands. You surely don't need it, but some people do...

April 2, 2019

April 9, 2019

California

Find the Real Super Blooms This Summer with the Ultimate Floral Road Trip

Want to see the real super blooms without the crowds? Join Cal Poly botany professor Dr. Matt Ritter on a road trip through California's wildflowers

March 6, 2020

Outdoor Adventure

Where to See Wildflowers This Season

The best places to catch the West’s stunning blooms this spring

April 19, 2018

April 30, 2018

News and Obsessions

Restaurants

Here Are All the 2020 James Beard Semifinalists in the West

The James Beard Foundation announced this year's semifinalists in its 2020 awards for chefs and restaurants, and the West is well represented

February 26, 2020

March 3, 2020

Restaurants

The Best Way to Find Quiet Bars and Restaurants

Crowdsource quiet eateries and bars where you can hear your conversations with an app dubbed the "Quiet Yelp"

February 27, 2020

February 28, 2020

Restaurants

The Bay Area’s Favorite Soul Food Chef Is Opening a New Restaurant at the Oakland Museum

The new eatery is expected to open August 2020 serving Tanya Holland’s signature California soul food

February 20, 2020

March 3, 2020

Restaurants

L.A.’s Hottest New Restaurant Is Inside a Gucci Store

Three-Michelin-starred Italian chef Massimo Bottura will open his first U.S. restaurant on a Beverly Hills rooftop

February 12, 2020

March 6, 2020

More Ideas

Travel

The Essential West:
50 Adventures in the Best Place on Earth

From hiking and rafting to wineries and food halls, this is the ultimate to-do list

January 14, 2015

April 1, 2020

Travel

10 Fun Family-Friendly Hotels

Kids and adults alike will have lots to enjoy at these family-friendly stays

January 31, 2018

March 12, 2020

Hawaii

Our Guide to Visiting Hawaii with Kids

With soft-sand beaches, lush jungles, interesting little towns, and thousands of years of cultural history, the island archipelago of Hawaii might be the best family-travel destination on Earth

May 11, 2018

June 27, 2019

Southwest

Top 10 Things to Do in Las Vegas with Kids

“Sin City”? More like “Kin City” with these fantastic things to do with kids around the Las Vegas Valley. We’ve shared our top picks by category, with runners up for each

June 12, 2018

August 28, 2018

Outdoor Adventure

Sunset Editors Share Their Most Memorable Trips in the West

Sunset staffers are all about experiencing the West. Here, we share some of the most transformative, mesmerizing, and at times, hilarious trips we’re still thinking about

January 3, 2019

March 17, 2020

Northwest

Find Wine, Whales, and Water Adventures in Washington’s Scenic Puget Sound

Whether an oenophile or mushroom hunter, you’ll find plenty of delights on a weekend jaunt around one of the Pacific Northwest's most beautiful regions

February 3, 2020

February 20, 2020

The Guide to Going Out for Introverts: Reading at the Bar

Lifestyle

A Guide to Going Out for Introverts

If going out as an introvert usually harshes your mellow, check out these relaxed activities that won't sap your energy, introspection or creativity

January 23, 2020

February 13, 2020

The spa at Wickanninish Inn in Tofino, B.C.

Travel

Kauai, Aspen, and More Incredible Trips for a 50th Birthday Celebration

There's no better way to celebrate a milestone birthday than on an epic vacation. Book any of these adventures you'll remember for the next 50 years

September 28, 2017

February 25, 2020

Camping

Oregon State Parks Are Funding Free Camping Weekends for Disabled, LGBTQ, and POC Campers

These eight Oregon State Parks are offering free weekend cabin and yurt stays to encourage underrepresented populations to camp more

February 11, 2020

February 25, 2020

Albert Einstein's leather jacket with an issue of Time Magazine

Lifestyle

New Levi’s Exhibit to Showcase Albert Einstein’s Iconic Leather Jacket

Levi Strauss: A History of American Style opens Feb. 13 at The Contemporary Jewish Museum

February 12, 2020

February 13, 2020

Restaurants

A Chinese Food Megastore and Restaurant Will Open at Seattle’s Amazon HQ in Early 2021

The new China Live in Seattle will play host to 13,000 square feet of dining, drinking, groceries, gifts, and cooking demos

February 12, 2020

February 25, 2020

Skiier about to land flip into narrow ski run next to rock walls

Outdoor Adventure

Veronica Paulsen Becomes the First Woman to Land a Backflip into an Iconic Rocky Mountain Chute

After three attempts, Veronica Paulsen successfully completed a backflip into Corbet's Couloir, a famously narrow ski run in Jackson Hole

February 12, 2020

February 13, 2020

Travel the West

Solar Power, Stained Glass, and Slacklines: These Are the Coolest Climbing Gyms

The Latest From Sunset

From Eco-Friendly Booze to an Animal Mayor, These Seven Towns Have the Coolest Claims to Fame

75 Reasons to Love the West

Seek out These Hidden Gems for a Secluded Hawaii Getaway

Escape Into Underwater Bliss with These Aquarium Webcams

Where to Encounter Spring Blooms

The Best Spring Flower Festivals for Seeing the Season in Full Bloom

The Basics of Super Bloom Etiquette: Or, How Not to Be a Wildflower Jerk

Find the Real Super Blooms This Summer with the Ultimate Floral Road Trip

Where to See Wildflowers This Season

News and Obsessions

Here Are All the 2020 James Beard Semifinalists in the West

The Best Way to Find Quiet Bars and Restaurants

The Bay Area’s Favorite Soul Food Chef Is Opening a New Restaurant at the Oakland Museum

L.A.’s Hottest New Restaurant Is Inside a Gucci Store

More Ideas

The Essential West:
50 Adventures in the Best Place on Earth

10 Fun Family-Friendly Hotels

Our Guide to Visiting Hawaii with Kids

Top 10 Things to Do in Las Vegas with Kids

Sunset Editors Share Their Most Memorable Trips in the West

Find Wine, Whales, and Water Adventures in Washington’s Scenic Puget Sound

A Guide to Going Out for Introverts

Kauai, Aspen, and More Incredible Trips for a 50th Birthday Celebration

Oregon State Parks Are Funding Free Camping Weekends for Disabled, LGBTQ, and POC Campers

New Levi’s Exhibit to Showcase Albert Einstein’s Iconic Leather Jacket

A Chinese Food Megastore and Restaurant Will Open at Seattle’s Amazon HQ in Early 2021

Veronica Paulsen Becomes the First Woman to Land a Backflip into an Iconic Rocky Mountain Chute