Holiday closure: December 24, 2024, to January 1, 2025

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Find places to explore

Get inspired and find all the help you need to prepare for your next adventure with Santa Ana Public Library’s collection of books, movies, and e-resources!

Fodor's California

by Bigley, Michele

Written by locals, Fodor's travel guides have been offering expert advice for all tastes and budgets for over 80 years.

California is one of America's most popular vacation destinations--its diversity draws every type of traveler, from foodies to families. Fodor's full-color California guide covers all corners of the state, from the northern coast to Wine Country and from Los Angeles to Yosemite National Park.

Beaches and Parks in Southern California: Counties included, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego

by California Coastal Commission

Stretching from Malibu to the Mexican border, Southern California's coast is justifiably famous, yet, as this essential guide reveals, it offers more to see and do than even its greatest fans may realize. Easy-to-use, up-to-date, and comprehensive, Beaches and Parks in Southern California is the perfect companion for all visitors-sightseers, hikers, swimmers, surfers, campers, birders, boaters, and anglers-who want to explore this magnificent shoreline. In addition to well-known beaches of soft, golden sand, it describes rocky shores and tide pools, hidden pocket beaches, historic lighthouses, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, and much more.

Wild LA: Explore the Amazing Nature in and Around Los Angeles

by Higgins, Lila M.

Los Angeles may have a reputation as a concrete jungle, but in reality, it's full of amazing wildlife. You just need to know where to find it!  Equal parts natural history, field guide, and trip planner, Wild LA has something for everyone. It looks at the factors that shape local nature--including fire, floods, and climate--and profiles over 100 local species, from easy-to-spot squirrels and praying mantids to more elusive green sea turtles, bighorn sheep, and mountain lions. Also included are descriptions of day trips that help you explore natural wonders on hiking trails, in public parks, and in your own backyard.

How to Suffer Outside: A Beginner’s Guide to Hiking and Backpacking

by Helmuth, Diana

Part critique of modern hiking culture and part how-to guide, How to Suffer Outside is for anyone who wants to hit the trail without breaking the bank. Diana Helmuth offers real advice, opinionated but accessible and based on in-the-field experiences. She wins readers' hearts and trust through a blend of self-deprecating humor and good-natured heckling of both seasoned backpackers and urbanites who romanticize being outdoorsy, plus a helpful dose of the actual advice a novice needs to get started.

The Forager's Handbook: A Seasonal Guide to Harvesting Wild, Edible & Medicinal Plant

by Shufer, Vickie

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to gather wild plants growing around you for your food and medicine instead of a drugstore to treat a common ailment? The Forager's Handbook is an essential guide for living this lifestyle year-round.

With more than forty years of experience in the world of plants, forager Vickie Shufer empowers you to maintain and improve your health by following the way of the forager. She highlights plants that are available through each season and how to use those plants for food and medicine. Sustainable harvesting and preparation techniques are included as well as foraging ethics.

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