Photo by @solaspirittravels
Health experts across the country agree that a road trip is still your safest bet for vacation travel this year. Since April will celebrate Earth Day (on the 22nd this year), here are a bunch of safe and earth-friendly road trips the whole family can take all over California, while helping and celebrating Mother Earth.
And, this past year, Visit California launched the Responsible Travel Code as a blueprint for how to plan a trip to California responsibly and leave a positive footprint on the state.
So, let’s ride.
Your family can Honor Earth Day by heading south on the 5 to participate in San Diego’s 19th annual Creek to Bay Cleanup on April 24, 2021. It’s the largest single-day environmental action event in San Diego County.
Participants are encouraged to get outside and help remove litter from their local neighborhood. Last year, volunteers self-reported over 15,000 total pounds of litter removed in one day and this year’s goal is to remove 30,000 pounds.
This will also make the beach a lot nicer for your walks and boogie boards.
Meanwhile in the other direction, in Northern California, Sonoma County Regional Parks is hosting a “Love Your Mother – Clean Your Creek” volunteer series on April 24, 2021 to help preserve the wildlife at Sonoma Creek by removing litter and debris from two parks in the region.
Maybe you would just rather go to the party? Off to the east and north, the High Sierra Energy Foundation, along with local partners, has curated a calendar of virtual and in-person events for Mono County Earth Week from April 19-24.
Activities include clean-up events, up-cycle art projects, speaker events, an electric vehicle event and an environmental mountain film festival. Earth week Mono County plans to celebrate and share the natural beauty and resources available to visitors and locals alike, while increasing awareness of the sensitivity of natural resources in a remote location.
Along the Central Coast, Earth Day Alliance is holding its 30th annual San Luis Obispo County Earth Day Fair to continue to educate and motivate attendees to take action to protect the earth’s natural resources for future generations. This free event is open to all ages and will take place on April 24 at Laguna Lake Park.
Meanwhile, at the Van Hoosear Wildflower Preserve, Sonoma Ecology Center naturalists will be showcasing wildflower displays across the 162-acre property in the foothills of Sonoma Mountain during a free “Wildflower Walk.” Visitors may take a guided walking tour to learn about over 250 species of wildflowers and grasses, while enjoying the view.
Hotels are also getting into the act in April. Terranea Resort, for example, will celebrate Earth Day for the entire month of April with self-guided nature walks and scavenger hunts, cookie decorating kits to teach about the endangered El Segundo Blue butterfly, coastal seed kits to create a garden at home, and a virtual “Whale of a Day” educational event.
Additional environmentally friendly art projects, private outdoor experiences such as falconry, guided coastal hikes and whale watching are also available throughout the month. Guests are encouraged to help re-forest California with complimentary cypress, juniper, and stone pine seeds that are provided upon check-in.
The Meritage Collection has also committed to plant a tree for every room night booked in the month of April through a partnership with One Tree Planted.
Based on current projections, more than 10,000 trees will be planted in California forests in response to the 2020 fire season that consumed close to 3 million acres.
Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa will celebrate Earth Day throughout April with a Gratitude Garden. Seed paper will be available across the property’s outlets and at the front desk for guests and diners to write down what they are grateful for and plant it in a gratitude garden. Guests and diners can enjoy specialty cocktails where $1 of every cocktail purchased is donated to Olivewood Gardens.
There are still lots of varied vacation ideas all over California for the creative-minded and adventurous. And they don’t require getting on a plane. That will come. Later.
