Carrizo Plain NM

Just a few hours from Los Angeles, Carrizo Plain offers an extraordinary escape into nature, the largest native grassland left in California. Famous for its wildflower blooms, range of wildlife and Painted Rock – which features pictographs made by the Chumash people around 2000 BC – the plain is dry most of the year. Don't expect any amenities: it's run by the Bureau of Land Management, which controversially allows cattle grazing in parts of the year. There are two very basic campgrounds, KCL and Selby, and car camping is allowed in some areas.