BestHomeschooling.org's Guide to Field Trip Resources: Helpful Information

Helpful Statewide Resources

Amtrak West Coast
Amtrak can make travel arrangements or just be handy transportation.

California Dept. of Transportation
Cal Trans information, as well as road and traffic information.

Environmental Traveling Companions
A group that brings access to outdoor adventures to people with special needs.

Horseback Riding for the Handicapped, & Therapeutic Riding
Many of these resources are located in California.

California Hostels
A directory of friendly, inexpensive lodgings for travelers all over California—open to all ages!

MapQuest
Maps and complete travel guides to all regions, complete with traffic reports.

Nature Photographs
An exceptional site with beautiful photographs of California —complete with wonderful descriptions of the areas photographed.

City and County Web Sites

City sites for California
Every city in the state is listed: Chambers of Commerce, Convention and Visitor Bureaus, other sanctioned Tourism sites, area, regional, and related web sites.

County web sites
The State and Local Government on the Net website provides this list of links to all the counties and cities in CA. Search your area for events and local attractions you might not have heard about.

Directory of Official State, County, and City Websites’ Websites
A frequently updated directory of links to government sponsored and controlled resources on the Internet.

Informational Sites About Various Resources

As I Saw It
First person narratives of the dramatic decades between and 1849-1900
in CA: the pioneer experience; encounters between Anglo-Americans,
and the diverse peoples who preceded them.

The Pond Picture: Broadwaters.com

Broadwaters--the virtual Pond Web Pages
A site devoted to the eco-system of ponds, their life forms, atmosphere, and dynamics. This fascinating information can be used to study pondlife all over California.

Bug People--Exploring California Insects
Conduct research, implement innovative technologies, and participate in an interactive learning community online.

California Academy of Science
Studies and exhibits of the vast resources of California.

California Farm Service Agency for Kids
Find out more about agriculture - with coloring pages, game pages, fun facts (or trivia) and useful things to print out and keep.

California Highways
An amazing variety of information related to California highways and
California highway history.

California Nature Festivals
Also includes "Naturalist's Almanac to Where and When to See Flora and Fauna Through the Seasons."

Clouds: PSC Meteorology Program Cloud Boutique
Great explanations of and access to detailed pictures of some basic cloud forms. A fun thing to observe while you’re out and about.

Condors: Los Padres National Forest
Condors can be observed over Ojai and Mt. Pinos. There is an observatory for a possibility of viewing them.

California Coastal Geography
A series of articles about coastal mountains, beaches, bluffs and headlands, wetlands, intertidal zones, streams and rivers, and more.

California Resources Page for Kids
Wonderful fun site about many natural resources!

Energy Sites
Extensive listing of sites having to do with all the types of energy, as well as the energy sources in CA.

Energy Education Resources K-12
A directory of organizations and businesses that offer educational opportunities and materials related to the use of energy resources.

Energy: Resources for Teachers, Students and Parents
Web sites that provide general education and energy-related resources to teachers, students and parents.

Environmental Education Internet Resources
California Academy of Sciences' links to environmental educational websites for K-12 ages.

Kids’ Page: Caltrans
A fun informational page for kids, including resources that can be printed up and taken on trips!

Marine Mammals of California Links
Links to many good sites about the whole range of marine mammals--as well as some places where they can be observed.

Natural Resources
Official site about California’s natural resources. Extensive information!

Neighborhoods
Fabulous site with information and links on many different Ecosystems, Biomes, and Habitats

New Perspectives on the West
History-rich information gathered for a PBS documentary about the West; it took 5 years of traveling, researching, and interviewing to produce.

Plants and Animals
A nice directory of CA plants and animals—with lots of colorful illustrations

The San Francisco Cable Car Website
Delightful site with interactive demos, how the cars work, routes, etiquette, location, and more.

The Route 66 Collection
Information about the stretch of historic Route 66 that passes through California from the Colorado River (Topock), near Needles, to the Pacific Ocean at Santa Monica

Spanish Missions of California
An extensive and well organized resource, including lots of annotated links to related sites.

Stargazing
An article on stargazing with links to helpful sites with stories and maps of the stars and more.

Turkey Vultures
Interesting facts, pictures,,and links to other good related sites about this fascinating bird.

Water: Reading List for Conservation and Water Science
From fun children's books through to adult level, any of the books on this reading list are available at libraries.

Water Resources
A directory of sites that offer education about a wide variety of water resource issues—helpful for getting a general background about the ecology that might be connected with many field trips that involve water sites such as wetlands.

Water Science for Schools
Explanations and illustrations of our water sources and the various uses me make of water.