Experience Nature At Home with Virtual Tours & Live Streams!
Hankering for a break from hunkering? Now you can get your nature fix without leaving home! Beloved local attractions like Aquarium of the Pacific and Huntington Botanical Gardens are offering live cams and virtual tours! Want to take a peek at the poppies? Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve has captured the bloom at its peak via live camera. You can even tour America’s most popular national parks on Google Earth. To access your virtual tours, tap or click on each institution or park’s name which appears in bold below. Enjoy!
Aquarium of the Pacific Live Webcams
Spy on your favorite Aquarium of the Pacific animals with live webcams placed inside their exhibits! Observe Moon Jellies, Sea Nettles, Shark Lagoon, Penguin Habitats, the spectacular Tropical Reef, and Honda Blue Cavern.
Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve Live Stream
Thanks to the recent rains, the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve is alive with poppies! The wildflower season generally lasts from as early as mid-February through May, with a variety of wildflowers creating a mosaic of color that changes daily. Encompassing more than 1,700 acres, poppy blooms carpet the property’s undulating hills. The Poppy Reserve has captured the season’s peak via live camera so you can enjoy the flower show at home!
Locate and learn about thousands of flowers, plants, and trees in over 120 acres of stunning gardens with The Huntington Botanical Gardens virtual tours. Explore the Rose Garden, Chinese Garden, Camellia Collections, Japanese Garden, Conservatory, Dinosaur Plants, Mediterranean Plants, and Children’s Tour. Each tour is chock full of gorgeous photos, docent narratives, maps and site plans.
Yosemite Valley, the most popular region of Yosemite National Park, is an approximately 7-1/2 mile long section of the park comprising about 3,800 acres. Among the Valley’s highlights are El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil Fall, Half Dome. Ahwahnee Hotel, and the world-renowned Ansel Adams Gallery. Links on the Yosemite Valley TOUR PAGE will take you to the locations that you want to explore. Each location shows 360-degree images, complete with tour notes and sound effects!
Grand Canyon National Park, located in northwestern Arizona, is the 15th site in the United States to have been named a national park. The park’s central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often considered one of the Wonders of the World. The Grand Canyon was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979 and celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019.
The heat is on! Explore Yellowstone’s geothermal area, the hottest in Yellowstone National Park, with a museum, trails and geysers. View bisons grazing in the Hayden Valley, visit Old Faithful, and take a virtual hike to the bottom of Tower Fall. Established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, Yellowstone was the first national park in the U.S. and is also widely held to be the first national park in the world.
Death Valley is the hottest, driest, and lowest national park in the US – but don’t let the name fool you! Death Valley is alive with unique flora and fauna, along with the remnants and ruins of its fascinating history. In this below-sea-level basin, steady drought and record summer heat make Death Valley a land of extremes. Yet, each extreme has a striking contrast. Towering peaks are frosted with winter snow. Rare rainstorms bring vast fields of wildflowers. Lush oases harbor tiny fish and refuge for wildlife and humans.
Denali National Park & Preserve
More than a mountain, Denali is six million acres of wild land, bisected by one ribbon of road. Travelers see the relatively low-elevation taiga forest give way to high alpine tundra and snowy mountains, culminating in North America’s tallest peak, 20,310′ Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley). Wild animals roam unfenced lands, living as they have for ages. Solitude, tranquility and wilderness await!
Photo credits:
Photo #1: Aquarium of the Pacific
Photo #2: Aquarium of the Pacific
Photo #3: Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve (Courtesy of California State Parks, 2019)
Photo #4: Huntington Botanical Gardens
Photo #5: Yosemite National Park
Photo #6: Grand Canyon National Park
Photo #7: Yellowstone National Park
Photo #8: Death Valley National Park
Photo #9: Denali National Park