The public image of Southern California fixates on Hollywood, beaches with palm trees, and endless freeways. In reaility these are concentrated in a fairly narrow band along the coast, dominated by the vast metropolis of Los Angeles. But across the mountains and free of the congestion and pollution there is another reality, amazing landscapes of mountains and deserts, and off the coast is a chain of islands that few people ever see. In all there are four national parks in the Southland.

I tend to avoid the urban areas of Southern California but love to travel through the transmontane deserts and ranges, especially in the winter.

I have divided southern and eastern California into seven guidebooks. Three cover the urban coastal strip: Santa Barbara for Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties in the north; then Los Angeles for most of Los Angeles county and the Inland Empire; and San Diego County in the south. The Channel Islands, though small, are so unique they get their own guidebook. The deserts begin East of the Sierra, followed by enormous Death Valley National Park. The Deserts of Southern California covers the rest, including East Mojave and Joshua Tree National Parks.