Welcome to California Family Travel!
I’m Gwen Kleist – travel expert, author, wife, mom, and believer in all things happy and healthy. I created California Family Travel with the goal of sharing the best destinations, experiences, places to stay, tips, and other helpful insight to inspire and help you plan the best family vacations in California and beyond!
I’ve lived in California for 25 years and am constantly exploring, so you can be sure that everything you read on this California travel blog is based on personal experience and solid first-hand knowledge.
California Family Travel was founded with the goal of creating the ultimate California travel guide for families. From beaches to theme parks, California has so much to offer!
Along with my little family, I’m on a mission to cover every city, attraction, theme park, hotel, and adventure waiting to be had. (It’s a big state, so there will always be a long way to go!) You’ll find lots of stories on this site covering all sorts of ways to experience California, along with some of our other favorite family travel destinations, too.
We currently live in Riverside County, which puts us absolutely central to the best destinations in Southern California! San Diego, Disneyland, Palm Springs, Joshua Tree National Park, Los Angeles and Orange County are all within a one to two hour drive, and you can bet we take advantage of being so close to these world-class destinations! I also spend a lot of time in Northern California – San Francisco, Sacramento, Monterey, and the Big Sur coastline are some of my favorite spots on the entire West Coast.
What makes me a travel expert?
Along with my many years of traveling and writing professionally, I have also earned the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) from PRSA. I spent more than six years as Director of Communications for the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, and served on committees for the California Travel Association.
I’ve been a travel writer since before blogs existed. My travel articles and advice have appeared in many publications and websites, including San Diego Family Magazine, Sunset Magazine, MSN, Cat Fancy, Huntington Beach Magazine, the Catalina Islander, LA Times, iGolf.com, and I am a regular contributor to the family travel website shebuystravel.com (formerly travelingmom.com).
In addition, I have written two novels published by The Wild Rose Press, and I was a contributing author to Explorer Publishing’s guidebook, Los Angeles: The Complete Resident’s Guide.
Feel free to contact me at gwen@californiafamilytravel.com or click over to our contact page. I love hearing from readers and answering travel questions! Be sure to follow California Family Travel on your favorite social platform, too.
Wishing you happy & healthy travels!
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