19 outdoor guides
The outdoors
Parks, coast, mountains, deserts, fire rules, snow roads, reservations, fishing, and day-of conditions.
Explore Outdoors →
California Porch
Pull up a chair. California gets easier from here.
A California directory for official sources, local layers, outdoor rules, and sourced notes.
The four doors
Everything on the site lives behind one of these.
33 tools
Paperwork and money
Property taxes, DMV, rent, benefits, work, records, permits, complaints, and official agency links.
Open Paperwork & Money →7 common lookups
Your Place
Cities, towns, counties, and Census places, with the county layer and nearby place pages close at hand.
Find Your Place →1796 notes
The Almanac
Short sourced notes for local stories, public offices, state rules, maps, landmarks, and civic details.
Open the Almanac →From the Almanac
The details that make a place easier to read.
Short California notes tied to real places, official maps, local offices, and public-source details.
Los Angeles · Rules and licenses
In Los Angeles city, ZIMAS is the first property map
Los Angeles City Planning says ZIMAS shows zoning and other property information for addresses in the city.
Keep readingCalifornia · Home and property
Fire hazard zone maps are address tools
The State Fire Marshal fire hazard zone viewer lets people enter an address to see Fire Hazard Severity Zone information for that property area.
Keep readingCalifornia · Outdoors
California State Parks campsites can need six-month planning
Popular California State Parks campgrounds can fill fast, and reservations may open up to six months in advance.
Keep readingSan Francisco · History and culture
Sutro Baths turned the edge of San Francisco into a giant swim house
The Sutro Baths ruins at Lands End are the remains of a huge oceanfront bathhouse that once mixed swimming, exhibits, restaurants, and Pacific views.
Keep readingPrefer a list? Open the A-Z directory, or browse by topic, place, or site search.
Your California place
The local layer changes the route.
City limits, county offices, courts, tax collectors, fire districts, water agencies, and land managers can all be different layers.
Browse placesOfficial sources
The public office, map, rule, or notice still controls.
California Porch points toward public offices, official maps, state calculators, local pages, and current agency rules.