Even though Visalia holds the title of being the oldest city in the San Joaquin Valley, it\u2019s more likely a place you\u2019ve passed through on your way to visit General Sherman or the infamous carved Tunnel Log. Many Angelenos don\u2019t even know how to properly pronounce its name.<\/p>\n
But Visalia (say it: vai-SAY-lee-uh) \u2014 a place long known as \u201cthe gateway to the Sequoias\u201d for its proximity to Sequoia and Kings Canyon<\/a> national parks \u2014 is becoming a destination in its own right.<\/p>\n The 151-year-old Central Valley city has been working hard to shed its bucolic stereotypes and reinvent itself as a cosmopolitan oasis with hip boutiques, craft breweries and a revamped downtown. Changes started happening about five years ago when the Darling Hotel opened in the bones of the former 1930s Tulare County Courthouse annex. The Art Deco boutique hotel offers chic accommodations, catering to design-savvy travelers. Nowadays, downtown\u2019s East Main Street, which plays host to tchotke-laden antique stores and patio dining, is a vibrant, walkable hub. At First Friday Downtown Art Walks, people can groove to a steady playlist of popular tunes thanks to a speaker system the city installed along the sidewalks. And although its Chinatown has been dismantled for years, many Chinese restaurants and a sizable Asian population remain, along with some of the community\u2019s original Asian-inspired architecture along Main Street.<\/p>\n With farmlands nearby, farmers markets are held not once, but twice a week in Visalia\u2019s downtown area, while local farms offer pick-your-own visits and plenty of restaurants make use of the local and seasonal produce at their disposal (seek out the honey glazed shrimp made with locally grown walnuts at Canton Restaurant as well as the berry pies and fruit preserves at the Vintage Press Restaurante).<\/p>\n Counterculture types will find respite at music and vintage store Velouria Records, cult film fans can catch free and low-cost screenings at the historic Visalia Fox Theater and paranormal-enthusiasts can chase spirits on ghost tours or late-night jaunts to the notoriously haunted Visalia Public Cemetery. There is even an extensive underground tunnel system<\/a> \u2014 once used to operate gambling joints and opium dens \u2014 that still exists below downtown. Some people still find their way into them<\/a> \u2014 those who aren\u2019t deterred by massive spiders or trespassing charges, that is.<\/p>\n The city comes together for annual events, such as the twice-yearly downtown Wine Walk, the culinary extravaganza Taste of Visalia or the wintertime tradition Candy Cane Lane Parade, which celebrates its 79th anniversary this month. Also notable: Visalia became the first city in the United States to be designated a Certified Autism Destination in 2022, training at least 80% of its guest and public-facing staff in autism and sensory disorders.<\/p>\n About This Guide<\/p>\n Our journalists independently visited every spot recommended in this guide. We do not accept free meals or experiences. What should we check out next? Send ideas to guides@latimes.com.<\/p>\n As the city continues shucking its former reputation as a drive-by dot on the map, SoCal residents seeking a weekend escape only a few hours away would do well to take note. There is plenty of natural beauty to be found in the area, and one doesn\u2019t have to drive into the higher elevations of the Southern Sierra Nevada Mountains to get some adventure time in. Rent a boat or a kayak at nearby Lake Kaweah, strap on a helmet and do some whitewater rafting in Three Rivers or wander through preserved wetlands that have been untouched for centuries.<\/p>\n It might not be the first place on your California vacation bucket list, but Visalia is worthy of a visit \u2014 and with its rapidly changing cityscape, will likely have more to offer with each passing year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Even though Visalia holds the title of being the oldest city in the San Joaquin Valley, it\u2019s more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99565,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,5793,9,8,818,8208,54283,54285,330,592,54284,1410,24026,1457,54286,54287,5386,72],"class_list":["post-99564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-city","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-downtown","tag-downtown-area","tag-east-main-street","tag-gigantic-sequoia","tag-music","tag-people","tag-pick-your-own-visit","tag-place","tag-plenty","tag-restaurant","tag-sequoias","tag-unexpected-charm","tag-visalia","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}