Small Towns – California

Population 4,536
This Sonoma County town makes a perfect home base for a wine tasting road trip. You can opt to stay in a traditional property like the Creekside Inn (creeksideinn.com), which offers the wheelchair-accessible Lark Cabin with a roll-in shower; or choose to glamp in style at Russian River AutoCamp, which boasts a custom-built wheelchair-accessible unit. Pick up lunch at the Big Bottom Market (www.bigbottommarket.com) deli, then head out for some wine tasting at Marimar Estate Vineyards & Winery (www.marimarestate.com) — which both offer good wheelchair access. Top off your visit with a stroll through the redwoods at Armstrong Redwoods State Park, which has several wheelchair-accessible trails.

Population 13,972
California City — which is smack dab in the middle of the Mojave Desert — is actually the third largest city in the state by land area. And although it spans 203 square miles, it has a population of just over 13,000 people. Compare that to San Francisco, which occupies 49 square miles, with a population of 885,000, and you begin to understand the vastness of this desert burg. And truly the big attraction — the desert tortoise — is found far outside of the populated section of the city, at the Desert Tortoise Natural Area (http://www.tortoise-tracks.org/wptortoisetracks). There’s a level parking area near a kiosk filled with interpretive exhibits, and barrier-free access over to the quarter-mile hard packed loop trail. Look for the tortoises near the creosote bushes that line the trail, as that’s where their burrows are located. There are also three other trails through the desert — the .4-mile Plant Trail, the .5-mile Animal Trail, and the 1.78-mile Discovery Trail — all of which are wheelchair-accessible. The best time to spot the tortoises is from March through May, in the early mornings or late afternoons.

Population 4,915
No Route 66 road trip would be complete without a stop in Tucumcari. From a drive along the original stretch of the Mother Road, to a stop at the nicely accessible New Mexico Route 66 Museum (www.nmrt66museum.org/), there’s no shortage of nostalgic attractions there. Add in an interesting collection of murals painted on the sides of buildings throughout town, and you’ve got a true remembrance of yesteryear. And if you’d like to spend the night in a modern hotel, the Best Western has a nice wheelchair-accessible room with a tub/shower combination.

Population 4
Located near the East Entrance of the famed national park, Death Valley Junction has just four (and sometimes fewer) full time residents. That said, during the borax mining boom in the early 1900s there were 300 people living there. In 1960 New York City ballet dancer Marta Becket had a flat tire there and fell in love with the desert. She later transformed the former dorm and recreation hall into the Amargosa Hotel and the Amargosa Opera House (www.amargosaoperahouse.org/). She painted murals throughout the hotel, and even painted an audience on the walls of the opera house. Today the murals still grace the walls of the hotel, and tours of the opera house are available. Both venues have level access so it’s a nice stop for wheelchair-users and slow walkers. Unfortunately the Amargosa Café, which is located next door, has an eight-inch step up to it, but the picnic table in front of the hotel is wheelchair-accessible.