Home and Money
Prop 13 and California property tax basics
A simple starting point for base-year value, the 1 percent tax limit, reassessment, and why your county assessor matters.
Guides
California guide shelves.
Use these when the official page is hard to read, but you still want the real source close by. Each guide points back to the agency, local office, map, or rule that controls the answer.
Common doors
Start here
Check the manager before the rule
Use this first when you are not sure who sets the rule for the place you want to visit.
Start outdoorsCornerstone guide
State park passes and reservations
Start here for day-use fees, annual passes, camping reservations, and the up-to-six-month booking window.
See park passesHome and Money
Prop 13 and California property tax basics
A simple starting point for base-year value, the 1 percent tax limit, reassessment, and why your county assessor matters.
Read property tax basicsCars and Driving
California DMV registration fees
A practical guide to why the DMV fee number changes by vehicle, value, date, weight, county, and city.
Check DMV feesSafety guide
Wildfire defensible space around the home
Start here before clearing plants, moving firewood, changing mulch, or checking whether a home is in a wildfire hazard zone.
Check defensible spaceProperty safety guide
California earthquake fault zones
A practical first stop for Alquist-Priolo fault zones, seismic hazard zones, disclosure, and local planning-office checks before you buy or build.
Check quake mapsGuide shelves
1 guide
Home and Money
Property tax, reassessment, bills, and cost checks.
1 guide
Cars and Driving
DMV fees, registration, renewals, and car paperwork.
Cars and Driving
California DMV registration fees
A practical guide to why the DMV fee number changes by vehicle, value, date, weight, county, and city.
19 guides
Outdoors
Parks, coast, camping, fishing, trails, fire, and weather.
3 guides
Before you go
The checks that save the day: who manages the place, what pass or license applies, and whether anything is closed today.
Start here
Check the manager before the rule
Use this first when you are not sure who sets the rule for the place you want to visit.
Cornerstone guide
State park passes and reservations
Start here for day-use fees, annual passes, camping reservations, and the up-to-six-month booking window.
First stop
City and county parks
How to check local park pages for reservations, dogs, sports fields, picnic sites, parking, hours, closures, and special-event rules.
2 guides
Hunting, fishing, and field rules
Licenses, seasons, current regulations, and the CDFW pages to check before a trip.
Cornerstone guide
Fishing licenses and rules
Start with the exact water and fish, then check the license, report card, current rule, and safe-eating advice.
Cornerstone guide
Hunting licenses and field rules
Start with hunter education, licenses, tags, current rules, land access, and nonlead ammunition.
4 guides
Coast, beaches, boating, and water
Beach access, coastal permits, tide pools, marine protected areas, water quality, boating safety, surf, paddling, and the live conditions that matter.
Field guide
Beaches and coastal access
Find public access, check water quality, and look at surf or rip-current warnings before a beach day.
Rules signpost
Coastal development permits
A simple first pass before you build, grade, or change use in the coastal zone.
Field guide
Tide pools and marine protected areas
How to enjoy tide pools, low tides, shellfish warnings, and marine protected areas without guessing what you can touch, take, or eat.
Field guide
Boating, paddling, and water safety
The first checks for motors, life jackets, local launch rules, weather, and water conditions.
4 guides
Parks, camping, trails, and riding
State parks, local parks, national parks, forests, BLM land, campgrounds, dogs, trail rules, and OHV riding.
Cornerstone guide
Camping and public lands
How to check the manager, reservation, fire, food, pet, water, road, and closure rules before you camp.
Field guide
Trails, hiking, and biking
How to check the trail manager, pets, bikes, e-bikes, permits, closures, weather, water, and road access.
Field guide
Dogs and pets outdoors
How to check dog rules for beaches, state parks, national parks, forests, campgrounds, trails, wildlife areas, heat, ticks, and posted signs.
Rules signpost
OHV and off-road riding
How to check stickers, permits, legal riding areas, maps, spark arresters, fire rules, and closures.
3 guides
Redwoods, deserts, mountains, wildlife, and night sky
The places people dream about, plus the simple rules that keep them open and healthy.
Field guide
Wildlife, birding, and viewing
How to watch wildlife without crowding it, feeding it, or missing site rules, passes, closures, drones, and marine-life distance rules.
Where-to-go guide
Redwoods, deserts, mountains, and big parks
A practical first stop for redwoods, Sierra parks, desert roads, islands, volcanoes, and the official pages that control roads, permits, weather, and access.
Where-to-go guide
Stargazing and night sky
How to plan a night-sky trip without guessing about gates, parking, clouds, smoke, roads, moonlight, or whether you can legally be there after dark.
3 guides
Weather, wildfire, smoke, snow, and hazards
The safety layer that touches every outdoor day: fire restrictions, smoke, heat, snow, roads, water, and fast-changing hazards.
Safety guide
Fire restrictions and campfires
How to check campfire permits, forest and BLM fire restrictions, local bans, stoves, charcoal, fireworks, target shooting, and red-flag weather.
Safety hub
Outdoor weather and hazard checks
A last-check guide for weather, smoke, fire, heat, surf, rivers, snow, roads, earthquakes, and the live sources to trust before you leave.
Safety guide
Snow, chains, and winter roads
How to check chain controls, SNO-PARK permits, mountain road closures, winter weather, avalanche warnings, and safe snow-play spots before you drive.
2 guides
Hazards
Wildfire, earthquake zones, safety, disclosure, and maps.
Wildfire
Wildfire defensible space around the home
Start here before clearing plants, moving firewood, changing mulch, or checking whether a home is in a wildfire hazard zone.
Earthquakes
California earthquake fault zones
A practical first stop for Alquist-Priolo fault zones, seismic hazard zones, disclosure, and local planning-office checks before you buy or build.
Source rule
These guides explain the path simply. The official agency, city, county, court, land manager, insurer, tax office, or licensed professional still controls the current rule or decision.