When it's this cold outside, all I want to do is sit in my apartment piled under blankets. To avoid that fate, it's sometimes necessary to get the heck out of town. Luckily, this Saturday, Sunday and Monday present the perfect excuse to do just that, because all national parks in California are free.

Take a road trip to the snowy, postcard-perfect landscape of Yosemite, experience the I-feel-like-I'm-on-Mars vibe down south in Joshua Tree National Park, or venture to the North Bay for a gander at the salmon-spawning streams in Muir Woods National Monument. They'll waive entrance fees, commercial tour fees, and transportation entrance fees so you can save some dough on a well-deserved adventure far away from the grind.

The next free national park weekend is late April, so you're not screwed if you can't make it this time around.

The full list of California's national parks, free from Jan. 15-17:

    •    Cabrillo National Monument
    •    Death Valley National Park
    •    John Muir National Historic Site
    •    Joshua Tree National Park
    •    Lassen Volcanic National Park
    •    Lava Beds National Monument
    •    Muir Woods National Monument
    •    Pinnacles National Monument
    •    San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
    •    Sequoia National Park
    •    Whiskeytown Unit National Recreation Area
    •    Yosemite National Park