The California Road Trip

Part 2 in our series of traveling closer to home. If you live in Arizona, California is right next door. For road trips close to home, it cannot get any more convenient or exciting. There are lots of amazing beaches, national parks and monuments and beautiful scenic drives for you to enjoy. Growing up in Southern California, I will say I have done 99% of these drives. So pack up the kids, grab some snacks and let’s head on down the road!

If you are going to do the drive from Phoenix, take Interstate 10 or 8 to San Diego. If you do Interstate 10 you will go by Joshua Tree National Park. We camped here as kids and did a lot of the hiking places that are located in the park. Stay on 10 into Palm Springs and take the aerial tramway to the top of the peak for dinner. Or, you can drop down to Interstate 8 out of Indio via State route 86 and visit the Salton Sea. If you take Interstate 8 you will go by the south end of the Imperial Sand Dunes. Either way you go there are a lot of iconic desert playgrounds to check out. Once you reach San Diego you can visit the Gaslamp Quarter downtown, go to Mission Bay or Balboa Park, see animals at the San Diego Zoo, explore navy ships at the San Diego Museum or head over to Hotel Del Coronado on Coronado Island. Lots of fun things for us ‘Zonies’ to do.

If you were to head south of San Diego you could go into Mexico at the Tijuana boarder. Don’t forget your passport though, or you will be denied entry. Also in the San Diego area are lots of great wineries. If you prefer a cold craft beer, San Diego has some awesome IPA’s. Just east of Escondido is another great desert playground, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Another favorite camping area we frequented back in the day. Great hiking here as well. Head north on Interstate 5 through La Jolla, Del Mar and Oceanside before passing through San Clemente for the San Juan Capistrano turn off. Great area to explore with old missions and lots of culture and California history.

Joshua Tree National Park

Downtown San Diego from Coronado Island

If theme parks are on your list of must do’s, Disneyland, California Adventure and Knott’s Berry Farm are in Orange County. Six Flags Magic Mountain is in Los Angeles County. For some real California attitude, forgo the parks and stay on Highway 1 north of San Clemente. Drive through Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Santa Monica, Malibu and Ventura on your way to Santa Barbara. These are iconic Southern California beaches and ones I went to a lot as a young girl to watch the surfers and listen to The Beach Boys. Ah, the memories. Good times!

Madonna Inn Caveman Suite

Madonna Inn Love Nest Suite

Big Sur Bridge over Bixby Creek

Santa Barbara to Monterey is the middle part of the state, with amazing scenery, wineries and fun, kitschy places to stay. Lots of beach camping along the way, at El Capitan State Beach, Refugio State Beach and Gaviota State Park. At Gaviota you can stay on Highway 1, but my favorite part of this drive is on Interstate 101 through Solvang. Awesome Dutch community with cute shops and delicious treats. A little further north is Buellton and the famous restaurant Pea Soup Anderson’s Restaurant, Home of Pea Soup. Always had to stop for a bowl. From there stay on the 101 into Pismo Beach. This is ‘the place’ to be in Central California. Lots of action on the beach 24/7. A little further north is San Luis Obispo. Great wineries can be found in the area, but they are most known for their Farmer’s Market and Street Food. It is also home to one of my most favorite places to stay and in my opinion, a must do! The world renowned Madonna Inn has been open since 1958 and is unique and fun! Each room is decorated differently with wild themes like the Caveman suite, Yosemite Rock suite and Barrel of Fun suite to name a few. You must plan way ahead and have reservations, but for 1 night of absolute fun, it is worth it!

Leaving San Luis Obispo, stay on Highway 1 and head north into Morro Bay. This part of the drive is spectacular! In San Simeon, you can take a tour of Hearst Castle. Remember Patty Hearst from the 70’s? Her grandfather, a publishing tycoon, built the castle in the early 1900’s and it has remained an iconic part of the Central California history. A nice detour before you head north to Big Sur. This twisting and winding part of the 2 lane Highway 1 between San Simeon and Carmel is home to amazing coastal views, with lots of hiking, camping and beachcombing. It literally hugs the cliffs offering the most insane views of the California Coast. Carmel by the Sea, or just Carmel, is famous for the views and world class golfing at Pebble Beach. Go a bit further and your in Monterey on the south end of Monterey Bay. At the north end is Santa Cruz. Here you can head inland on Highway 17 to San Jose. Or stay on Highway 1 until you reach San Francisco.

Ah, The Bay Area. San Francisco. Home to the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf, the original Boudin Bakery and their amazing sourdough bread, Alcatraz, Ghiradelli Chocolate, Cable Cars and Lombardi Street. Back in the day you could drive down Lombardi Street, and I have a few times; today it is blocked to non-residents. From San Francisco you can stay on Highway 1 and visit Bodega Bay where Alfred Hitchcock’s movie The Birds was filmed, stop at numerous State Parks on the beach, stop in Fort Bragg and Eureka before reaching Redwood National Park and Crescent City. If you keep going north you enter Oregon. Or you can head east out of Eureka on State Route 299 into Redding, the gateway to Lake Shasta. However, I like the other route I will tell you about better, so after we go wine tasting all around the Napa and Sonoma Valleys, we are going to head east on Interstate 80. We’ll go through Sacramento before we start climbing the mountains into Truckee. Head south out of Truckee and you will see beautiful Lake Tahoe!

Lake Tahoe is one of my most favorite places to go. The water is so clear! It is absolutely a breathtaking place to hike and boat. Just magical! Take a drive around the lake and don’t rush! Go back to Interstate 80 and head east to Reno, where you connect with Highway 395. If I had a nickle for every time we drove on 395 from Orange, California with my parents heading to northern Idaho for a family reunion….but that is for another blog another day. 395 will take us south to Yosemite National Park. Turn right at Lee Vining and enter Yosemite from the east entrance. Most roads are closed in the winter, so don’t plan to go too late in the year. Yosemite is at least a 3 day visit to do hikes and see all the beauty. If you head west out of Yosemite you will eventually get to Interstate 5. But that ride is boring so I prefer going back to 395 and heading south.

You’ll stay in the Sierra Nevada range a bit longer and see Mammoth Lakes, Bishop, Big Pine, Lone Pine and just south of Cartago you find State Route 190. Turn east and you can take a drive through Death Valley National Park. This is a unique destination of mountains and below sea level valleys that have some of the hottest weather in the United States in the summer. After Death Valley you have many choices to get back to Phoenix, the easiest of which is take 373 north to State Route 95 south. You’ll pass through Las Vegas and maybe stay a night. After Las Vegas you probably know your way home. The fastest route is 93, crossing the Hoover Dam to Kingman and Interstate 40. From here either go east into Flagstaff and take the 17 south or continue on the 93 through Wickenburg. Most of the time I just want to get home so I just want the most direct route, which is the 93. Drive safe on this road, lots of tired Vegas goers heading home.

Lake Tahoe

Yosemite National Park El Capitan and Half Dome

I hope you enjoyed your road trip of several California highlights. Sure, there are more, but these are what I consider to be the main ones. And don’t worry if you aren’t into camping along the way. We will create the perfect itinerary for you with planned stops at nice hotels. But don’t wait until the last minute! Sometimes for a few of these destinations, like Yosemite, you must plan ahead to be able to get into the park. Consider having us rent you a comfy car with lots of room so you’re not putting the miles on your own vehicle. California is a long state and it will be lots of miles. To that point plan at least 2 weeks if you can. We will for sure arrange hotels with WiFi so you can work while you’re on the road. Whatever you need to get away and enjoy be somewhere other than at home. We can help!