The Great American Road Trip Challenge~4.5 years · 48 states · one loop
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Leg 8 · Late spring to summer

California

Golden Gate through the fog

California

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Tap a pin to open that stop's first day · numbers follow the driving order

The whole Golden State, south to north: San Diego and the SoCal desert, Los Angeles and the Central Coast, the eastern parks of Death Valley, Sequoia, and Yosemite, the Monterey coast and Big Sur, San Francisco and the capital, the wine country and Lake Tahoe, and the volcanic north through Lassen, Mendocino, and the tallest trees on earth at Redwood.

Golden hills and Pacific fog

Time it right

Enter from the Arizona desert into San Diego and work south-to-north up the state. The coast is mild year-round; time the Sierra (Yosemite's Tioga Road, the high country) for late spring through fall, and see Death Valley before the summer heat if you can.

16

Stops

51

Days

49

Things to do

2

States

Jump to a day

418Balboa Park419Harbor & Coronado420La Jolla421Up to the desert422Joshua Tree423Palm Springs424West to Los Angeles425Hollywood426Art & the Beach427Downtown & the Studios428Free Day429Up the coast430Santa Barbara431The Central Coast432East to Death Valley433Below Sea Level434West to the Sierra435The Giant Forest436Kings Canyon437North to Yosemite438Yosemite Valley439Glacier Point & the Mist Trail440Sequoias & the High Country441Free Day442West to the coast443Monterey Bay44417-Mile Drive & Big Sur445Inland to Pinnacles446Caves & Condors447North to San Francisco448The Golden Gate449Alcatraz & the Wharf450Cable Cars & Hills451Free Day452Up to the capital453Capitol & Gold Rush454West to wine country455Napa Valley456Sonoma & Calistoga457East to Lake Tahoe458The Lake459Reno, Carson City & the Comstock460Free Day461Northwest to Lassen462Fire & Steam463West to the coast464Bluffs & Glass Beach465North to the redwoods466The Tall Trees467Fern Canyon & the Coast468North into Oregon

Stops, in order

  1. Stop 1San DiegoSan Diego, CADays 418–421

    California's laid-back southern corner — perfect weather, a huge cultural park, a historic aircraft carrier, and the sea lions of La Jolla.

  2. Stop 2Joshua Tree & Palm SpringsJoshua Tree & Palm Springs, CADays 422–424

    Surreal desert of twisted trees and giant boulders, next to a mid-century-modern oasis of pools and palm-lined streets.

  3. Stop 3Los AngelesLos Angeles, CADays 425–429

    The sprawling capital of entertainment — Hollywood and the studios, the Getty and the Broad, the beaches at Santa Monica and Venice, and the theme parks. A big, sun-soaked stay.

  4. Stop 4Santa Barbara & the Central CoastSanta Barbara & the Central Coast, CADays 430–432

    The red-tiled 'American Riviera' and the Central Coast beyond — a hilltop mission, a Danish village, Hearst's fantasy castle, and elephant seals.

  5. Stop 5Death Valley National ParkDeath Valley National Park, CADays 433–434

    The hottest, driest, lowest place in North America — a surreal, beautiful desert of salt flats, dunes, and painted hills. Best in spring.

  6. Stop 6Sequoia & Kings Canyon National ParksSequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, CADays 435–437

    The biggest living things on earth — groves of giant sequoias — above one of the deepest canyons in America.

  7. Stop 7Yosemite National ParkYosemite National Park, CADays 438–442

    The cathedral of American wilderness — sheer granite walls, thundering waterfalls, giant sequoias, and the incomparable Yosemite Valley. A full, glorious stay.

  8. Stop 8Monterey & CarmelMonterey & Carmel, CADays 443–445

    A gorgeous stretch of coast — a world-class aquarium, Steinbeck's Cannery Row, the fairytale village of Carmel, and the wild cliffs of Big Sur just south.

  9. Stop 9Pinnacles National ParkPinnacles National Park, CADays 446–447

    California's newest national park — volcanic spires, talus caves, and the soaring California condor.

  10. Stop 10San FranciscoSan Francisco, CADays 448–452

    The city of fog and hills — the Golden Gate, Alcatraz, cable cars, and some of the country's best food and neighborhoods. A full stay.

  11. Stop 11SacramentoSacramento, CADays 453–454

    California's capital and Gold Rush river town — a domed statehouse, a restored 1850s waterfront, and a great railroad museum.

  12. Stop 12Napa & SonomaNapa & Sonoma, CADays 455–457

    America's most famous wine country — valley after valley of vineyards, tasting rooms, a wine train, and Calistoga's mud baths and geyser.

  13. Stop 13Lake Tahoe, Reno & Carson CityLake Tahoe, Reno & Carson City, NVDays 458–461

    The dazzling blue alpine lake straddling the California–Nevada line, plus Reno's neon, Nevada's little capital, and the Comstock ghost town of Virginia City.

  14. Stop 14Lassen Volcanic National ParkLassen Volcanic National Park, CADays 462–463

    An uncrowded wonderland of the southern Cascades — bubbling mud pots, steaming fumaroles, and a volcano that erupted a century ago.

  15. Stop 15Mendocino & the North CoastMendocino & the North Coast, CADays 464–465

    A New England-style village on wild headland bluffs, sea-glass beaches, and a vintage steam train through the redwoods.

  16. Stop 16Redwood National ParkRedwood National Park, CADays 466–468

    The tallest living things on earth — cathedral groves of coast redwoods, a fern-walled canyon, and elk on the wild far-north coast. The last stop in California.