Road trips in California
26 road trips and 95 hand-picked places in California, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping.
- Trip guides
- 26
- Places
- 95
Trip guides
Road trips through California
Classic American drives
Highway 1: San Francisco to Santa Monica
Coast & island drives
Redwood Coast
National park loops
Sequoia and Yosemite
Themed road trips
Sonoma, Napa and Point Reyes
Coast & island drives
The Lost Coast and Shelter Cove
Themed road trips
Gold Country on Highway 49
Scenic byways
Anza-Borrego and the Salton Sea
National park loops
Mojave National Preserve: dunes, depot and cinder cones
Coast & island drives
Pacific Coast Highway south: Malibu to San Diego
National park loops
Lassen Volcanic loop: Burney Falls to the mud pots
National park loops
Yosemite end to end: sequoias, Glacier Point and Tioga Road
National park loops
Kings Canyon Scenic Byway and the Giant Forest
Scenic byways
US-395: Alabama Hills, Manzanar and the bristlecones
Scenic byways
Mammoth Lakes, June Lake Loop and the ghost town of Bodie
Coast & island drives
Highway 1 south: San Francisco to Santa Cruz and Monterey
Coast & island drives
Sonoma and Mendocino coast on Highway 1
Things to do in…
Santa Ynez Valley: missions, wine and dunes
National park loops
Death Valley in depth: Dante’s View to Ubehebe Crater
Things to do in…
Death Valley to Yosemite on the Eastern Sierra
Scenic byways
Lake Tahoe loop
Scenic byways
Volcanic Legacy Byway: Mount Shasta to Crater Lake
National park loops
Northern redwoods and the Oregon Caves on US-199
Themed road trips
Desert art and strange sculpture
National park loops
Death Valley loop
Classic American drives
Route 66, part two: Oklahoma City to the Pacific
Things to do in…
Pyramid Lake, the Comstock and Lake Tahoe’s east shore
Editor's picks
Places worth the detour in California
History
Roy's Motel & Café
Views
Bixby Creek Bridge
Nature
McWay Falls
Stays
Madonna Inn
Nature
Joshua Tree National Park
Views
Tunnel View, Yosemite
Nature
Badwater Basin
Nature
Avenue of the Giants
Nature
Fern Canyon
Views
Zabriskie Point
Views
Emerald Bay
Nature
General Sherman Tree
History
Empire Mine State Historic Park
History
Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park
Oddities
Galleta Meadows sculptures
Views
Fonts Point
Nature
Kelso Dunes
Nature
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
Nature
McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park
Nature
Bumpass Hell
Nature
Lava Beds National Monument
Nature
Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias
Views
Glacier Point
Nature
General Grant Tree
FAQs
What are the best road trips in California?
Popular routes include Highway 1: San Francisco to Santa Monica, Redwood Coast, Sequoia and Yosemite and Sonoma, Napa and Point Reyes. CampingSpirit has 26 trip guides that pass through California, each with a stop-by-stop itinerary and a route map.
Which places in California are worth a detour?
Our editors recommend Roy's Motel & Café, Bixby Creek Bridge, McWay Falls, Madonna Inn, Joshua Tree National Park and Tunnel View, Yosemite.