Where do the seeds of an idea for a trip start? Maybe in a book or TV programme or a fellow blogger’s post? Maybe a friend comes back from a holiday full of enthusiasm for the place(s) visited? Or maybe you have memories of a place you loved and want to return to, having left so much of it as yet unexplored?
For us California was such a place. We had visited in 1991 on our first ever US road trip, during which we fell in love with that mode of travel. We also fell in love with that state, but with only two weeks there never got further north than San Francisco. And we’d been unable to fit all the national parks into a single itinerary. We clearly had unfinished business with the Golden State, and this year we decided to return.
Planning the trip
Some of you may know that for a lot of our holidays we make use of the services of a specialised tour company to plan and book on our behalf. It costs a bit more, but I value their expertise when it comes to visiting a country we don’t know and don’t speak the language. Neither of those things apply when it comes to the US however. So for our road trips I immerse myself in the planning process, enjoying it almost as much as the trip itself. OK, that last comment is a bit of an exaggeration, as nothing can compete with actually being there, but I do find the planning fun.
In contrast, my husband Chris is happy to set a few priorities for the trip and leave the rest to me! For this latest visit to California, our second time in the state, those priorities included revisiting Mono Lake and Yosemite, and spending some time by the coast. And as he would be doing all the driving, I undertook to confirm that the distances between our overnight stops would be manageable for him. Meanwhile my priorities included seeing more national parks, in particular Sequoia and Death Valley. The result was a rather meandering route (we lost count of how many times we crossed the Sierra Nevada, I think four!) but one which we both thoroughly enjoyed. All the time I had devoted to planning had paid off.
Our itinerary
After a commenting thread with Marie on my recent post about Fort Ross I realised that some of you might like to see our California itinerary in some detail. It might help anyone planning a similar trip or inspire you take one!
I’m including links where I’ve already posted in depth about a place and will try to remember to come back and add more as I post about others. To illustrate each day I’ve chosen a photo that I think is less likely to appear in those future posts (although I can’t rule out some duplication). My feature photo was taken on the road to Ridgecrest on day sixteen.
And as I’m grateful to have the time, resources and health to be able to do trips like this, and to Chris for doing all the driving, I’m linking to Tina’s Lens Artists challenge this week, with the theme of Gratitude.
Day one: fly to San Francisco
We arrived mid-afternoon, took the BART to downtown to check into and relax a bit at the hotel. We did nothing further that day apart from go out to eat at a nearby diner and force ourselves to stay up to a reasonable bedtime (California being eight hours behind London!)
Day two: in San Francisco
With only a day to see some of the city sights missed on our last visit we used the Hop On, Hop Off bus to take in Alamo Square, Haight Ashbury, the Golden Gate Bridge and Pier 39. We’d planned to also visit Golden Gate Park but spent too long in the Haight so had to enjoy that and other areas from the top deck of the bus.
Day three: San Francisco to Bodega Bay
We picked up our hire car and drove north out of the city. After crossing the Golden Gate Bridge we turned on to Highway One to stay close to the coast, rather than the faster 101 inland. We stopped briefly at Muir Beach and spent time at Point Reyes before continuing to our overnight accommodation near Bodega Bay.
Day four: Bodega Bay to Fort Bragg
We continued to follow Highway One, stopping at Fort Ross, Point Arena and Mendocino. I’d wanted to spend the night in the latter but accommodation prices there are ridiculously inflated so we stayed instead in a motel in nearby Fort Bragg. It proved a good decision as we didn’t really take to Mendocino!
Day five: Fort Bragg to Ferndale
After enjoying some more coastal scenery at Fort Bragg’s Glass Beach and Laguna Point a little to the north we turned inland to drive the Avenue of the Giants in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park. We spent the night in Victorian Ferndale.
Day six: Ferndale to Douglas City
This was the day we left the coast behind, but first there was a visit to Fort Humboldt State Park and a coffee stop in Eureka (with lots of cool street art and interesting old buildings to enjoy). We then headed inland over the Coastal Range to Weaverville where we had lunch and spent some time exploring. We then continued to our accommodation near Douglas City, Indian Creek Lodge.
Day seven: Douglas City to Mill Creek
Today was another revisiting one, as we’d spent a few hours in Lassen Volcanic National Park previously – not on that 1991 California trip but as a detour from a 1997 one around Oregon. On this occasion we headed east from Douglas City through Redding to spend the day driving south through the park. We stopped in several scenic spots for walks and viewpoints, before finishing just outside it in Mill Creek where we spent the night.
Day eight: Mill Creek to Grass Valley
This was a longer driving day, but still with some interesting stops. Our route took us south through Chico where we stopped for coffee and had a wander around a few downtown blocks admiring the Art Nouveau architecture. We then pressed on to Grass Valley where we were to spend the night, arriving in time to visit the Empire Mine State Park on the edge of town (although it was such a hot day, 100F in the afternoon, that we didn’t stay as long as we might have done). We later enjoyed an evening stroll through this appealing town in much pleasanter temperatures.
Day nine: Grass Valley to South Lake Tahoe
Just a few miles north of Grass Valley we stopped to explore the very appealing Nevada City and get a good coffee there (hunting out good independent coffee shops was a constant theme of this trip!) We then drove east, partly on Interstate 80 but coming off that road to cross the Donner Pass where we stopped for some wonderful views. We then continued down to Lake Tahoe, stopping briefly in Tahoe City and rather longer at Emerald Bay for a short hike and at the Tallac Historic Site. Our overnight accommodation was in South Lake Tahoe.
Day ten: South Lake Tahoe to Lee Vining
Today we crossed the Sierra Nevada on a dramatic road south of Lake Tahoe, skirted the border with Nevada. We stopped for a lengthy visit to Bodie State Historic Park and arrived by Mono Lake late afternoon for our overnight stay in Lee Vining.
Day eleven: Lee Vining to El Portal
We visited Mono Lake first thing in the morning, then spent the rest of the day driving the Tioga Pass in Yosemite National Park, stopping for walks in various places including Tuolumne Meadows and Olmstead Point. We stayed just outside the park on the west side, near El Portal.
Day twelve: El Portal to Fish Camp
We left our hotel before breakfast in order to be in Yosemite Valley ahead of the expected crowds (it was a Sunday). We spent most of the day there, following the loop drive and stopping for various walks, not finding it too crowded after all. Leaving the valley we detoured up to Glacier Point before driving to our accommodation just outside the park in Fish Camp. We’d planned to also visit Mariposa Grove in the south of the park but had spent too long elsewhere and decided to skip it.
Day thirteen: Fish Camp to Grant Grove Village
Our planned route today took us around the outskirts of Fresno so we decided to take a break there for coffee before heading to the third national park on our itinerary, Kings Canyon / Sequoia. We stayed two nights in Grant Grove in a cosy if old-fashioned cabin, arriving early enough to see some nearby sights like the eponymous sequoia and amazing views from the Panoramic Point.
Day fourteen: round trip into King’s Canyon
From Grant Grove we made the drive up through King’s Canyon and back down again, stopping for walks in several spots. We saw beautiful waterfalls and scenes reminiscent of Yosemite (without the crowds), albeit on a smaller scale.
Day fifteen: Grant Grove Village to Three Rivers
Today was spent driving the winding Generals Highway through Sequoia National Park with stops that included a walk to the largest tree in the world, the General Sherman tree, and to climb Moro Rock. We spent the night at a friendly motel just outside the southern gate to the park in Three Rivers.
Day sixteen: Three Rivers to Ridgecrest
This was our longest driving day at just over 200 miles as you can’t easily cross the Sierra Nevada until a point some distance to the south of Sequoia. We routed south towards Bakersfield on Highway 65 but turned off before there to cut across country via Lake Isabella to Ridgecrest. We made several short stops to break the journey, none at major sights. Ridgecrest bills itself as the gateway to Death Valley and has plenty of budget-friendly motels, plus an excellent Mexican restaurant where I had a chicken mole to rival any I had earlier in the year in Mexico itself!
Day seventeen: Ridgecrest to Death Valley
Our route to Death Valley took us through the Searles Valley with the now-declining borax mining town of Trona and some spectacular (if bleak) desert scenery) We stopped for cold drinks in Panamint Springs and crossed the mountain ridge into Death Valley itself, stopping at the visitor centre in Stovepipe Wells and at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes before reaching Furnace Creek, where were to spend two nights, mid-afternoon.
Day eighteen: around Death Valley
We spent much of the day exploring Death Valley, with highlights including Badwater Basin, Artist’s Drive and Dante’s View.
When the heat became too much we retreated to the cool of the Furnace Creek ice cream parlour and the resort’s swimming pool!
Day nineteen: Death Valley to Las Vegas
I’ve been referring to this as a California road trip but we actually spent the last few days in Nevada. There are four recommended routes between Death Valley and Las Vegas. We chose the so-called Ghost Town route which meant we could visit the ghost town of Rhyolite as well as a brief refreshment stop in nearby Beatty. In Vegas we stayed two nights at New York New York as we wanted to be on The Strip. Vegas was another place we’d been to before, at the start of our 1993 Arizona & Utah trip. On that occasion we were on a tight budget and stayed at the Motel 6; this time we wanted to be closer to the action.
Day twenty: around Vegas
We had a whole day to see more of Vegas than we had last time and spent most of it downtown as I said, spending time on Fremont Street and visiting the Mob Museum. In the evening we returned to that area to visit the Neon Museum and for dinner.
We came to realise that we’d have been better off staying downtown as we did most of our sightseeing there and found the slot machine obsession at New York New York a bit too much!
Day twenty one: flying home
Our flight wasn’t until the evening so we paid for a late check out and spent the morning checking out some of the casinos at the southern end of The Strip before finishing packing, returning our hire car and taking off for London.
This has necessarily been a brief summary of the trip but I’m happy to answer questions from anyone who wants more detail about any part of it, including feedback on our accommodation choices (most of which were positive!)
I visited California / Nevada in September and October 2024
31 Comments
Anna
That is an awesome itinerary! I love this part of the USA, so many great national parks!
Rebecca
What an extensive and detailed itinerary of your trip! I’m a California native, but honestly, you’ve seen a lot more than I’ve ever had in my life! I haven’t even been to Lake Tahoe or Death Valley, and it looks like you had a long, but fun adventure roadtripping throughout the state! Thanks for sharing, Sarah!
restlessjo
It’s such a big country, I’m not sure I’d know where to start planning a trip like this, Sarah. San Fran, of course, because I’ve never been there. I’d be more interested in the National Parks than some of the towns, but it’s a case of joining the dots and you have to stay somewhere. It obviously helps that you’ve been a few times and know what you want to see. Thanks for the helpful suggestions. I’m sure there’ll be heaps of photos in the next few weeks.
Leya
Wow – looks like when my husband and I were young! We loved the planning, crammed in as much as we could and walked, walked walked. Car trips used to be Many, with the poor children in the back. But both have admitted they are grateful for what they have seen and learned. You surely had a great trip! We don’t plan that much anymore, only the big lines.
Heyjude
I love road trips. And the planning too. This sounds like a great trip and I hope you will post more about the places you visited. We did get to Yosemite, but chose to go by train / bus as snow was forecast and I was not confident in driving in snow or using snow chains.
Sarah Wilkie
I’d love to see Yosemite in the snow, but no, I wouldn’t want to drive there in it! I will definitely post more photos from many of these places 😀
I. J. Khanewala
All of them, but I like it if it’s a friend or a blog post that gives you the idea for a trip. Then you know whom to thank
Sarah Wilkie
That’s a good point!
margaret21
It’s interesting to me that your California holiday took in such different places from the choices made by my son Tom and family. They had several days in Yosemite, but other than that, and Death Valley, and flying in and out of Las Vegas they did different things from you. Which only goes to prove that there’s plenty of choice in California! They too had a wonderful time.
Sarah Wilkie
Interesting, yes 🙂 But was it their first visit to California? If so they maybe opted for places and sights we took in on our previous trip. We tried not to duplicate too much, apart from those few places we really wanted to see (and photograph) again, like Mono Lake.
margaret21
It was indeed. They also didn’t want to drive TOO much. 9 year old and 6 year old in tow, so walking and biking more in evidence.
Sofia Alves
I too love planning our trips, especially the ones to Japan 🙂 And I too tend to pack as much as I can in a day, making the most of it. I’m looking forward to your photos from this adventure, Sarah, I’m sure they will be fantastic.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Sofia 😊 I’m sure you’re going to see far more than enough photos over coming weeks!
Sue
Wow! What a packed itinerary…and great memories and photos. Like you, I found a lot of enjoyment was to be had in the planning
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Sue – I think a lot of keen travellers enjoy the planning part 😀
Terri Webster Schrandt
I love seeing your itinerary map, Sarah, and you indeed get a detailed view of so many treasured California sights. I’m the navigator for our road trips too which gives me great photo ops.
Driving along Hwy 395 along the Eastern Sierra is a wonderful road trip until itself. I feel blessed to have visited a lot of my home state over the years. Did you already have nightly reservations, and did you use the travel service for that part? Thank you for sharing your experiences and beautiful photos! And the inspiration…we need to embark on our own Washington road trip!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Terry 😊 I pre-booked all our accommodation myself, mostly through booking.com. I’d thought about leaving a few nights in the less touristy places to chance but even they seemed to be filling up so in the end I booked everything. It reduced our flexibility but gave us the security of knowing we had a bed for the night and meant we could make better use of the day time without the need to hunt for somewhere to stay.
Terri Webster Schrandt
I’m glad it worked out! I’ve already booked two nights as we travel from Spokane to Scottsdale, AZ, just before Christmas. I thought about leaving the travel open ended too, but the weekend before Christmas was filling up too. Each night (Best Western) is refundable in case we get delayed by snow. Like you, I enjoy the planning.
Egídio
Fantastic road trip, Sarah. We love car trips, too. You covered a lot of ground and beautiful places.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Egidio – this is the best way to see most of the US I reckon!
Egídio
I agree with you.
thehungrytravellers.blog
Fantastic stuff, Sarah, I still list our California road trip amongst my favourites of all of our travels so far. And the most expensive! It was such a good experience, as your US road trips have been too…and you’ve done a lot more than our meagre two!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Phil 😊 Yes, we found California expensive, much more so than any of our previous US road trips, but so worth it! That was our tenth one to date (plus one in Canada, British Columbia)!
photobyjohnbo
What a road trip, Sarah! That’s a great California visit. You’ve picked a few places we missed in our trip through the state. Thanks for the heads up.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks John 🙂 I’m happy to have given you a few ideas for your next visit to California!
Ingrid
Thank you for sharing the itinerary of the road trip including the map. You certainly did an amazing job of planning, and I’m enjoying your more detailed posts on each stop.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Ingrid, glad you’re enjoying the posts 🙂
mtncorg
California is a country unto itself. You can spend weeks driving on the off byways and discover so much – nature and history. Having climbed up and down the eastern Sierra, I am kind of partial to that region, but the Golden State can surprise you in many other areas with so many different stories. Not such a young – history-wise – state home up north in Oregon, sometimes you have to tease some of that history out, but nature is always there. As are the milieux of people and cultures – for example, LA can be a real discovery once you get past the theme parks, Hollywood Boulevard and the beaches at Santa Monica. Good to see you spent time in the Foothills. Maybe you drove through the Jedediah section of the Redwoods NP up on the Oregon border where some of the best groves thrive IMHO. US 199 gives you a wonderful detour through southern Oregon before the inevitable detour back into California. Cheers from the Beaver State.
Sarah Wilkie
Oh, I’m sure you could spend ages driving all the scenic roads here! We covered a lot of ground but had to leave out much that we would have liked to see. That included the Redwoods NP unfortunately. It was in our original plans but we cut it when we realised we were being over-ambitious and that we would see the Redwoods of the Humboldt SP a little south of that. The furthest north we got was Eureka, as per the itinerary above 🙂
Tina Schell
Good heavens Sarah!!! I’d have to be hospitalized after that much time in a car. Happily we have some very good friends and family out west so have done much of your itinerary over the years with many different visits. I vividly remember some of the more frightening mountain passes and the exhilaration that came with the fear🙃. I still wonder about the large trucks and trailers that somehow made it safely through! Honestly I know you agree that the only way to see the real west is by traveling in a car – whether over a few months at one time or over a few years in multiple trips. Either way, for those of us born and raised here, it is a must-do!! Great job on the planning. I hope to see much more of what I have no doubt is spectacular photography from the many highlights of your trip
Sarah Wilkie
We really didn’t spend that much time in the car, most days at least! Our average driving distance over the trip was about 120 miles a day, although a couple were close to 200 miles. Even at the slow speeds necessary on most of these roads that still meant much more time out of the car than in it. But I wouldn’t fancy doing it with a trailer or even in an RV. We prefer the easier driving of a car and enjoy seeking out a variety of overnight accommodation places 🙂