The Best California Road Trip Itineraries: 13 Grand Adventures
Find your California road trip itineraries with this list of classic road trip ideas. Explore CA’s mountains, deserts, beaches, wine country, gold rush history, and redwood forests.
If you are planning a road trip, we’ve got you covered. Our California road trip ideas cover both popular routes and some off the radar places.
California is made for road trips. We have nearly 400,000 miles of highway– your on-ramp to craggy coastlines, granite mountains, redwood forest, rolling pastures and desert moonscapes. And whether you’re just visiting here and planning an epic trip or you live here and you want some weekend getaways, these California road trip ideas will help you plan your trip
Check out our mega itineraries for the Pacific Coast Highway, Northern California Redwoods, and Highway 395. And we’ve also got a list of 20 eyepopping scenic drives throughout the state.
Peruse our full archive for more ideas:
Find your California road trip itineraries with this list of classic road trip ideas. Explore CA’s mountains, deserts, beaches, wine country, gold rush history, and redwood forests.
Take the Pines to Palms scenic byway. Explore epic views and diverse ecosystems with this guide including, key stops, driving directions, and where to hike and eat.
Your full guide for a San Francisco to Yosemite road trip, featuring the National Park plus Native American culture, gold rush history, cool hikes and culinary tourism.
Head from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe with this detailed road trip guide. Get routing suggestions from SF to Tahoe with ideas for fun stops along the way.
Head from San Francisco to the Redwoods with this detailed road trip guide. Get from SF all the way to Redwoods National Park in 5 days and 13 amazing stops.
Make the most of your Joshua Tree to Death Valley drive. This detailed itinerary has a detailed route with scenic stops and super useful trip planning tips.
Figure out where (and when) to find the best fall color in the Eastern Sierras of California. Get specific advice on 22 leafy locations along the Highway 395 corridor.
Make the most of your San Francisco to Death Valley drive. This detailed itinerary has a routing loop with scenic stops and super useful trip planning tips.
Make the most of your San Francisco to Las Vegas drive. Get 4 different scenic road trip routes with tips for key stops along the way.
Get road trip inspiration with these 20 ideas for the best scenic drives in California. Find 10 multi-day and 10 day trip ideas covering Northern and Southern California.
Hit the road with this detailed Pacific Coast Highway road trip itinerary from San Francisco to Los Angeles along America’s most scenic coastal route.
Taking a Big Sur Day trip? Use our guide to help you get the most out of your day with top things to do and practical tips for optimizing your time on the road.