California Road Trip Ideas


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:

Volcanic Scenic Byway in California: Lassen National Park. highway and mountains

20 Eyepopping Scenic Drives in California

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.