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.
California has more more national parks than any other state or territory. We have 33 national parks, historic sites and monuments that range from redwood forest, volcanic hotspots, coastal islands, deep canyons, sand dunes and desert landscapes. Here are our guides for seeing it all.
Start with our article which outlies ALL 33 California national parks. It gives a brief description for each and includes a map. We’ve also got a guide for all of California’s redwood parks (which is a mix of state, national and regional parks.)
Then use our visitor guides for Joshua Tree national park and Death Valley national park to plan a desert trip. We’ve got advice for how to visit Yosemite in the winter. And SF has quite a few national park sites right in the city, including The Presidio and the Golden Gate Bridge area.
If you’re up for a road trip we have a variety of itineraries:
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.
Figure out the best time to visit California. This season-by-season guide gives you itinerary ideas for where to go…and when, with a FAQ on weather, crowds and other travel tips.
Get inspired to visit cool national parks near San Francisco. This guide lists ALL of the national parks within a 3 hour drive, with suggested things to do and a map.
Figure out where to go hiking in the Presidio of San Francisco. Get a curated list of trails with epic views, informative history and quirky stops.
Rhyolite ghost town (near Death Valley) is a well-preserved example of California late gold mining boom. This guide has Rhyolite’s history and practical tips on how to visit.
Learn some fun facts about Yosemite National Park before you visit. Get the scoop on Yosemite’s history, natural resources, big gigantic rocks, and offbeat factoids.
This is the only guide you’ll need to plan your Joshua Tree visit. This insanely thorough travel guide has planning tips, top things to do, lodging and packing ideas.
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.
This guide covers all of the best Joshua Tree National Park campgrounds. Get planning tips, costs, amenities, how to snag a reservation and things to do nearby.
Make the most of your Yosemite winter trip. Get planning tips and a list of 25 fun things to do in Yosemite in the winter, including hikes, winter sports, tours and epic views.
The best hikes in Joshua Tree run the gamut from easy nature trails to longer hikes with epic landscapes. Get the guide with 10 hikes + practical planning tips.
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.