the ultimate california road trip.

I think when most people think of California they think of the luxurious beaches in southern California and they think of Hollywood. Honestly, that is what came to mind before I moved to California. I also didn’t realize how big California was until I moved there. Come to find out, California is more mountainous and dry than it is beach! Since there are so many amazing places in California, it’s hard to pick just one place to see. With little time off, it’s also hard to plan several trips, so we conquered a large part of the state in just one trip. Follow along on the ultimate California road trip below.

The drive from Huntington Beach to Lake Tahoe is one of my favorite drives. We took Hwy 395 all the way north. Along Hwy 395, we saw a whole other side of California (literally). I remember driving through the rural town of Red Mountain, a population of 130. We also drove through the city of Lone Pine, which has a great viewing spot of Mt. Whitney, the largest mountain in the contiguous United States. To be able to view this peak on an old, rural highway in almost complete solitude is a special experience. Close to Mt. Whitney is the Eastern Yosemite National Park entrance. This entrance is closed in the winter but is usually accessible May - September.

After Lone Pine, you’ll drive through Bishop, CA. Mount Rambler Brewing is a great spot to stop and grab lunch and a beer. They also have a dog friendly patio!

Shortly after Bishop you will arrive in Mammoth Lakes. Mammoth Village is a fun spot to walk around and find something to eat. There are several dog friendly patios. We spent the night in Mammoth at the Sherwin Creek Campground. This campground was recommended to us and I am so glad we camped there. The sites are all along a creek so all night long you can sleep to the sounds of fresh flowing water. Nearby the campground is the Sherwin Lake Trail. This trail is 4.5 miles round-trip and is dog friendly.

After leaving Mammoth Lakes, we stumbled upon June Lake, CA and decided to explore. June Lake is a quaint little town and is so beautiful! We stopped at the public beach and then continued to drive the June Lake loop to Grant Lake. While driving, we saw a beautiful waterfall and drove past both Grant and Crescent lakes. These lakes reminded me of what California must have been like hundreds of years ago. The lakes were untouched and so serene. We felt like we were in the Alps and so far away from America. We parked our car several times just to get out and take photos and enjoy the crisp, clean mountain air.

After June Lake, we continued north on Hwy 395 until we hit Route 89. The sign said it was the scenic route to Lake Tahoe so we didn’t think twice and headed up Rte. 89 and I am SO glad that we did. Though this route adds some time to your drive, the route is less traveled and is absolutely stunning. We drove through mountains and meadows, large plateaus, and roaring alpine rivers winding through large ranches. This drive was my favorite section of our entire drive. We drove slow and with the windows down, this allowed us to spot a silver fox frolicking in the nearby meadow. Please note: this drive is very steep and the roads are narrow and windy. I only recommend this drive if you have an SUV or larger. There are also no facilities to stop at so make sure you have plenty of gas and water.

Route 89 will take you straight into South Lake Tahoe. We checked into Hotel Beckett for our two night stay in Tahoe. I highly recommend this hotel for a few reasons. First of all, the hotel is dog friendly. Secondly, the hotel is within close walking distance to the Village, the lake, and all of the casinos. Lastly, the hotel has a great bar and restaurant, 10 Crows BBQ. The restaurant has free breakfast in the morning for hotel guests and in the evenings, there is live music in their huge lawn. We enjoyed sitting outside, playing lawn games, and listening to the music.

Tahoe is an outdoor lover’s dream. Year wound there are plenty of outside activities. And almost all of the restaurants have large outdoor spaces. What more could you want? A few of our favorites spots were The Hangar Taproom and the Beach House at Lakeside Marina. The Hangar was an outdoor taproom in the middle of some of the tallest pine trees we had ever seen. The Beach House offered great drinks (I recommend the adult slushies!) and eats and is located right on the sand. Downtown in the Village, McP’s Taphouse and The Village Bar and Grill have fun, dog friendly patios as well.

I’m not sure if Tahoe is ever warm enough to comfortably swim, but we were not going to go all the way to Tahoe and not jump in that water. We decided to rent a jet-ski (Logan won big at Mount Blu Casino the night before) and drive out to the middle of the lake and jump in! We rented the jet-ski from Action Water Sports at the Lakeside Marina (they have a few locations but we were able to walk to this location). I recommend either making reservations or going first thing in the morning. We had a blast on the jet-ski, I had never been on a lake surrounded by snow-capped mountains before. We both jumped into the 49 degree water and immediately got brain freezes! But it was totally worth it.

There are dozens of hikes around Lake Tahoe, since we were visiting on the 4th of July, we decided to do a less popular hike nearby at Fallen Leaf Lake. This lake is only about a 20 minutes drive from Lake Tahoe and is much less crowded. We did the short hike to Glen Alpine Falls.

Finally, we enjoyed the fireworks on the 4th of July at the Lakeside Marina. I can’t think of a better way to spend the holiday. We only spent two days in Lake Tahoe, but you could spend a lot more time here. Between the casinos, hiking, lake, and towering trees, Lake Tahoe continues to be one of my favorite places in California.

After Lake Tahoe, we headed west for San Francisco via Hwy 50. The drive from Tahoe to Sacramento goes by fast, there is so much to look at as you drive down the mountains. Driving from Sacramento to San Francisco is pretty flat and can have heavy traffic. We drove straight to Muir Beach. Muir Woods is also close by but since we spent the first half of our trip in the mountains, we decided to stick to the beach. Muir Beach has a lookout spot and the beach reminds me of how foggy and temperamental the weather in San Fransisco can be. There are days when the fog is so thick, you can barely see! From Muir Beach, we hopped on the PCH and drove over the Golden Gate Bridge. This is such a surreal experience.

We had already spent quite a bit of time in San Francisco on other trips, so we stayed on the PCH and drove straight through San Francisco until we got to the Miramar Beach Restaurant in Half Moon Bay. This was right off the PCH and had a dog friendly, beachfront patio. The fresh seafood was a perfect choice! After Half Moon Bay, we continued our drive down the PCH. We were surprised with how flat the land was, most of the drive was past farmland. California has so many farms and ranches, almost every fruit and vegetable can be grown in California. Many of the farms have fresh produce stands. I highly recommend stopping and supporting local farmers by picking up some fresh fruits and veggies at unusually low prices!

We stopped in Monterey for the night and stayed at the Mariposa Inn. Though this hotel is not within walking distance of downtown Monterey, the hotel was right off the PCH and was fairly inexpensive compared to other hotels in Monterey. Free breakfast was also included! Downtown Monterey has plenty of restaurants to choose from. Though a bit touristy, we wanted seafood right on the water so we ate at the Fish Hopper.

The next morning, we grabbed coffee to go and drove to the scenic 17-Mile Drive. This drive costs $10 per car but trust me, if you make it all the way to Monterey, this drive is an absolute must. The drive takes you down old Victorian plantations and weaves you in and out of world-class golf courses. There are several spots to pull off and take in all the scenery. I recommend spending a good portion of your morning on this drive. The drive ends at the iconic Pebble Beach Golf Course. Little did I know, anyone can park and walk around the property! We had a lot of fun exploring the visitor center, links, and all that the area had to offer.

Carmel-by-the-Bay was our next stop. Carmel also has a scenic route so of course we choose to drive that! I’ve never regretted taking the scenic route. Carmel is a small little town with a bustling community. Beautiful homes and beaches line the coast. Before leaving Carmel, we stopped at the Carmel Valley Coffee Company. Just south of Carmel is Big Sur, so I recommend stopping for a coffee and gas before heading south.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when driving through Big Sur. The beauty certainly draws immense amounts of crowds. Big Sur is absolutely stunning and was a highlight of our drive. All throughout the region, there a spots to pull off and soak in the beauty. I recommend stopping at a visitors center for a map as our phones stopped working during part of the drive. Bixby Bridge and McWay Falls are a must see. If you plan on stopping at Pfeiffer Beach, make sure to get there very early. Only so many visitors are allowed at the beach per day. There are very few facilities in Big Sur so I recommend packing a lunch and eating with a view!

After driving through Big Sur, we quickly came to a beach with seals everywhere! We couldn’t help ourselves so we pulled off to look at these massive seals. We found out this was an Elephant Seal preservation area. The seals were some of the largest creatures I have ever seen. Do yourself a favor and stop and check out these seals!

Between San Simeon and Cambria there are some amazing places to pull off the highway and explore the rural beaches. One of the beaches we stopped at, we even saw a whale! The Hearst Castle is just inland from San Simeon and is a popular place to stop. We stopped in Moro Bay to see the infamous large rock in the water. You can actually drive all the way up to the rock!

We drove through San Luis Obispo and stopped for the night in Pismo Beach. We stayed at Tides Oceanview Hotel. The hotels in Pismo are expensive and Tides was not anything special but we didn’t spend much time in the hotel anyways! We explored Pismo’s Beach and had a fish dinner on the pier at Wooley’s Diner. We ended the evening at The Brewhouse. Pismo Beach is a small town that is not too touristy. Though Pismo was my least favorite spot on the trip, the town did remind me of what California must have been like before it became so populated.

The next morning we had coffee at Quintessa Coffee Roasters and headed south on the PCH. We cut inland and stopped for a late breakfast in the Dutch town of Solvang. You truly feel as if you are in a European Town while walking around Solvang. The city is in the Santa Ynez valley which is known for world-class wines. I wouldn’t make a trip to Solvang just for the city but it’s a good spot to stop and stretch your legs.

To end our trip, we drove through Malibu and the beach cities of Los Angeles county. Finally, after over 1,300 miles, we made it back to Huntington Beach. Believe it or not, we only covered about half the state of California with this trip. I feel so blessed to have been able to experience everything we did on this trip. Though it was a lot of time in the car, the memories we made and things that we saw will last a lifetime. I’m a big fan of combining several destinations into one trip. We like to stay busy and trips like these allow you to experience so many more places. However, if I had to choose between the infamous PCH drive or the rural eastern Sierra drive, I would recommend the mountains. California, I think God spent extra time when creating you.

Best Time To Visit:

Summer

the ultimate california road trip.

cambodia.

yosemite national park.