California roadtrip, what to see?

[744Brillantsilber]

Planning a California roadtrip for next spring.
The idea is to buy an old MB and travel across CA for 3-4 weeks with longer stops in LA and the bay area.
My emphasis is more on seeing the nature and national parks than cities.
A trip on the Highway 101 is set, as is a visit in Yosemite.
With many CA locals I would love to hear your recommended places to go, other than the well known tourist locations.
Please feel free to share your ideas.

 

[daantjie]

In-n-out burger

 

[LWB250]

Skip the In-n-Out. Really. Now maybe Sees Candies?

You need a couple days to really see Yosemite, and that's not talking about driving around in the valley. Stay in the area and spend a day in the valley and maybe Glacier Point, then spend another day and drive the Tioga Road, maybe to the Sierra Crest/Mt. Dana area, which is the east entrance to the park.

I used to backpack in the backcountry of Yosemite every fall, and it was a wondrous experience I'll never forget. I've been to nearly every national park in my travels, and Yosemite is by far the most wonderful - I think.

On your way out take a side trip to Hetch Hetchy Dam and see the remains of a valley that John Muir and others said was more beautiful that Yosemite. It's been a reservoir for many years, unfortunately.

Alternately, if you can, go over the Sierra Crest from Yosemite to Mono Lake and then drive north on CA 395 to Bodie. It's a former gold mining town that is nearly intact, kept in a state of "arrested decay" by the California State Parks. The last 5-6 miles of road are pretty rough, but you could make it unless you were driving something really close to the ground. You're still in California at this point, barely, but if you kept going north on CA 395 you can jump off to Virginia City (NV), home to the Comstock Lode silver mine. It's a really cool place.

Pop up to Reno, spend the night to rest up, then head down the hill on I-80 to Sacramento and the Central Valley, and then on to San Francisco.

Dan

 

[a777fan]

I disagree dan. In-n-out is a must! The burgers are like crack. First one is just ‘ok’. By the time you’ve eaten your second. There is no going back!!

 

[ccrelan]

definitely try to stop at Hearst Castle. Well worth the trip and driving north of there is sublime on Highway 1

 

[albdentist]

Trade the Bay Area for San Diego

Another vote for In-N-Out ! , Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank also…or Mel’s Diner on Sunset …

 

[TerryA]

Trade the Bay Area for San Diego

Another vote for In-N-Out ! , Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank also…or Mel’s Diner on Sunset …

+1 w/@albdentist,
IMOP, San Diego is a better choice than SF and you can’t pass up an In-N-Out.

 

[kegmankipp]

Yosemite for sure. Try to stay at the big lodge in middle of the park, whatever the new name is, was Awawahnee? It’s worth the extra to be right in the middle of it all.

Lake Tahoe

Napa Valley is stunning and even better if you love wine and/or food. I can let you know what wineries all the winemakers go to drink. Forget about all the tourist trap wineries like Mondavi and Silver Oak and go for the great stuff

 

[RicardoD]

Point Lobos State Park after a nice lunch at Carmel’s many fine restaurants

 

[TerryA]

Yosemite for sure. Try to stay at the big lodge in middle of the park, whatever the new name is, was Awawahnee?

@kegmankipp,@744Brillantsilber,

Kipp, It’s the Old Awawahnee Hotel it’s the best hotel in Yosemite Park since about 1927. I’ve stayed there many times. Don’t miss their Great Dining Hall.

BTW, If you want to fine dine in Napa, make you reservations now or at least inquire way ahead of time. You probably won’t get in if you wait until you arrive in Napa.

 

[Jlaa]

@744Brillantsilber,

First of all, welcome to the California, USA! Despite what you hear in the news about crime, post-COVID economic doom loop, ridiculous taxation, economic tech bust, excessive "big brother," AI craziness, Driverless robo-taxis causing mayhem, etc..... the San Francisco Bay Area is still a beautiful and wondrous place to visit. Many of us who live here take it for granted how wonderful it is here.

Generally speaking, for SF and the SF Bay Area - I would suggest sticking to the area's strengths - i.e. natural / geographic beauty. Unlike hyper-metropolises like New York City, Singapore, Shanghai, London, etc. the dense-urban experience is not this area's strong point.

Since you are driving, here are some "off the beaten path" driving day trips around the SF Bay Area you can take which are interesting:

• Locke, California / Boarding House Museum - Locke Boarding House Museum
• California State Railroad Museum - California State Railroad Museum
• Carson City Nevada - Nevada State Museum (Silver Mines, etc. on the border with California) - Home | Nevada State Museum | Carson City
• Joshua Tree National Park (U2, Bono) - Joshua Tree National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (a bit more south)
• Blackhawk Museum including many classic autos - Home - Blackhawk Museum

Additionally, the SF Bay Area contingent of the E500E board gets together on an irregular basis to do various drives around the bay. We've driven around Pescadro, Skyline Blvd, Mine's road in Livermore, Pt. Reyes National Park, and Mt. Tamalpais. Usually it is local folks like @kegmankipp, @RicardoD, @luckymike, @bunty660, @Teddy_West, @dionphaneuf, @smilecenterlab, @janos_z, and myself. We hold drives too when we have guests from out of town - both @TimL from Washington has visited us (twice) with his car, and, most recently, we have hosted @dreaming.haze from Indianapolis just last weekend in a great drive.

Please private message us and we can organize another drive with yet another E500E board visitor!

 

[744Brillantsilber]

Thanks a lot for all the great inspiration so far!
Will keep those things in mind and will keep you updated about it.
@Jlaa: thank you very much for the offer, I would love to do it!
SF is a must on my list because I will likely start and end there plus a good friend works on the bay area. Plus I heard enough good things to take a look, more regarding the surounding areas than the city.

 

[thebrinksman]

Come by my restaurant(s) in LA. Can send me a pm for info. Happy to meet a fellow addict.

 

[PJmak]

Lake Tahoe is a must for a nice drive

 

[szvook]

Take a ride on PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) 1. You can drive up to San Francisco from Los Angeles, or vice versa. Is a longer drive, but worth it.

 

[svhamelly]

Best hotel I've ever stayed in was Hotel Cheval in Paso Robles. The courtyard has several semi-private fireplaces that they light on cool evenings. Grab a glass or bottle of wine at the bar and carry it outside to a fireplace.
Paso is also a great wine region. Try wineries... Justin, Turley, Tablas Creek, Epoch Estates
Go to Laguna Seca (or whatever they call it now) and Sonoma Raceway if there are any events at them. I've seen Historic races at both over the years.
In Napa and vacinity... wineries...Schug, Elyse, Domaine Carneros (Taittinger)... many wineries now have tasting rooms in downtown Napa... John Anthony is one of my favorites.
Fancy dinner at Bisto Jeanty in Yountville. Maison Fleurie is a great Inn also in Yountville.
In St. Helena try Gott's Roadside grill for lunch.
Mendocino is a cool place to see... Alexander Valley is also nice.
PCH between Mendocino and Bodega Bay (Alfred Hitchcock's - The Birds) is referred to locally as the Dramamine Highway
Bartender gave my wife club soda and bitters to relieve her motion sickness... it worked for her.

 

[LWB250]

Lots of good suggestions here. I would concur with Hearst Castle, especially if you can go on one of the days/nights when they're hosting the hollywood "elite". They have people dressed as famous movie stars who frequented the Castle and they're in character the whole time, it's pretty cool.

Paso Robles/Atascadero is a nice area if you're looking for a place to stop over. Great wine country and not heavily traveled from my experience.

I wouldn't advise trying to make a long trip on the PCH. Your upper body will be sore from steering through the curves, as as previously stated, your passenger(s) will probably be a little sick from all the twists and turns.

I thought it would be fun to drive the PCH from Malibu to San Francisco. While it was beautiful, it was a taxing drive. Also be aware that distances are easily identified, that is, it might look like a straight line on the map, but it's really a bunch of curves that are good small to detail on the map.

Dan

 

[thebrinksman]

The Madonna Inn. Have a sense of humor.

 

[Gatorblue92]

A few years ago we had a flight cancelled due to weather and ended up with an extra 2 days in SoCal and went to Joshua Tree National Park and absolutely loved it. We were there in February so the weather was nice. Would definitely go back to the LA area again and also see some of the other parks like Channel Islands and Death Valley.

 

[TimL]

@744Brillantsilber, I've done the Pacific Coast Highway from Seattle to San Diego twice now and the northern part (Seattle to Monterey) an additional four times. The entire drive is gorgeous, but can be a bit challenging if you go during summer vacation time when people crawl along the road in their campers. However, if you go in the off season with less traffic, you can really have a blast on some very fun sections (Mendocino to San Francisco is particular fun, to my mind). I also really like the Big Sur part, South of San Francisco.

California is gorgeous, so in reality you can't go wrong. Hope you'll have a great time and make use of @Jlaa's offer to join him and the Northern California guys for a drive - very, very nice people!

 

[Stevester 500E]

Many nice Areas. San Diego being one of them. The beach to hit in San Diego is Del Mar, 15th Street. Then La Jolla, then check out Coronado.

 

[744Brillantsilber]

Come by my restaurant(s) in LA. Can send me a pm for info. Happy to meet a fellow addict.

Thank you very much for your offer! Would love to make it happen!

Thank you all for the great inspiration!