Lonely Planet California's Best Trips , livre ebook

CONTENTS

PLAN YOUR TRIP

Welcome to California
California Highlights
If You Like…
Need to Know
City Guide
California Classic Trips

ON THE ROAD

1 California’s Greatest Hits & Las Vegas
2 Pacific Coast Highways
3 Mission Trail
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
4 Marin County
5 Bay Area Culinary Tour
6 Napa Valley
7 Sonoma Valley
8 Healdsburg & Around
9 Russian River & Bohemian Highway
10 Mendocino & Anderson Valley
11 Lost Coast & Southern Redwoods
12 Northern Redwood Coast
13 Trinity Scenic Byway
14 Volcanic Legacy Byway
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
15 Big Sur
16 Along Highway 1 to Santa Cruz
17 Around Monterey & Carmel
18 Around San Luis Obispo
19 Santa Barbara Wine Country
20 Lake Tahoe Loop
21 Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
22 Eastern Sierra Scenic Byway
23 Highway 49 Through Gold Country
24 Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway
25 Feather River Scenic Byway
26 Sacramento Delta & Lodi
Southern California
27 Disneyland & Orange County Beaches
28 Fun on the San Diego Coast
29 SoCal Pop Culture
30 Route 66
31 Life in Death Valley
32 Palm Springs & Joshua Tree Oases
33 Temecula, Julian & Anza-Borrego
ROAD TRIP ESSENTIALS

California Driving Guide
Driver’s License & Documents
Insurance
Hiring a Vehicle
Road Distances
Border Crossing
Maps
Road Conditions
Road Rules
Parking
Fuel
Safety
California Travel Guide
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Air
Bus
Car & Motorcycle
Train
DIRECTORY A–Z
Accommodations
Electricity
Food
LGBTQ Travelers
Internet Access
Money
Opening Hours
Public Holidays
Safe Travel
Telephone
Tourist Information
Travelers with Disabilities
Visas

BEHIND THE SCENES
INDEX
OUR WRITERS

Santa Barbara Bicycle touring in the wine country ED FREEMAN / GETTY IMAGES ©
WELCOME TO CALIFORNIA

Starry-eyed newbies head to the Golden State to find fame and fortune, but you can do better. Come for the landscapes, stay for the sensational food, and glimpse the future in the making on America’s creative coast. Live in California? Rest assured there’s a gold mine of mom-and-pop restaurants, scenic routes and swimming holes yet to be discovered.
    California’s road trips will take you from the breezy, wildlife-rich Pacific Coast, to the towering redwoods of Big Sur and the north, to off-the-beaten-track deserts and Gold Rush towns, to big-name national parks such as Yosemite and Death Valley, and through the vine-strewn valleys of celebrated wine countries, starting with Sonoma and Napa.
    From backcountry lanes to beachside highways, we’ve got something for you. And if you’ve only got time for one trip, make it one of our nine Classic Trips, which take you to the very best of California.

Yosemite National Park Hikers on a quest for sublime views ONNES/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

CALIFORNIA HIGHLIGHTS

California’s best sights and experiences, and the road trips that will take you there.
Redwoods
Ditch the cell phone and hug a tree, dude. California’s towering giants grow along much of the coast, from Big Sur north to the Oregon border. It’s possible to cruise past the trees – or even drive right through them at old-fashioned tourist traps – but nothing compares to the awe you’ll feel while walking underneath these ancient ones. Explore Redwood National & State Parks on Trip 12: Northern Redwood Coast .
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Redwoods Father and son enjoying the surrounding redwoods ALEKSEI POTOV / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Golden Gate Bridge
Sashay out onto San Francisco’s iconic bridge. Spy on cargo ships threading through the pylons and memorize 360-degree views of the rugged Marin Headlands, far-off downtown skyscrapers and the speck that is Alcatraz Island. Drive across this impressive 20th-century engineering feat on Trip 2: Pacific Coast Highways .
TRIPS click here click here click here click here

Golden Gate Bridge View of San Francisco’s iconic bridge and Fort Point DANITA DELIMONT / GETTY IMAGES ©

Palm Springs
A chic desert oasis ever since the early days of Hollywood and Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack. Do like A-list stars do here: lounge by your hotel’s swimming pool, then drink cocktails from sunset till dawn. Break a sweat in hot-springs spas or on hiking trails that wind through desert canyons and mountain forests atop the head-spinning aerial tramway on Trip 32: Palm Springs & Joshua Tree Oases .
TRIPS click here click here

Disneyland
Where orange groves once grew, there Walt Disney built his fantasy Magic Kingdom in 1955. Beloved cartoon characters still waltz arm-in-arm down Main Street, USA, and fireworks explode over Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. If you’re a kid, or just hopelessly young at heart, this might really be ‘the Happiest Place on Earth.’ Make a date with Mickey on Trip 27: Disneyland & Orange County Beaches .
TRIPS click here click here

Yosemite National Park
In what conservationist John Muir called a temple, everything looks bigger, whether you’re getting splashed by thunderous waterfalls, staring up at granite domes or walking in giant sequoia groves. For sublime views, perch at Glacier Point under a full moon or along high-elevation Tioga Rd on Trip 21: Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks .
TRIPS click here click here

Yosemite National Park Hiker walking towards Yosemite Falls NEALE CLARK / GETTY IMAGES ©

BEST SCENIC ROUTES
Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) Cruise oceanfront Hwy 1 in Orange County. Trips click here click here
Avenue of the Giants Wind past the world’s biggest redwood trees. Trips click here click here
Kings Canyon Scenic Byway Descend into California’s deepest river canyon. Trips click here click here
Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway Climb over the Sierra Nevada from Gold Country to Lake Tahoe. Trip click here

Big Sur
Hidden by redwood forests, the bohemian Big Sur coast keeps its secrets for those who will savor them: hidden hot springs, waterfalls and beaches where the sand is tinged purple or where gigantic chunks of jade have been found. Don’t forget to look skyward to catch sight of endangered California condors soaring above craggy sea cliffs on Trip 15: Big Sur .
TRIPS click here click here click here

Big Sur Bixby Creek Bridge over Big Sur’s coastline WELCOMIA / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

BEST SMALL TOWNS
Bolinas A not-so-secret coastal hamlet in Marin County. Trip click here
Calistoga For Napa Valley’s blue-jeans-and-boots crowd and hot-springs lovers. Trips click here click here
Avila Beach Sunny beach boardwalk and a creaky fishing pier. Trips click here click here
Bodie California’s most atmospheric Old West mining ghost town. Trip click here
Arcata Bohemian counter-culture behind the Redwood Curtain. Trips click here click here click here

Lake Tahoe
In summer, startlingly clear blue waters invite splashing around, kayaking and boating, while mountain bikers careen and hikers stride along trails threading through pine forests. In winter, after a thrilling day of skiing Olympic-worthy runs or snowshoe trekking, retreat to your cozy lakefront cottage to toast s’mores by the fire pit. Trip 20: Lake Tahoe Loop is ready to roll year-round.
TRIPS click here

Lake Tahoe Kayaking on the lake’s clear blue waters JUPITERIMAGES / GETTY IMAGES ©

Monterey
Forget Hollywood visions of sun-soaked beaches. Instead imagine John Steinbeck and his novels of American realism set on this rugged peninsula. To meet local wildlife, hop aboard a whale-watching cruise in the bay or step inside Cannery Row’s renowned aquarium. Then poke around the West Coast’s oldest continuously operating lighthouse on Trip 17: Around Monterey & Carmel .
TRIPS click here click here

Santa Monica
Who needs LA traffic? Hit the beach instead. Learn to surf, ride a solar-powered Ferris wheel, catch jaw-dropping sunsets from an old-fashioned pier, amaze the kids at the aquarium’s tidal touch pools or just dip your toes in the water and let your troubles float away. Experience it all on Trip 1: California’s Greatest Hits & Las Vegas .
TRIPS click here click here click here click here

Santa Monica Pacific Park’s Ferris wheel on Santa Monica Pier EDUARDO FREDERIKSEN / 500PX ©

Joshua Tree National Park
Whimsical-looking Joshua trees define this park, where the Colorado and Mojave Deserts converge. This is one of California’s top places to go rock climbing, but even kids can scramble around the larger-than-life boulders. Hikers seek out fan-palm oases fed by springs and streams. Come to see spring wildflower blooms on Trip 32: Palm Springs & Joshua Tree Oases .
TRIPS click here click here

Joshua Tree National Park Boulders and Joshua trees GARY C. TOGNONI / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Sonoma County
Amid the sun-dappled vineyards and pastoral ranchlands of ‘Slow-noma,’ the uniqueness of terroir is valued more than a winery’s fine-art collection. In this down-to-earth wine region, which is also known for making fine artisanal food and craft beer and spirits, you might taste new vintages straight from the barrel. Who cares if it’s not even noon yet? Relax. Conventions need not apply on Trip 7: Sonoma Valley .
TRIPS click here click here click here click here

Sonoma County Vineyards and wine barrels on display; GEORGE ROSE / GETTY IMAGES ©

San Diego’s Beaches
Cruise past impossibly white sands on Coronado’s Silver Strand, then stop for cotton candy and a roller-coaster ride at Mission Beach. La Jolla sits pretty atop rocky bluffs, a whisper’s breath from the sea, while beyond stretches an eclectic line-up of North County beach towns. Whatever you’ve been dreaming about for your SoCal beach vacation, find it on Trip 28: Fun on the San Diego Coast .
TRIPS click here click here

BEST ROADSIDE ODDITIES
Trees of Mystery Animatronic Paul Bunyan in the redwoods. Trip click here
Solvang Where windmills collide with Danish village kitsch. Trips clic