Help planning a trip to CA

zopperman

zopperman

Moderator
Me & my GF are going to go for 8 days in late december and want to start planning our trip, Looking for any suggestions or ideas on what to see, where to go, etc. As of now, cost permitting, we'd like to rent a car and drive all over and stay in different cities. We were thinking of starting in SF, making a 1-2 day venture north and seeing Mount Shasta and doing some nature-ish stuff like the redwoods, etc. and then heading south and eventually flying back from LA.

any ideas are welcome!
 
Last edited:
Register to hide this ad
1/2 day to Mt Shasta? It 4-5 hour drive from frisco. Red Woods NP even further. Stick around the bay area unless you do a loop going north. Its gonna be COLD late December, wind chill not temperature.

Lots to see around the bay area. Google it, above average scenery.
Muir woods
Point Reyes
Stinson Beach
Mt Tamalpais, I call it Mt Tamale
Wear seatbelt Hwy 1 scary, but beautiful.
Sausalito, very laid back
Food is the best around frisco. Cheap and good.

Further south driving down the Hwy 1
Half Moon Bay
Santa Cruz Boardwalk
Monterey Bay, Cannery Row
17 Mile Drive, worth the $10 fee

Lots more.
 
OffRoadGuy said:
1/2 day to Mt Shasta? It 4-5 hour drive from frisco. Red Woods NP even further. Stick around the bay area unless you do a loop going north. Its gonna be COLD late December, wind chill not temperature.

Lots to see around the bay area. Google it, above average scenery.
Muir woods
Point Reyes
Stinson Beach
Mt Tamalpais, I call it Mt Tamale
Wear seatbelt Hwy 1 scary, but beautiful.
Sausalito, very laid back
Food is the best around frisco. Cheap and good.

Further south driving down the Hwy 1
Half Moon Bay
Santa Cruz Boardwalk
Monterey Bay, Cannery Row
17 Mile Drive, worth the $10 fee

Lots more.
Click to expand...

Sorry, that was supposed to say 1-2 day trip, i'll edit that. Thanks for the suggestions. Would Shasta & the redwoods be worth spending a day to drive north to? GF's grandpa has a house in Weed so we were thinking of visiting, but not definite
 
zopperman said:
Sorry, that was supposed to say 1-2 day trip, i'll edit that. Thanks for the suggestions. Would Shasta & the redwoods be worth spending a day to drive north to? GF's grandpa has a house in Weed so we were thinking of visiting, but not definite
Click to expand...

If you plan on marrying the girl, then go. Most of northern California shuts down in winter. Only the diehards go out. Probably be snow around Mt Shasta and the Redwoods be empty because not peek season. If you haven't been around a 30' diameter tree, its worth going just to say you drove thru a tree. And you'll see Paul Bunyan and Babe standing 30 ft tall. Its pretty cool while driving down the coast and seeing all the driftwood on the beach. Awesome view from Klamath River overlook.
 
zopperman said:
Sorry, that was supposed to say 1-2 day trip, i'll edit that. Thanks for the suggestions. Would Shasta & the redwoods be worth spending a day to drive north to? GF's grandpa has a house in Weed so we were thinking of visiting, but not definite
Click to expand...

If you want to see the big redwoods, it's definitely worth the trip! I grew up in and around the bay, spent a few years in the sierras too. You can see the Giant sequoia in:

Muir Woods (near SF)
Calaveras Big Trees (farther out, in the sierras,in Dec you might get snow)
Big Basin State park (Santa Cruz area)

In the SF area you can see the Golden Gate from Fort Point, or the headlands lookout for distance views (which is also cool because you can see some of the old bunkers and battery locations in the hills, this is Sausalito side). If you go to Sausalito, there is an AWESOME hamburger joint called.... You guessed it! Hamburgers, and it is LITTLE! It's at 737 Bridgeway...

On your way south, you can see:

Hearst Castle
Pismo Beach (which you can drive out on and usually there are vendors renting dune buggys and quads to ride on the extensive dunes there) - Near San Luis Obispo

Anyway, there are plenty of 'picturesque' 'natury' stuff to do here... You can also hike to the top of Angel Island and see the whole SF Bay Area (and it's only a 3 mile hike with about a 600ft gain.

Anyway, anyway, hope you enjoy your visit!!:hello:
 
OffRoadGuy said:
If you plan on marrying the girl, then go. Most of northern California shuts down in winter. Only the diehards go out. Probably be snow around Mt Shasta and the Redwoods be empty because not peek season. If you haven't been around a 30' diameter tree, its worth going just to say you drove thru a tree. And you'll see Paul Bunyan and Babe standing 30 ft tall. Its pretty cool while driving down the coast and seeing all the driftwood on the beach. Awesome view from Klamath River overlook.
Click to expand...

You can drive through a tree.... :eek: that sounds awesome, or at least worth a day trip and driving around all day. I just googled the overlook and that looks incredible too. You definitely dont see stuff like that in PA...
 
zopperman said:
You can drive through a tree.... :eek: that sounds awesome, or at least worth a day trip and driving around all day. I just googled the overlook and that looks incredible too. You definitely dont see stuff like that in PA...
Click to expand...

lol.. yeah, all you guys have is Amish people and Hershey Chocolate. Well, you guys also have beautiful fall colors. I miss that.
 
OffRoadGuy said:
lol.. yeah, all you guys have is Amish people and Hershey Chocolate. Well, you guys also have beautiful fall colors. I miss that.
Click to expand...

I'm gonna post some fall pics from my trip to Maine next week to make you jealous :becky:

Or some from rural PA today in a bit.


drdolittlerwc said:
If you want to see the big redwoods, it's definitely worth the trip! I grew up in and around the bay, spent a few years in the sierras too. You can see the Giant sequoia in:

Muir Woods (near SF)
Calaveras Big Trees (farther out, in the sierras,in Dec you might get snow)
Big Basin State park (Santa Cruz area)

In the SF area you can see the Golden Gate from Fort Point, or the headlands lookout for distance views (which is also cool because you can see some of the old bunkers and battery locations in the hills, this is Sausalito side). If you go to Sausalito, there is an AWESOME hamburger joint called.... You guessed it! Hamburgers, and it is LITTLE! It's at 737 Bridgeway...

On your way south, you can see:

Hearst Castle
Pismo Beach (which you can drive out on and usually there are vendors renting dune buggys and quads to ride on the extensive dunes there) - Near San Luis Obispo

Anyway, there are plenty of 'picturesque' 'natury' stuff to do here... You can also hike to the top of Angel Island and see the whole SF Bay Area (and it's only a 3 mile hike with about a 600ft gain.

Anyway, anyway, hope you enjoy your visit!!:hello:
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot! My dad actually recommended Hearst Castle so that's definitely on the list and I've seen [MENTION=84223]JustSomeName[/MENTION] 's pictures from pismo that look awesome. I really want to take my 4r on a beach, but i cant bring it :pout:
 
OffRoadGuy said:
...
Further south driving down the Hwy 1
Half Moon Bay
Santa Cruz Boardwalk
Monterey Bay, Cannery Row
Click to expand...

Carmel By The Sea :) is south of Monterey. Soooo scenic! More expensive lodging than Monterey

South of CBS, keep on driving south on Hwy 1 through Big Sur. Gotta see this rugged coastline.

Driving will be slow because of winding road, but well worth it.

Island/Rock with door in it is on Pfeiffer Beach. Access is through Sycamore Canyon Road (Easy to miss, traffic jam on long weekends.)
sandpiper-66.jpg~original

3037720210_49f3f609ca_z.jpg~original


Photo below was taken from Nacimiento Road, just uphill of Hwy 1.
016_zps108cc439.jpg~original


Near southern end of winding road is Ragged Point (beautiful lodging but little expensive).

Past and south of the winding, San Simeon has less expensive lodging

Too many beautiful sites on Big Sur to list. Please research more Have fun and be safe. Take your motion-sickness pill / patch if needed :)
 
Big Basin State park (Santa Cruz )

I agree with this spot for sure, it's great during winter time you can rent a tent cabin for a night or two, and it's only about an hour and a half south of SF. Beautiful scenery here.:thumb3:
 
zopperman said:
I'm gonna post some fall pics from my trip to Maine next week to make you jealous :becky:

Or some from rural PA today in a bit.




Thanks a lot! My dad actually recommended Hearst Castle so that's definitely on the list and I've seen [MENTION=84223]JustSomeName[/MENTION] 's pictures from pismo that look awesome. I really want to take my 4r on a beach, but i cant bring it :pout:
Click to expand...

Rent an SUV with 4WD or AWD and you're fine at Pismo. i've seen stock trucks and even stock subarus out there with no problem
 
If i were you (IMHO), i would skip LA and head down to San Diego. Check out the gaslamp quarter, Pacific Beach, La Jolla shores and maybe even Coronado (if you have the time, but definitely check out the other sites at least)... Good luck and have fun on your trip!
 
Jgonz said:
If i were you (IMHO), i would skip LA and head down to San Diego. Check out the gaslamp quarter, Pacific Beach, La Jolla shores and maybe even Coronado (if you have the time, but definitely check out the other sites at least)... Good luck and have fun on your trip!
Click to expand...

Thanks, that actually may be what we wind up doing. I thought about flying into Phoenix, going to the Grand Canyon and the driving up and doing LA SD instead....
 
zopperman said:
Thanks, that actually may be what we wind up doing. I thought about flying into Phoenix, going to the Grand Canyon and the driving up and doing LA SD instead....
Click to expand...

Grand canyon is definitely a sight. The hotels in the park are a little pricy, but you can find some right outside for a little cheaper... Definitely gotta make plans around sunrise/sunset. good times!
 
Love California! I've been spending a lot of time there and may move away from rainy Oregon someday to live there. Here are some places definitely worth considering:

San Francisco:

-Golden Gate Bridge
-Alcatraz
-Lombard Street
-Coit Tower
-Chinatown
-Cable Cars
-Bay Bridge Lights (at night obviously)
-Fisherman's Wharf
-Use Yelp to find good restaurants, there are tons of them!

Central/Northern California:

-Sierras
-Yosemite National Forest
-Woodlake
-Sacramento

So. Cal-

-Disneyland and/or 6 Flags
-San Diego>LA

Sorry, nothing against LA, but San Diego is way better.

Also, keep an eye out for In-N-Out Burger. One of the best burgers I've ever had.
 
Visit Sedona AZ for a day and see the area, go on a day hike! Book a Bed and Breakfast for a true treat.

The Grand Canyon was big; I mean like really big lol. But aside from the view we enjoyed Sedona more.

Also driving down the coast from Monteray through Carmel and into Big Sur is a must. This is pretty much the best looking part of the CA coastline in my opinion.

South of SF stay away from the I-5 and 99 because they are SOOO boring and empty.

Spend at least a day in SF. It truly is a great city.

Drive though Tahoe or Yosemite if you can. I would spend at least a day and night in Tahoe and two days hiking in Yosemite national park.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 329 (members: 4, guests: 325)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,309
Messages
3,554,068
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top