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Old 07-16-2015, 09:45 PM
 
66 posts, read 169,484 times
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I know one week is never enough to see all of California. But if you were going to take a week and see the best that California has to offer (not the touristy stuff but the real, good stuff) what would you see and do?
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Old 07-16-2015, 10:37 PM
 
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The drive from San Diego up to San Francisco along Coast Highway 1 is beautiful. Spend at least one night in Monterey.
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Old 07-17-2015, 12:20 AM
 
1,770 posts, read 1,662,332 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Action100 View Post
I know one week is never enough to see all of California. But if you were going to take a week and see the best that California has to offer (not the touristy stuff but the real, good stuff) what would you see and do?
Are you more interested in cities or nature? How many hours per day in the car are you comfortable with?

If this was my trip,

I would fly into LAX and spend my first night in LA. I would quickly see Hollywood and Rodeo Drive (because you almost have to) and then spend most of the rest of the day in Venice and Santa Monica.

I would spend the second night in Santa Barbara. I would check out State Street for a bit.

Early the next morning I would leave Santa Barbara and take CA 154 through the Santa Ynez Mountains. From there I would take Hwy 101 until San Luis Obispo. From there, I would take Hwy 1 through Big Sur all the way until I reached SF.

I would spend 2 nights in SF. While in SF, I would check out the Castro, Haight-Ashbury, the Mission District, the Marina and maybe Chinatown (if you do, get off the main streets). I would avoid Fisherman's Wharf. The Ferry Building, Coit Tower, the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park are nice. No reason to go to Union Square unless you want to spend a lot of money. Blue Bottle Coffee, Smitten Ice Cream, Humphrey Slocombe, Little Star Pizza, Delfina's, the Slanted Door and Greens are some of my favorite places to get food.

I would head right to Yosemite after SF, where I would spend two days and two nights. I would check out the famous viewpoints and hike.

I would spend the next night in or near Sequoia National Park. There I would see the giant forest.

Then I would head back to LA and depart from LAX.

Sorry for all of the "I would"s, but I imagine that you get my point.
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Old 07-17-2015, 05:08 PM
 
Location: LBC
4,156 posts, read 5,561,445 times
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Up the 101, down the 395. Nothing like it anywhere.
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Old 07-17-2015, 06:54 PM
 
18,172 posts, read 16,392,470 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Action100 View Post
I know one week is never enough to see all of California. But if you were going to take a week and see the best that California has to offer (not the touristy stuff but the real, good stuff) what would you see and do?
Coast Hwy, wherever possible, Hwy 1.South to North or North to South. Basically SD to maybe Bodega Bay. Lots to se along the way and the terrain changes a LOT.
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Old 07-17-2015, 09:28 PM
 
Location: Under the Redwoods
3,751 posts, read 7,671,533 times
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Avenue of the Giants....runs parallel to 101 in Northern California.
Yosemite
Big Sur
Hurst Castle
Pick one of the following- Stentson Beach, Bodega Bay, Mendocino Village.
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Old 07-17-2015, 10:17 PM
 
Location: Silicon Valley
18,813 posts, read 32,495,141 times
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I'll add:

Jedediah Smith Redwoods

Lake Tahoe

Napa area for wine tasting
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Old 07-18-2015, 08:50 AM
 
Location: Under the Redwoods
3,751 posts, read 7,671,533 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe View Post
I'll add:

Napa area for wine tasting
Sonoma and Mendocino counties also have wine tasting.
So what ever location works for the planned route.
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Old 07-18-2015, 09:01 AM
 
Location: Sherman Oaks, CA
6,588 posts, read 17,548,321 times
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I'm doing this in September, but our plans include a little bit of Oregon.

Day 1: L.A. to Garberville (so we can go to Shelter Cove and Black Sands Beach)
Day 2: Garberville to Crescent City (with stops in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Patrick's Point State Park, and a drive along the Avenue of the Giants, which parallels the 101)
Day 3: Crescent City to Klamath Falls, OR (Crater Lake, and maybe Lava Beds in California)
Day 4: Klamath Falls, OR to Chester, CA (with a beautiful drive and a couple of hikes in Lassen Volcanic National Park)
Day 5: Chester, CA to Lake Tahoe
Day 6: Lake Tahoe to Mammoth via the 89 (beautiful scenery on that highway, but it's closed in winter)
Day 7: Mammoth to L.A.

Obviously, we like nature. I figure I can always be stuck in traffic and crowds here at home.
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Old 07-18-2015, 09:07 AM
 
2,645 posts, read 3,329,578 times
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I swear this isn't an ad, but for folks interested in road trips, I'm crazy for the website www.RoadTrippers.com. You use it to plan trips, can easily insert/change destinations and stopping points, gives you drive times between stops as well as a list of hotels, restaurants and attractions that are along your route. I've used it a number of times.

I've heard you can do something similar with Google Maps, but this site is just set up more fun, IMO.
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