AU G U S T 7, 2022
S U N D AYS I G N A L · 7
Super Scenic California Road Trips mud pots and steaming geysers of:
By Michele E. Buttelman Signal Staff Writer
T
he Highway 1 Pacific Coast Highway road trip that passes through Big Sur on California’s Central Coast is perhaps the most famous scenic drive in the Golden State. But it’s not the only beautiful and unforgettable road trip in California by far. Consider one of these five classic road trips, rich with magical scenery like pounding surf, rolling hills, waterfalls and plenty of wineries.
Redding to Lassen Volcanic National Park
Length 188 miles Prime Seasons Spring and Summer The northeastern Shasta Cascade region reveals a lot of California’s best-kept secrets. Start in Redding and head up I-5 and drive past the 14,162-foot Mount Shasta; seeing it for the first time, John Muir once wrote, made his “blood turn to wine.” While you’re in the area, don’t miss the spires at: Castle Crags State Park, 20022 Castle Creek Road, Castella 96017 After viewing the dramatic 6,000feet tall granite spires of the park, which are more than 170 million years old, head back to I-5 and head south on Highway 89, which is part of the 500-mile Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway and visit: McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, 24898 CA-89, Burney 96013 The park is home to the 129-foot, fern-draped Burney Falls. The popularity of these spectacular springfed falls means weekend access to the park in summer is often limited due to crowds of visitors. It’s best to visit during a weekday. Visit parks.ca.gov /?page_id=455. Finish your trip at the bubbling
Lassen Volcanic National Park, Loomis Museum, 29489 Lassen National Park Hwy, Shingletown, 96088 Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center, 21820 Lassen National Park Hwy, Mineral 96063 Most first-time visitors to the park begin by driving the 30-mile park highway. Begin your drive at the Northwest or Southwest entrance.
Highway 1 from San Francisco to Fort Bragg
Length 175 miles Prime Season November through April This stretch of the highway offers windswept beauty and dramatic ocean views. It starts when you cross the Golden Gate Bridge into Sausalito and Marin County, where you’ll encounter the coastal hills and redwoods of: Muir Woods National Monument, 1 Muir Woods Road, Mill Valley 94941 You will need parking reservations to visit at gomuirwoods.com. There is no cell phone service at the park. Continue by the dramatic sea cliffs and remote beaches of: Point Reyes National Seashore, Bear Valley Visitor Center, 1 Bear Valley Road, Point Reyes Station 94956 From there, cruise through the rolling vineyards of Napa Valley and Sonoma County’s wine country. Then explore the seemingly untouched beauty of the North Coast, from the craggy coastline at: Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands, Lighthouse Road, Point Arena 95468 www.blm.gov/visit/point-arenastornetta-unit Visit the rugged terrain of: Mendocino Headlands State Park,1000 Brewery Gulch Road, Mendocino 95460 www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=442 Be sure to visit the quaint, Victorian-style town of Mendocino. Next, head north on Highway 1 for
20 minutes to Fort Bragg and explore: MacKerricher State Park, 24100 Mackerricher Park Road, Fort Bragg 95437 At the park see seals, migrating whales (from November through April) and Glass Beach, which looks like it’s covered with jewels.
Sierra Vista Scenic Byway
Length 90 miles Prime Season June through October Glass Beach. PHOTO COURTESY VISIT CALIFORNIA While scarred by reMost famous for its summer flower cent fires this drive along forest roads fields, Lompoc also is known for exoffers a window into what the High cellent Pinot Noir. You’ll find numerSierra looked like roughly a centuous wine tasting rooms along your ry ago, which means you’ll traverse a route. few dirt roads, too. Beach-to-Desert Drive from San Start on Forest Road 81 near the town of North Fork, 45 miles northDiego east of Fresno and follow the route for Length 90 miles about 90 miles. Prime Seasons Late Winter and Views include plenty of peaks, Spring granite domes, and conifer forests; Bounce from the coast to the prime stops include Jesse Ross Cabin, mountains and then the desert in this which dates back to the 1860s and scenery-packed trip across Southern the 2,700-year-old Bull Buck Tree, California. one of the world’s oldest sequoia From the beaches of La Jolla or Del trees: Nelder Grove, Sky Ranch Road, Mar, take State Road 56 east to HighOakhurst 93644 way 67, which winds through rural Ramona, dotted with farm stands. Highway 101 from Malibu to Then turn onto Highway 78 and Lompoc into the Cuyamaca Mountains toward Length 120 miles Julian, the mountain town known for Prime Season: Year-round This stretch of Highway 101, which its apple crops. Reward yourself with a slice of pie overlaps with parts of Highway 1, at: gives you a greatest-hits road trip of Julian Pie Company both beach and wine country. 2225 Main St. Julian 92036 Start in iconic Malibu, where the Then ease back down the road’s highway runs along the base of the twists and turns into the desert. Visit rugged Santa Monica Mountains bethe 600,000-acre Anza-Borrego Desfore passing through Oxnard, Ventuert State Park: ra and idyllic Santa Barbara. 200 Palm Canyon Drive, Look west, out over the water, for Borrego Springs 92004 signs of Channel Islands National The park is home to an explosive Park and walk in the sand on one of Santa Barbara’s local beaches, such as wildflower bloom every year, around February and March. El Capitán, Refugio or Gaviota. Borrego Springs is an International The highway then turns inland Dark Sky Community known for its through rolling ranchlands, bound epic stargazing. for Lompoc.
