Table Of ContentEYEWITNESS TRAVEL
BACK ROADS
CALIFORNIA
EYEWITNESS TRAVEL
BACK ROADS
CALIFORNIA
contributors:
Christopher p. baker, lee foster
CONTENTS
ABOUT THIS BOOK 6
INTRODUCING CALIFORNIA 8
MANAGING EDITOR
MadhuMadhavi Singh GETTING TO CALIFORNIA 10
Above Lassen Peak towering over the forested shores
EDITORIAL MANAGER PRACTICAL INFORMATION 12 of Manzanita Lake, Lassen Volcanic National Park
Sheeba Bhatnagar
DESIGN MANAGER Mathew Kurien DRIVING IN CALIFORNIA 16 Drive 5
PROJECT EDITOR Divya Chowfin WHERE TO STAY 22 WINE VALLEYS AND
PROJECT DESIGNER Namrata COASTAL VISTAS
Adhwaryu WHERE TO EAT 24
Healdsburg to
DESIGNER Rupanki Arora Kaushik THE DRIVES 26
Boonville 62
PICTURE RESEARCH MANAGER
2–3 days
Taiyaba Khatoon Drive 1
PICTURE RESEARCHERS Lokesh Bisht,
ROMANCE OF THE GOLDEN Drive 6
Nikhil Verma
GATE
SENIOR DTP DESIGNER REDWOOD EMPIRE ROUTE
Azeem Siddiqui Fort Funston to Angel Mendocino to
SENIOR CARTOGRAHIC MANAGER Island State Park 28 Crescent City 72
Uma Bhattacharya 2 days 4–5 days
CARTOGRAPHER
Subhashree Bharati Drive 2 Drive 7
ILLUSTRATOR SACRAMENTO DELTA LAND OF FIRE AND ICE
Arun Pottirayil
Martinez to Wine Redding to Red Bluff 84
Printed and bound by South China and Pear Country 36 4–5 days
Printing Co. Ltd., China
1–2 days
12 13 14 15 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Drive 8
First published in Great Britain in 2013 by Dorling Drive 3
Kindersley Limited, 80 Strand, London MOUNTAINS, LAKES, AND
FORESTED SLOPES AND
WC2R 0RL, A Penguin Company RANCHLANDS
Copyright 2013 © Dorling SCENIC COAST
Shasta City to Yreka 94
Kindersley Limited, London
Vista Point to Point 2–3 days
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
Reyes Headland 44
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, 1–2 days Drive 9
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording CALIFORNIA’S UNDISCOVERED
or otherwise, without the prior written Drive 4
permission of the copyright owner. NORTH
A CIP catalogue record is available from the WINE COUNTRY Yreka to Graeagle 102
Library of Congress. Napa to Sonoma 52 3–4 days
ISBN 978 0 7566 7494 6 2–3 days
Front cover: Highway 1 along the Pacific Below “Jumping cholla” cacti in the Cholla Cactus Below The landmark single-arch Bixby Bridge
coastline, Big Sur Garden, Joshua Tree National Park along the Big Sur coast
Above Tractor ride through the vineyards at Benziger Winery Above Waves gently lapping the sands at the scenic
in Glen Ellen, Sonoma County La Jolla Cove, La Jolla
Drive 10 Drive 15 Drive 20
SANTA CRUZ SOJOURN SPECTACULAR YOSEMITE DESERT LOWS TO
San Francisco shoreline Moccasin to Bodie State MOUNTAIN HIGHS
to Salinas 110 Historic Park 162 Palm Springs to
2–3 days 3–4 days Idyllwild 210
3 Days
Drive 11 Drive 16
ENCHANTING BIG SUR TOWERING TREES AND Drive 21
Monterey to GAPING GORGES EDGE OF THE WORLD
Morro Bay 122 Three Rivers to Fresno 172
Redlands to Cajon
2–3 days 3 days
Junction 218
Drive 12 Drive 17 2–3 days
ON THE ROYAL ROAD RUGGED OWENS VALLEY Drive 22
San Luis Obispo to Lone Pine to Mono Lake SURF COUNTRY
Ojai 132 Tufa State Reserve 180
La Jolla to Avalon 226
2–3 days 2–3 days
2–3 days
Drive 13 Drive 18
Drive 23
THE TAHOE LOOP DESERT DESIDERATA
SCENIC SAN DIEGO
Sacramento to Mojave to
Gaslamp Quarter to
Placerville 142 Badwater Basin 190
Balboa Park 236
3–4 days 3–4 days
1–2 days
Drive 14 Drive 19
Drive 24
GOLD COUNTRY MOJAVE MONTAGE
SAN DIEGO BACKCOUNTRY
Auburn to Desert Hot Springs
Mission San Diego de
Jamestown 152 to Mojave National
Alcalá to Ramona 244
2–3 days Preserve 200
2–3 days
3 days
Below The massive General Sherman Tree in the Below Gingerbread trimmed Firehouse Number 1
Giant Forest, Sequoia National Park Museum, Nevada City
INDEX 256
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 264
Title page Highway through Death Valley National Park
Half-title page A typical country house in Navarro
BRCL_004-005_Contents_US.indd 5 09/11/12 4:28 PM
About this Book 7
About this Book
The 24 drives in this book capture the fantastic whether it is a sojourn through the vineyards of
diversity of California, from the snow-capped Napa Valley from San Francisco, exploring the
mountains and fog-shrouded redwood forests Mojave Desert when the spring wildflowers
of the north to the deserts and sun-baked bloom, touring along the dramatic Mendocino
beaches of the south. The dramatic scenery coastline, or navigating the twisty mountain
changes with regularity, while the urban roads of Yosemite National Park. These drives
settings range from the sleepy 19th-century do not shun the region’s lesser-known regions,
Gold Rush-era towns of the Sierra foothills to but introduce you to some of the most
vibrant cities such as Los Angeles and San spectacular hidden corners of the state,
Francisco. With its superb highway system, allowing visitors to explore facets of California
California is tailormade for driving tours, that many never experience.
Getting Started rugged Mojave Desert to Northern
The front section of the guide California’s Redwood Empire, and Using the Sheet Map
provides all the practical information from the alpine spectacle of the A pull-out road map of the region
needed to plan and enjoy a driving Sierra Nevada to the beaches and is supplied at the back of the
holiday in California. It includes an craggy cliffs of the Pacific Coast. guide. This map contains all the
overview of when to go and how to Each drive begins with a list of information you need to drive
get there, advice on hiring a vehicle highlights and a mapped itinerary. around California and navigate
and details of any documentation There is advice on the best time of between the different tours. All
required. In-depth motoring advice year to do the drive, road conditions, motorways, major roads, ferry
ranges from driving rules to road market days, and major festival dates. ports, and airports are clearly
conditions, from buying fuel to The tour pages contain descriptions identified. A comprehensive index
breakdown or accident procedures – of each stop on the route, linked by will allow you to locate sights
the background knowledge that clear driving instructions. Side panels quickly and easily, and a handy
makes a driving trip stress-free. There highlight information on the most distance chart will enable you to
is also information on money, authentic places to stay and eat. gauge the distances between the
communications, opening hours, Tinted boxes feature background major cities. All these features
health and safety, as well as advice on information and interesting anecdotes make the pull-out map a great
accommodation and dining options, that relate to the specific drive. Each addition to the individual drive-
to ensure that you experience the drive features at least one mapped itinerary maps within the book.
very best of California’s hospitality. town or countryside walking tour or
hike, designed to take a maximum of
The Drives three hours at a gentle pace, with a longer driving holiday; or can be
The main section of the guide is stops along the way. The tours are experienced as segments and
divided into 24 scenic drives, ranging flexible: some can be linked to create dipped into as day trips.
in duration from one to five days. All
the tours can be undertaken in a
standard vehicle, and no special
driving skills are required, although a
few tours include side-trips along
sections of unpaved road where a
4WD vehicle is recommended. The
drives encompass every region of
the region, from Southern California’s
Top left Sprawling vineyard in Anderson Valley
Top right Windswept South Beach, Point Reyes
National Seashore Center left Lush pastures near
Etna Center right Picnic tables at Armstrong
Redwoods State Natural Reserve Bottom left
Colored cliffs in Rock Canyon State Park Bottom
right Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley Above Driving on a winding road through Owens Valley
