Northern California Natural Parks: Pacific Coast and Sierra Nevada

Departure from San Francisco. Cross Golden Gate Bridge and enter Marin Headlands and Muir Woods. Join Point Reyes National Seashore by Highway 1 and visit this beautiful coastal park. Sleep on the spot in a campsite or go north along the coast.

Walk along the coast on Highway 1 and enjoy breathtaking landscapes along the ocean. Join Humboldt County by Avenue of Giants which crosses a giant redwoods forest. Sleep in Eureka.

Explore this national park, where you can find trees that are among the oldest and highest in the world. Join Redding and sleep there at the end of the day.

Discover the volcanic nature of Shasta County at Lassen Volcanic National Park. Join Sacramento and spend the night there.

Admire the beauty of the turquoise waters of Lake Tahoe and visit the lake to take the measure of these lake landscapes. Sleep on site.

Nature is magnificent in this mythical national park. You will find more or less difficult hikes there.

Plan for a second exploration of the park to continue to discover the forests of giant redwood and gigantic waterfalls.

A lunar landscape of Mono Lake and eastern slope from Sierra Nevada to Mammoth Lakes. Spend the night in Lee Vining.

As you head for the south, plan a hike around Mount Whitney, the highlight of the United States apart from Alaska (4,421 m). Overnight in Lone Pine.

From Lone Pine, join Death Valley at about 1h 30 drive. The ideal is to leave very early not to suffer from heat and to explore the various sites. Overnight in a motel to complement the road trip experience!

You will need one day long to return to the coast, stop for an overnight in San Luis Obispo.

Mystical landscapes, raging ocean and torn coast of golden cliffs draw Big Sur. You will have fun watching marine mammals throughout the coast, including grey whales during migrations. Overnight in Big Sur.