This Northern California Road Trip Takes You From The Redwood Trees To The Most Famous Prison On Earth
To explore Northern California could take an entire lifetime. We’ve got waterfalls, amazing cities, so many delicious restaurants, and natural wonders like Yosemite National Park… with so much to see and do, it can feel impossible to narrow it all down. With that in mind, we’ve created an epic road trip for you that will take you down the shoreline of Northern California to see some of the best attractions in the region. It may not include everything worth seeing in Northern California, but it’s a good selection of some of our top sights next time you’ve got a few days to spare.
The entire trip will take just over eight hours of driving time, so you will be in the car for a while, but following along the coastline is one of the most scenic drives in Northern California. The drive is so pretty that you won't regret your time in the car! For a customizable itinerary, check out Google Maps.
At first glance, Glass Beach may look like a normal beach. It's beautiful, with the rocky shoreline that's common to many beaches in Northern California.
When you look closer, you'll see that the "sand" here is largely made up of glass. The site was once a dump, and the waves rolling in over the ground have worn down the glass bottles and debris here so much that it now resembles colorful rounded pebbles.
If you'd like to stop overnight at this point in your journey, the Pine Mountain Lookout is a great option. This little cottage has served as a place to monitor fires and also as a World War II aircraft defense monitoring location. The lookout is now available as an overnight rental. It does not have water or electricity, so this is a great opportunity to have a rustic overnight getaway. The Lookout is open seasonally, and you can get more information on the Recreation.gov website.
4. Petrified Forest: Calistoga, CA
Petrified Forest Road, Petrified Forest Rd, Calistoga, CA, USA
Alcatraz Island is the infamous maximum-security prison that once held notorious criminals like Al Capone. This place is truly spooky and it's considered to be one of the most haunted places in Northern California. It's the perfect ending for your road trip through Northern California (and thankfully, you'll get to go home after visiting!).
We wish we could’ve included even more places on our road trip through Northern California, but we know everyone has limited time! Feel free to share your suggested stops in the comments, we’d love to hear more ideas!
Address: Founders Grove, California 95569, USA
Address: Glass Beach, Fort Bragg, CA 95437, USA
Address: Pine Mountain Lookout, California 95469, USA
Address: Petrified Forest Road, Petrified Forest Rd, Calistoga, CA, USA
Address: Golden Gate Bridge Vista Point, San Francisco, CA 94129, USA
Address: Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, CA, USA
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Lisa loves animals and has dogs, rats, cats, guinea pigs, and snakes. Practically all of her free time is spent trapping and fixing stray cats. She also likes reading, playing Pokemon Go, and going to concerts. Her dog Cece is the best dog in the whole world. You can reach Lisa at lsammons@onlyinyourstate.com