West Coast Road Trip ideas

49 Places

Calistoga, California

California's Old Faithful

California's own majestic geyser is powered by a subterranean volcano.

Added by Martin

Point Arena, California

Bowling Ball Beach

The mysterious round rocks of Schooner Gulch.

Annetta Black

Added by Annetta Black

Napa, California

Monticello Dam Morning Glory Spillway

The largest drain hole in the world.

Added by Jehuty

Jenner, California

Fort Ross

The southernmost outpost of the Russian Empire in colonial America.

LameDuck99

Added by LameDuck99

Olema, California

1906 Earthquake Fence

'Cause the fence start shaking, the earth was quaking.

littlebrumble

Added by littlebrumble

San Jose, California

The Winchester Mystery House

A peculiar mansion built by the troubled heir to the Winchester Rifle Company fortune.

Added by mbison

San Francisco, California

Exploratorium

San Francisco's newly reopened hands-on science museum.

Tre

Sequoia National Park, California

General Sherman

Quite simply the largest tree in the world (by volume).

Mecca, California

Salton Sea

The ghostly remains of an accidental sea.

Rebekah Otto

Added by Rebekah Otto

Crestline, California

Heart Rock Falls

Carved by a waterfall in a hard-to-reach rock formation, this heart-shaped rock has inspired romantics for decades.

kcmick

Added by kcmick

Tulelake, California

Lava Beds National Monument

Trails through lava-carved tube-caves display sparkling bacteria and a rich history.

Trevor

Added by Trevor

Big Sur, California

McWay Falls and Waterfall House Ruins

This Big Sur waterfall drops 80 feet directly into the Pacific Ocean, and inspired the hillside house up top.

kjmoore12

Added by kjmoore12

Joshua Tree, California

The Noah Purifoy Desert Art Museum

Explore 10 acres of environmental sculptures.

anhie

Mono County, California

Crowley Lake Columns

Eons old volcanic activity created one of the most stunning rock formations in the United States.

kenaalto

Added by kenaalto

Rancho Palos Verdes, California

Wayfarers Chapel

A Swedenborgian glass church surrounded by redwoods sits perched atop a massive landslide area.

anhie

Los Angeles, California

St. Vincent Court

A faux European lane smack dab in downtown L.A.

Alfred Lord Tennisanyone

Added by Alfred Lord Tennisanyone

Truckee, California

Donner Party Artifacts

Bits and pieces from the ill-fated Donner Party's winter cabins.

Annetta Black

Added by Annetta Black

Norden, California

"Snowshoe" Thompson Memorial Statue

A statue commemorating the heroic life of a Viking postman who was the Godfather of California skiing.

Added by zackofalltrades

San Jose, California

Drawbridge

San Francisco Bay's ghost town.

Added by dsjas297

Calistoga, California

Castello di Amorosa

California's own medieval Italian castle, authentic down to the 300-year-old iron maiden in the dungeon.

Dustin Stonecipher

Added by Dustin Stonecipher

Calistoga, California

Sharpsteen Museum

A veteran Disney animator turned his gift for storytelling to a museum devoted to his love of a California city.

Added by Martin

Calistoga, California

Calistoga Pioneer Cemetery

This historic California cemetery holds the bodies of veterans of both the Civil War and the Donner Party.

Added by Martin

Silverado, California

Black Star Canyon

The site of murders and Satanic cult gatherings.

Added by Bswanson

Leggett, California

Chandelier Tree

This massive redwood tree has a hole in the base big enough to drive through.

nbj914

Added by nbj914

Old Station, California

Painted Dunes

Sunset-colored dunes of volcanic ash make taking a poor photo impossible.

Toutlemonde

Added by Toutlemonde

Vina, California

Abbey of New Clairvaux

The long, arduous journey of the stones of the Abbey of New Clairvaux.

rebeccaclara

Added by rebeccaclara

Chico, California

World's Largest Working Wooden Yo-Yo

Hidden inside a gift shop that doubles as a museum, this gargantuan yo-yo can only be operated by crane.

Added by Schweg

Oroville, California

Cherokee

Home of what was the largest hydraulic mine in the world, producing gold and the first diamonds in the U.S.

Shannon Ohaire

Added by Shannon Ohaire

Oroville, California

Mother Orange Tree

The oldest orange tree in California spawned a generation of citrus farmers.

Elliot Carter

Added by Elliot Carter

Sutter, California

Sutter Buttes

Rising out of miles of farmland, these buttes are sometimes called the world's smallest mountain range.

leiris

Added by leiris

Sacramento, California

Spirit of Sacramento

Before it was abandoned and left to rust alongside the road, this riverboat starred in a John Wayne movie.

Added by leuevo

Sacramento, California

Patty Reed's Doll

A tiny survivor of the Donner Party disaster.

Annetta Black

Added by Annetta Black

Sacramento, California

Dragon House

An eccentric home stands out in an otherwise average neighborhood with mosaics, mini topiaries, and kinetic sculpture.

katiebaker4

Added by katiebaker4

West Sacramento, California

I Street Bridge

I Street Bridge is the heaviest swinging center bridge in the United States.

dapauls

Added by dapauls

Sacramento, California

Sacramento Locomotive Works

This 19th century train workshop is a treasure trove of railroad history.

Dr Alan P Newman

Added by Dr Alan P Newman

Winnemucca Lake

This dry lake bed contains the oldest known petroglyphs in North America.

DannyBoy

Added by DannyBoy

Cabazon, California

Cabazon Dinosaurs

The "world's biggest dinosaur" once housed a creationist museum in its abdomen.

anhie

Port Orford, Oregon

Prehistoric Gardens

A collection of colorful dinosaurs hidden in an actual rainforest.

SamM

Granger, Washington

Hisey Dinosaur Park

In Washington's Yakima Valley lies a town "where dinosaurs roam."

Undefined Reading

Added by Undefined Reading

Zillah, Washington

Teapot Dome Service Station

Perhaps the world's only gas station inspired by a political scandal.

littlebrumble

Added by littlebrumble

Aptos, California

Egg Vending Machine at Glaum Ranch

At this California chicken ranch, four bucks will get you 18 eggs and a chorus of dancing animatronic poultry.

Added by jmpasko

Inverness, California

KPH Maritime Radio Receiving Station

An enchanting tunnel of cypress trees leads to an old morse code station still used today.

James Gage

Added by James Gage

Furnace Creek, California

Harmony Borax Works

This crumbling Death Valley mining complex was known for its use of giant, 20-mule team wagons.

EricGrundhauser

Added by EricGrundhauser

Inyo County, California

Saline Valley Hot Springs

A hard-to-reach oasis in a desolate corner of Death Valley National Park.

Tre

Indio, California

Shields Date Garden

A giant knight, sex education, date shakes, and Jesus coexist happily in this Coachella Valley desert oasis.

Rohini Chaki

Added by Rohini Chaki

Los Angeles, California

Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden

This “living museum” at UCLA exhibits thousands of plant species from all over the world.

Added by Rachel Gould

Los Angeles, California

Self-Realization Fellowship Meditation Gardens

This peaceful garden is hidden on the grounds of a spiritual organization founded by a pioneer yogi.

Meg

Los Angeles, California

Self-Realization Fellowship Meditation Gardens

This peaceful garden is hidden on the grounds of a spiritual organization founded by a pioneer yogi.

Meg

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