The first part of our 4,600 mile road trip through southern California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada takes us from LA and through scenic desert landscapes to Las Vegas.
This second leg of our loop goes from Las Vegas into the harsh, desert landscape of Death Valley, before we enter the much cooler forests of Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks and Yosemite. We then head for the coast and explore the wild and rugged coastline – and sealife – between Monterey and Los Angeles.
- Las Vegas to Furnace Creek (125 miles / 200km) – Death Valley National Park
- Furnace Creek to Sequoia (430 miles / 660km) – Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
- Sequoia – to Fish Camp (Yosemite) (250 miles / 400km) – Yosemite National Park
- Fish Camp to Monterey (185 miles / 300km)
- Monterey to Cambria via Big Sur (185 miles / 300km)
- Cambria to Malibu (200 miles / 320km)
- Malibu to Los Angeles (35 miles / 55km)
Las Vegas to Furnace Creek (Death Valley)
Driving distance: 125 miles / 200km (approx 3 hours)
Key Attractions: Pleasant scenery but not much to stop at – going via the Amaregosa Valley and the Area 51 Alien Centre adds about 20 miles (32km) to the drive.
Accommodation: Death Valley Ranch is one of three hotels inside Death Valley National Park, and is conveniently located near many of the main attractions (the nearby Death Valley Inn is a fair bit more expensive).
Three days of Las Vegas in the middle of our road-trip is more than enough – the kids would be happy to stay here another week, but my wife and I are ready to hit the road again.
It doesn’t take long before the bustling city is replaced by vast open space again, as we head north-west out of Vegas through Indian Springs on the Veterans Memorial Highway.
It’s not the most direct way, but the route takes us via Amaregosa Valley – and the Area 51 Alien Centre: “With a glaring green and pink paint job complete with an enthusiastic alien motif, the exterior of the building is enough to beckon most drivers off the highway. Then there’s the gas station and travel center, brimming with just about anything alien-themed you can imagine.”
We’re more than halfway to Furnace Creek, our destination for today, and the scenery gets a lot more dramatic as we enter Death Valley National Park.
We reach the appopriately-named Furnace Valley around mid-afternoon, and check-in at the Death Valley Ranch. Furnace Creek (formerly Greenland Ranch) has an elevation of 190 feet (58m) below sea level, and in the 2020 census had a population of 24 people. As well as two hotels, it’s home to the Death Valley National Park headquarters and visitor center, and a museum.
With a few hours left of daylight, we head out again to visit the famous Badwater Basin. On the way is the Artists Drive Loop, a road which winds through the Artists Palette: “a technicolor, kaleidoscopic display of multicolored rock in Death Valley National Park that must be seen to be believed. Located near the hub of Furnace Creek, Artists Palette is one of the most photographed spots in Death Valley.” Sunrise and sunset are the best times to visit, and while the colours are not quite as vivid as in some of the photos I’ve seen, it’s a spectacular drive with lots of photo stops.
After the twisting road through the Artists Palette we’re back on the dead straight road to the salt pan, which we can see from a long distance away.
Despite the fact it’s late in the day and only a couple of months until winter, it’s incredibly hot as we walk out onto the Badwater Basin salt-flat, the lowest point in North America.
We make it just in time, with the sun setting as we head back to our hotel.
Furnace Creek (Death Valley) to Sequoia Kings Canyon
Driving distance: 435 miles / 700km (approx 6-7 hours)
Key Attractions: A long drive with lots interesting desert scenery and mountain ranges. Allow time for the many attractions within Giant Sequoia National Monument and Sequoia National Park.
Accommodation: Montecito Sequoia Lodge is centrally located offering easy access to many of the attractions and hikes inside the Giant Sequoia National Monument, Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park. The lodge has basic cabins and offers meals.
It’s an early start as we have a big driving day today as we leave the desert, and make our way towards the coast for the much cooler mountains of the Sequoia Kings Canyon National Parks. (It’s even longer than originally planned as Highway 190 is closed to the north just past Furnace Creek, which means we need to back-track to Death Valley Junction.) This route takes us back past Zabriskie Point, where a very short walk up the paved trail offers some “iconic views” over the badlands, the salt flats in the distance and the Panamint Mountains towering above.
We’re soon out of Death Valley National Park, with the mountains of the Resting Spring Range Wilderness and Nopah Range Wilderness Area in front of us as we drive south along Highway 190.
There’s some dramatic scenery as we head south down Highway 127 down the eastern side of Death Valley National Park (some of the roads and highways in the northern section of the park have been closed due to flooding a couple of months ago, requiring a long detour).
Highway 127 crosses a large plain in front of the The Avawatz Mountains, a “large group of 50 high desert summits lying entirely within San Bernardino County”, with about half of the peaks being inside the Fort Irwin Military Reservation.
Our next, brief stop is in Baker, one of the hottest populated places on earth and home of the World’s Tallest Thermometer – as well as a few other interesting sights. The original, 134 feet (41m) tall thermomoter was erected in 1991 by Willis Heron, and soon blown over by strong winds. It was re-built and operated until September 2012, when the current owner turned it off in due to the high power bill. Herron’s family recovered ownership of the property in 2014 and the thermometer was officially “re-lit” on 10 July 2014.
From Baker we take the Interstate 15 to Barstow before turning onto Highway 58, which will get us to Bakersfield. Our next, unplanned, stop is at the Boron Aerospace Museum: “To protect, preserve, and display the aerospace research history performed over the skies of Boron and Antelope Valley”. The small and slightly quirky, volunteer-run museum includes an F-4 fighter jet, an XLR-8 rocket engine and flight suits and helmets.
We’ve still got a bit of ground to cover, as we pass the Mojave Airplane Graveyard and the Alta Wind Energy Center (AWEC) – also known as Mojave Wind Farm, which is the third largest onshore wind energy project in the world.
A short detour gets us to the perimeter fence of the Mojave Air & Space Port, where we can see some of the hundreds of aircraft that are stored (or mothballed) at the Mojave Airplane Graveyard.
It’s a pretty uneventful drive for the next couple of hours, until we’re on the East Kings Canyon Road that heads up from Fresno into the Giant Sequoia National Monument.
The Blue Ridge Vista Point along East Kings Canyon Road (Highway 180) offers sweeping view over Kings Canyon National Park and some of the distant peaks of the Sierra Nevada Range.
East Kings Canyon Road turns into Generals Highway, and takes us into Kings Canyon National Park, which we enter at the Big Stump Entrance. As we continue along Generals Highway to our lodge, we pass through forest that was burnt in a major fire that devastated the area in late 2021.
Montecito Sequoia Lodge is located about midway between the General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park, and the General Grant Tree in Kings CanyonI. It offers basic cabins and a great buffet meal service in the evening. And some great views of the Great Western Divide from the deck glowing in the setting sun.
We’re only here for one night before resuming our trip, so I’m up early the next morning to do a couple of short hikes which offer some spectacular views over the area.
Big Baldy
A relatively short and easy walk, Big Baldy offers some stunning views over the Sierra Mountains and out towards Fresno. Continue along the ridge beyond the summit for the best views.
Distance: 5.9 miles / 9.5km. Grade Easy.
Moro Rock
A short but steep climb to the top of Moro Rock in Sequoia National Park, a 6,725 feet (2,050m) granite dome. The summit offers spectacular, 360-degree views.
Distance: 0.5 miles / 0.8km. Grade Easy.
Sequoia Kings Canyon to Yosemite via Kings Canyon Scenic Byway
Driving distance: 180 miles / 290km (approx 5 hours) + 70 miles / 115km for Yosemite drive
Key Attractions: Spectacular scenery along the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway (State Route 180) – allow plenty of time – and then not much until you reach Yosemite National Park.
Accommodation: Tenaya at Fish Camp, which is a full-service resort in the Sierra National Forest, about two miles from Yosemite National Park’s South Gate Entrance.
We’ve got a relatively short driving day today, so we have time to visit some of the giant sequoia trees after which the national park is named. The area is to half of the Earth’s largest and longest-living trees.
Near the Moro Rock trailhead, the Crescent Meadows Road passes the Parker Group Sequoias – a cluster of Giant Sequoias named after Captain James Parker, who served in the US Army’s 4th Cavalry and was acting superintendant of Sequoia National Park in 1893 and 1894. A bit further along, the road passes underneath Sequoia National Park’s Tunnel Log. It was created after a giant sequoia fell across the Crescent Meadow Road in late 1937 as a result of natural causes, and a tunnel was cut through the fallen log as a visitor attraction the following year.
Next we explore the General Grant Tree Trail, an easy 800-metre trail that leads to the second-largest tree in the world: the General Grant Tree is between 1,500 and 2,000 years old and is 267 feet tall (81m) high. Nearby is the Fallen Monarch Tree, a fallen giant sequoia that you can walk through.
Reached by a separate 0.5 mile / 0.8km trail, the German Sherman Tree is the tallest tree in the world, standing at 275 feet (83m) high and over 36 feet (11m) in diameter at the base.
My final (short) hike is up to the Panoramic Point Overlook, which offers a nice outlook… but is not really worth it compared to the many other things to see in the area.
Panoramic Point Overlook
Panoramic Point in Kings Canyon National Park offers sweeping (although not really spectacular) views over the peaks of the Monarch Divide and Tombstone Ridge.
Distance: 0.5 miles / 0.8km. Grade: Easy
We now continue along the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway: “50 spectacular miles leading to Roads End”. The road twists and turns as it descends the valley, with Junction View providing a great view and some informative signage explaining the geology of the canyon below.
There’s lots more dramatic scenery as the road descends steeply, before it crosses the Kings River.
The road follows the Kings River downstream past Grizzly Falls and through the “town” of Cedar Grove, where we have lunch at Cedar Grove Lodge (which is on the South Fork of the Kings River).
Another waterfall – Roaring River Falls – is further downstream, just before the end of the road. A number of hikes start from Roads End, from trails that take an hour or two, to multi-day loops that include part of the John Muir Trail.
From Roads End, it’s back the same way, with more great views from Canyon View Overlook, Scenic Byway Viewpoint and Yucca Point.
The scenery is a little uninspiring for a while after we leave Kings Canyon and head towards Fresno, until we entire Yosemite National Park on Highway 41. We’re staying at Fish Camp, just outside Yosemite’s South Gate Entrance, which as established by timber claim in 1881.
Yosemite Valley
The next day we head out to Yosemite Valley, passing the historic Wawona Hotel (“One of California’s original mountain resort hotels, the Victorian-era Wawona Hotel was originally established in 1856”) on the way.
Along our scenic drive is the Tunnel View Lookout, at the end of the Wawona Tunnel, which provides a spectacular view over the Yosemite Valley.
Continuing along Wawona Road and then onto Southside Drive, we do the scenic loop which follows both sides of the Merced River. Although it’s early October and well past the peak summer season, the park is very busy – there’s far more people than when I visited in April, over ten years ago.
I do the short walk to the Bridalveil Falls Viewpoint, although the flow of water is low, and the waterfall is not overly impressive at this time of year.
On the vertical cliff face of the El Capitan we can just make out some climbers (and their camping gear): the average climb time is 4-5 days, while the record time is under three hours (2:36:45).
Even without doing any hikes, there’s dramatic scenery in every direction.
Valley View along Northside Drive provides a nice view of El Capitan and Cathedral Rocks (and Bridal Veil Falls when there’s more water flowing).
After our drive around the Yosemite Valley in the morning, I do the nearby Chilnualna Falls trail in the afternoon, which starts near Wawona.
Chilnualna Falls
The first part of a 25 miles / 40km trail from Wawona to the Yosemite Valley, the hike to the top of Chilnualna Falls passes multiple waterfalls (best in May) and offers some nice views.
Distance: 7.7 miles / 12.4km. Grade: Easy/Moderate
We’re on the road again the following morning, so I get up early for one last Yosemite hike – the steep but spectacular ascent to Glacier Point (and as the Glacier Point Road was closed to cars, there was no-one else at the usually crowded lookout).
Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point
A steep climb up from the valley floor to the Glacier Point, with breathtaking views of the Yosemite Valley along the way and a spectacular sunrise from the top.
Distance: 10 miles / 16km return. Grade: Moderate
Yosemite to Monterey
Driving distance: 240 miles / 385km (5 hours)
Key Attractions: The scenic route from Fish Camp on the southern side of Yosemite to Monterey via Groveland crosses the park and exits on the northern side. Lots of interesting scenery through Yosemite.
Accommodation: Many accommodation options in Monterey; we stay at the
We take the long way from Fish Camp as we head to Monterey on the coast, crossing Yosemite National Park again and following the Merced River along El Portal Road.
El Portal Road passes the Yosemite Rock Tunnel, a natural stone tunnel archway.
El Portal Road becomes State Route 140, which continues to follow the Merced River for just over 30 miles.
We arrive in Monterey late afternoon, checking into our hotel before exploring the fascinating coastal town. Founded on 3 June 3 1770, Monterey was the capital of Alta California under both Spain (1804–1821) and Mexico (1822–1846) and was originally the only port of entry for all taxable goods in California. It was for a long time famous for the abundant fishery in Monterey Bay, until the 1950s when the local fishery business collapsed due to overfishing. Cannery Row – which was once the site of a number of now-closed sardine canning factories – was officially given this name in January 1958 to honor John Steinbeck and his novel Cannery Row.
We finish the day enjoying a dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co – the first restaurant and market in what is now chain opened in 1996 on Cannery Row, after the success of the movie “Forrest Gump.”
Monterey to Cambria via Big Sur
Driving distance: 185 miles / 300km (8 hours)
Key Attractions: So much to see on this relatively short drive along the coast via Big Sur: along State Route 1 are spectacular coastal vistas, wildlife and many short hikes.
Accommodation: Cambria Beach Lodge has a great location, right in front of the ocean and close to the Seal View Beach Deck (and a very short drive to the Elephant seal Viewing Deck).
While today is one of our shortest driving days in terms of distance, it’s also our longest day as there is so much to see along State Route 1 (Big Sur Highway). The day starts with a visit to the Coast Guard Pier to see the seals, for which Monterey is famous (they can be seen at a number of piers around Monterey).
Next is Otter Point, where we don’t see any otters… but more seals, a pelican and some entertaining squirrels!
A little further along the coast is the John Denver Memorial: his plane crashed in Monterey Bay on 12 October 12 1997.
The next stop is the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, the largest overwintering site for monarch butterflies in Monterey County. There’s not many butterflies around, with October being a bit too early. Peak season for the Western monarch butterflies is November to January.
17 Mile Drive
We head out of Monterey on our way down the coast via the famous 17 Mile Drive, which passes through Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula. A fee is payable as the road winds through a gated community, and past the Pebble Beach Golf Club.
Coming from the Pacific Grove Gate the road passes Bird Rock, home to Brandt’s cormorants, pelicans, and California sea lions that all sharing the very bird-poo-covered rock.
The Lone Cypress sits on the end of a rocky point. The iconic tree is 250 years old, and was adopted as the logo of Pebble Beach Company.
Our last stop along the 17 Mile drive is Pescadero Point, the site of the Ghost Tree which is a landmark Monterey Cypress tree. (It’s also a famed big wave surfing location, where with in the right conditions in winter waves focused by the deep Carmel Canyon can reach as high as 60 feet (18m), making it one of the most dangerous waves in the world.)
Big Sur
We exit 17 Mile Drive via the Highway 1 Gate, and continue south along the coast on the Cabrillo Highway – also known as the Big Sur National Scenic Byway. A quick stop at the uninhabited former hamlet of Notleys Landing offers a great view down the coast, including a small natural arch.
We’re soon at the Bixby Bridge, an iconic emblem of the Big Sur coastline. Also called the Bixby Canyon Bridge, it was constructed in 1932 and is one of the most photographed bridges in California due to its “aesthetic design, graceful architecture and magnificent setting”.
There’s more spectacular Big Sur coastline, as we pass the Great Sur Vista Point and Little Sur River Beach.
The road winds around the rugged coastline, with more sweeping views from the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park Vista Point.
One of the highlights of Big Sur is McWay Falls, a tidefall waterfall which drops 25m into a beautiful cove. The viewpoint is reached by a very short walk.
A bit further on is the Big Creek Bridge, a 589-foot (180m) long concrete deck arch bridge which was constructed during the Great Depression and opened for traffic in late 1938.
It’s getting late in the day, so we push on without too many more stops as we’ve got another 50-odd miles from Big Creek Bridget to Cambria.
Our last stop is to catch the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean, from one of the many scenic viewpoints along the Big Sur highway.
It’s fairly dark by the time we reach the Elephant Seal Vista Point near Point Piedras Blancas. There can be up 17,000 animals seals here, with the three peak times of the year being January, April, and October. Hunted for their oil in the late 1800s, elephant seals were thought to extinct until a small group was found on Guadalupe Island. The elephant seals at Point Piedras Blancas have only populated this beach since 1990, and their numbers have significantly increased since then.
We’re only staying one night at Cambria to break up the coastal drive between Monterey and Los Angeles, so I’m up early in the morning for a short hike in the Silver Peak Wilderness.
Salmon Creek to Thorndyke Top
Ascending steeply from the coastal Highway 1, the trail passes a side-track to Salmon Creek to reach the 1,276 foot / 389m grassy peak of Thorndyke Top.
Distance: 2.5 miles / 4km. Grade: Moderate
Cambria to Malibu
Driving distance: 200 miles / 320km (4-5 hours)
Key Attractions: Wildlife and coastal scenery at Morro Bay, before the highway heads inland to Santa Barbara. More coastal views and hikes between Point Mugu and Malibu
Accommodation: The Surfrider Hotel is reasonably priced, with a great location opposite the Malibu Pier and a rooftop bar/restaurant from which to enjoy the sunset.
The second day of our coastal drive from Monterey to Los Angeles starts with a visit to Morro Bay, where the enormous Morro Rock – a 576 foot / 176m volcanic plug near the shore – is nicknamed is “Gibraltar of the Pacific.” Nearby is the Fishermen`s Family Sculpture, dedicated to Those Who Wait the Families of all Mariners
Morro Bay has an active sea otter population year-round; the California sea otter (Enhydra lutris) has been on the endangered species list since 1977, but numbers have started to increase. it is starting to make a fierce comeback. Morro Bay is one of the best places to see otters, with a system of estuaries creating a break that keeps the water in the bay calm and protected. From the Sea Otter Viewing Location, a couple of sea otters float together just off the shore.
An even better spot to watch the sea otters is at the “T” Pier (behind The Great American Fish Company), where we observe five sea otters peacefully floating in the calm waters of the harbour.
We continue our journey south, with the lingernig coastal fog we’ve experienced for the past couple of days. Although hard to photograph when speeding past in a car, I’m intrigued by the regular appearance of bells along the highway.
I later learn that the bells mark the the El Camino Real or Royal Road (often translated as The King’s Highway) which is a 600-mile / 965km commemorative route between San Diego and Sonoma. The route connects the 21 Spanish missions in California, which was formerly the Alta California region in the Spanish Empire. The bells are located one day’s horse ride apart, and symbolise the founding of California.
From Morro Bay to Santa Barbara the highway is mostly inland, before Highway 1 hugs the coast again between Point Mugu and Malibu.
Sections of the road and some of the houses on the outskirts of Malibu are right on the water: a recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report warned that within 30 years the combination of sea-level rise combined with an extreme storm along California’s coast could flood more than 150,000 residents and impact over $30 billion in property value, increasing to 600,000 people and $150 billion by 2100.
We’re in the beach city of Malibu by mid-afternoon – it’s thought that the name comes from a combination of the Native American words mali + wu, which mean “where the mountains meet the sea” and the Chumash composite word Humaliwo, which means “the surf sounds loudly.” Only 30 miles (50km) south of LA, Malibu is known both for the celebrity homes which dot the area and its broad, sandy beaches (Malibu’s Surfrider Beach, just off the Malibu Pier, was named the first World Surfing Reserve).
The following mornign I head baxck
Mugu Peak
The Chumash trail to Mugu Peak is a steep but short loop that offers some great views (on a clear day!) of the Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.
Distance: 3.7 miles / 6km. Grade: Easy
Malibu to Los Angeles
Driving distance: 35 miles / 40km (1 hour)
Key Attractions: A series of beaches, before the highway reaches Santa Monica with its iconic pier, and enters the urban sprawl of LA
Accommodation: The Garland hotel in North Hollywood is close to Universal Studios Hollywood and not too far from the airport.
There’s not much to see on the short drive from Malibu to Los Angeles, other than a series of beaches. We head into western LA, and take a scenic detour past Rodeo Drive (home to more than a hundred of the world’s leading international brands) and Mulholland Scenic Overlook (near some of the most exclusive and expensive homes in the world) on our way to The Garland hotel.
We’ve got two full days in LA before our flight home, enjoying a tour of Warner Bros…
…and a visit to the Getty Museum.
Although I’d never considered Los Angeles a great hiking destination, it turns out I was wrong… the vast city is surrounded by parks, and while some of the trails are busy they offer a nice respite from the shopping and theme parks!
Mount Hollywood Loop in Griffith Park
Spectacular views of Los Angeles and the peaks of the San Gabriel mountains from this popular loop walk in Griffiths Park. The descent passes the old Los Angeles zoo.
Distance: 6.5 miles / 10.5km. Grade Easy
Mount Lee Summit Loop
The steep trail up to the Mount Lee summit passes the Wisdom Tree and Cahuenga Peak, before offering a panoramic view of LA and the famous Hollywood sign from the top of Mount Lee.
Distance: 4 miles / 6.5km. Grade Easy/Moderate
Our last day afternoon in the US is spent at the very busy Santa Monica pier, before we head to LAX for our flight home to Sydney.
5 Comments
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