West Coast – 9 Days

California is super-sized by any metric. The third largest U.S. state comprises more square kilometres than many countries, with a land mass that’s quite 3 times the size of Greece and 4 times bigger than Iceland.
To see an honest chunk of California in one trip, you’d wish to strategise. The state’s elongated outline sprawls across nearly 1450 kilometres, stretching from its northern border with Oregon to its southern border with Mexico. Put the pedal to the metal and you’d possibly make the north-to-south drive in 15 hours. (It’s about the same distance as driving from ny City to Jacksonville, Florida.) Spin your wheels west to east across the skinny a neighborhood of the state, and you’ll still need most of every day . From Santa Barbara to Needles, California is 560 kilometres wide.
Even in California’s metropolitan regions, distances are great. going to drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles? You’ll need a full day to cover nearly 480 kilometres. Cruising Southern California on a subject park road trip? The route from Universal Studios Hollywood to SeaWorld San Diego spans 200 kilometres. Hitting the beaches in l. a. and Orange County? Figure on 150 kilometres between Malibu’s tony shoreline and Laguna Beach’s rocky coves.
And if you’re hankering to determine California’s majestic desert parks, plug this number into your itinerary: 370 highway miles separate Death Valley’s dazzling badlands and Joshua Tree’s astounding rock formations.
California’s largest county, San Bernardino, covers nearly 52,000 square kilometres—more acreage than Vermont and New Hampshire combined. Even in smaller counties, towns are often far-flung, both in kilometres and character. Within the boundaries of winery-rich Sonoma County, historic Sonoma Plaza’s artisan cafes and boutiques lie 140 kilometres from the laidback beach hamlet of Sea Ranch, where the seaside climate makes summer days 20 degrees cooler. On California’s eastern side in Inyo County, winter drops deep, powdery snow in Bishop’s high mountains, but 265 kilometres away, the low desert at Furnace Creek bakes under a summer-like sun.
All this rambling geography translates to vast and varied scenery. Find your landscape in 1350 kilometres of coastline, 65,000 square kilometres of desert, or a smattering of snow-capped volcanos. Stand among the planet’s tallest trees within the temperate rainforest of far northern California, or visit North America’s hottest and driest point near the state’s eastern border. Explore the Sierra Nevada Mountains, a 650 kilometre-long string of saw-toothed peaks that cradles Lake Tahoe , one of the world’s largest alpine lakes, and Whitney , the absolute best mountain within the contiguous us at 4,421m.