Page 27 - 2025-2026 Travel Guide to California

MUIR WOODS NATIONAL Monument, right; Santa Cruz
Breakwater Lighthouse, a.k.a. Walton Lighthouse, below;
the Golden Gate Bridge, bottom.
and ghost towns beneath the breathtakingly
sheer eastern wall of the Sierra Nevada.
The northern stretch traverses ranch-
land that was once, and sometimes still is,
the domain of Basque sheepherders. As you
drive south, keep an eye out for cowboys,
although these days they’re as likely to be
riding an all-terrain vehicle as a horse. Far-
ther south, as you approach Mono Lake,
you’ll probably encounter members of the
Washoe and Paiute tribes.
Highway 395 grazes the shore of enor-
mous Mono Lake, which is so alkaline Mark
Twain once joked he could do his laundry
merely by dragging it behind him in a boat.
Stop at Manzanar, just off the highway, for
a poignant visit to the site of a relocation
camp for Americans of Japanese heritage
during World War II. In Lone Pine, the
Museum of Western Film History pays
tribute to the hundreds of Hollywood West-
erns, starring everyone from Hopalong
Cassidy to John Wayne, filmed in the
nearby Alabama Hills.
Day Trips
You don’t have to spend days or weeks on
the highway to see the best of California.
Within easy reach of major cities are exqui-
site road trips you can do in less than a day.
San Francisco
Head north, across the Golden Gate Bridge,
to sample some of Northern California’s
most bucolic scenery. Fortunately, most of
it was spared by the devastating fires of
recent years. Almost within sight of San
Francisco’s skyscrapers you’ll come to Muir
Woods National Monument, a cathedral-
like preserve of old-growth redwoods at the
foot of Mount Tamalpais. Follow Highway 1
to Point Reyes National Seashore, where you
PICK YOUR
HIGHWAY
CA-1 The Coast
pacific-coast-highway-travel.com
Highway 120 Yosemite National Park
visitcalifornia.com/experience/highway-120
2025-26 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA 25