Deserts, Mountains and beaches
For the holidays this year, Miguel and I took advantage of our time off and decided to take a trip to California. Instead of staying out east in the cold, we wanted to escape the city and see some national parks instead. Through this trip, we got to gain a greater appreciation for nature. Many of the places we visited were new for Miguel, which made it more exciting to me.
The plan for the first part of the trip was to fly into Los Angeles and use my mom’s house as a home base. From there, we would work our way north up to the Bay Area. Our trip by no means was long enough to see everything that I wanted us to see or do. But it allowed for some pretty spectacular sights in a short time.
This post will outline our trip to California in detail. More information about the running highlights from our trip can be found here.
Trip Planning: before
I started planning for this trip about six months out. I began by doing general research for possible itineraries and places to visit. Once I found a route, I looked up potential flights, car rentals and lodging. Since I have family in California, I built this trip around staying with them when possible to lower costs. Obviously that is not always an option, but it worked out well for this trip.
My main logistical decision was if we would work our way north or south. I did some price checking and estimated what was the most cost effective. In the end I decided on going north. We would fly into the LA area and return from SFO. There are a lot of ways you can do a trip like this, so you should figure out your needs to do what is best for you.
Booking transportation & Lodging
For flights, I use Kayak to search prices before I buy anything. Flights for this trip were more expensive because it was over the holidays. I monitored them for a while until I saw a price drop and then purchased them immediately. You can reduce the price by flying off peak times or by purchasing your ticket a few months out.
We would need to have our own car for a good chunk of this trip, but we were also flying in and out of different airports. I strategized the most cost effective way to do that. I ended up booking two rental cars, one for Southern California and one for the Bay Area. It is usually a lot cheaper to rent and return a car to the same location than a point to point rental.
For lodging, I looked up Airbnb first, as they have some good low cost options with kitchens. I also checked out Booking.com and other travel blogs to see if there were hotels, hostels or lodges that were recommended. For Yosemite, I searched directly through their lodge vendor since I wanted to stay inside the park while we were there.
outline of an Adventure
I got to use my America the Beautiful parks pass a few times on this trip. The annual pass grants you access to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites across the US. After purchasing the pass in August, I wanted to maximize the pass as much as I could on this trip. In total, we went to 2 national parks, 1 national monument, and a national seashore on our California adventure. We visited:
- Joshua Tree National Park
- Yosemite National Park
- Muir Woods National Monument
- Golden Gate National Recreational Area
- Mount Tamalpais State Park
- Point Reyes National Seashore
Joshua Tree National Park
After spending a few days relaxing, we headed out to Joshua Tree National Park. The 800,000 acre park sits just 140 miles east of Los Angeles in Southern California. I hadn’t visited in years and I had forgotten just how magical Joshua Tree was. It is unlike anything you have ever seen and it will change how you feel about the desert. I highly recommend it to anyone.
Joshua Tree National Park is a place where the Mohave Desert and the Colorado Desert meet. It is filled with cacti, trees, shrubs, lizards and other desert dwelling plants, birds and animals. More information about the history and make-up of Joshua Tree can be found here and here. There is a fee to enter the park or you can use your America the Beautiful parks pass for covered entry.
We stayed both nights at an Airbnb in a fairly remote location. I probably wouldn’t choose that spot again. There are two small towns at the main entrances of the park, Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms, where most of the lodging is located. I would recommend staying in the Joshua Tree area, as that was where most of the restaurants and amenities were. We ate at Pie for the People! and were surprised how much we loved it. You can also stay farther out, but it will make beating the crowds much harder. Additionally, there are campgrounds within the park that offer basic camping options.
Joshua Tree Hiking and exploring
We had a little over two days to spend in Joshua Tree. We arrived late on the first day and got to see the sunset over the desert. The next day we woke up early to spend a full day at the park. I recommend arriving early if you are visiting during the peak winter season. There are limited parking spots at the popular trail heads and you will want to beat the crowds. It should also be noted that there are not many water facilities inside the park. It’s essential to prepare yourself by bringing lots of water, snacks and layers of clothing. When we visited in December, the temperatures were quite cold and we wore our jackets the entire time.
Joshua Tree is huge and there are lots of great hikes and places to visit for any type of activity level. While we weren’t able to do any trail runs in Joshua Tree, we loved hiking around. Since we wanted to see as much as possible, we did a series of short and easy hikes on our visit. We went to the following places based on various recommendations:
- Hidden Valley Nature Trail: Easy, beautiful and short loop hike
- Barker Dam Trail: Easy and relaxed hike with some cool views
- Ryan Mountain Trail: Out and back hike that is moderately strenuous with spectacular views
- Skull Rock Trail: Quick pitstop to this highly overrated IG hype location
- Cholla Cactus Garden: Easy walk and one of my favorite areas (see below)
Next Step: driving from la to yosemite
Our drive home from Joshua Tree was kinda crazy because we hit a snowstorm in the high desert in our compact rental car. Yikes! And upon returning to the LA area, we took some down time to recover from getting a little sick. We made sure to stop for cookies one more time at Some Crust Bakery. The following day we dropped off our rental car since we would be hitching a ride north with my dad. He picked us up that evening before heading out the next day. His plan was to leave by 5am to avoid the LA traffic. Even though a 4am wake up call sounds rough, it is highly advised if you are leaving from Southern California.
The night before heading out we packed up our things and prepped lots of snacks for the 6-7 hour drive. My dad had done this drive many times before, so he was well prepared with snacks, rest stops and timing to avoid traffic. This was huge. We snuck out on the darkened LA freeways and we easily hit the Tejon Pass by dawn. As we climbed the pass, daylight started to creep in, exposing the snow covered hillsides along the highway. We had lucked out, the pass was just a few days out of being shut down completely from a snow storm. The car crested the ridge and we rode into the valley below as the storied California farmlands fanned out on both sides. This eventually made way to a mountainous forested area that meandered into the national park.
yosemite national park
While we only got to spend three days and two nights in Yosemite National Park, I could have easily spent weeks there. The 1,200 square mile park is California’s most popular national park and there is no question why. It is truly mesmerizing and deserves at least one visit, but hopefully many. There is an entry fee to visit the park, or you can use your America the Beautiful parks pass for covered entry. Since we visited over the holidays, the place was slightly less crowded, but surprisingly still quite full. I can only imagine how crazy it gets during summer.
For our visit to Yosemite, we opted to stay inside the park in their lodges. While a bit more pricey, it was very much worth it to be able to hike or run from your door. If you stay outside the park, you will have to queue up each day with a long line of cars for entry. Due to the popularity of the park, I recommend booking as early as you can to find a spot. We stayed our first night in a cabin in Curry Village and our second night at the Yosemite Valley Lodge. Both were beautiful in their own way, with Curry Village more rustic and Yosemite Valley Lodge a step up in decor and price. Those looking to splurge should check out Yosemite’s most famed lodge, the historic Ahwahnee.
There is much to be said about Yosemite’s many trails that can’t all fit here. Most of the trails that ventured above the valley floor were closed due to icy winter conditions while we were there. Prior to heading to Yosemite, I recommend looking up some of their trails and hikes. There is a great transit system that drops off visitors at most trail heads throughout the park, making everything more accessible without a car.
Getting to the Bay Area from Yosemite
I did a lot of research prior to figure out how best to get from Yosemite to Northern California and there wasn’t a completely clear answer. What I ended up with was getting dropped off at the Merced train station and taking an Amtrak train north. There’s also a YARTS bus that can also take you from Yosemite to the train station. It’s a bit of a logistical challenge, and we did miss our train going north so we had to wait, but once we got on the train it was easy. We arrived in downtown San Francisco and hopped in a Lyft to pick up our rental car. From there we drove north of San Francisco to where we were staying for the next two nights.
Exploring Muir Woods National Monument
The following day we took an amazing morning trail run from our Airbnb and stopped by the yummy Shoreline Coffee Shop for some breakfast. Afterwards, we headed over to the Muir Woods National Monument. Muir Woods requires you purchase a parking permit prior to arrival. We booked our parking a few months out and the parking lot was packed when we arrived. When reserving, you chose a 30 minute arrival window and then pay the park fee separately to enter. You can also enter using your America the Beautiful pass.
Muir Woods is filled with old growth coastal redwoods that will enchant you. The area to hike within Muir Woods consists of mostly easy, well marked trails around the redwood giants. If you would like to go longer, there are options to break out to adjoining trails that offer a birds eye views of the area. Plan to bring some snacks and spend half a day hiking around and breathing in the fresh air.
We stayed at a funky Airbnb very close to the hills in Mill Valley. We loved the location and its close proximity to some cool trails and Muir Woods.
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
We had some great runs in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which covers a 91 mile swath of coastline spanning out from the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge. I highlight the runs we did here. Access to the park is free and there is a vast trail network in this protected area. Check out my running page for more links to runs I’ve done in other places we’ve visited.
Point Reyes National Seashore
Our last stop on this whirlwind California trip was to the Point Reyes National Seashore. This was our last section of the trip and we had less than two days to check out this amazing location. Leaving Mill Valley, we drove up the scenic CA Route 1 panoramic highway, which offered us amazing views. We saw all types of beaches and coastal environments, misty forests and small towns along the way. We stopped in at Stinson Beach for a picnic lunch, which is my favorite beach in this area.
We then drove directly into Point Reyes National Seashore, a large protected area in Northern California. Access to the park is free. We parked at Drakes Beach and got extremely lucky because it was elephant seal mating and pupping season. At the beach we saw quite a few elephant seals strewn out as if they were dead. There were volunteer docents to ensure visitors didn’t get too close to the seals while they were resting. Occasionally, the seals would lift up their heads and utter a long, low groan, and then lay their heads back down again. It was such a lovely experience.
After checking out the elephant seals, we took the shuttle up to visit the Point Reyes Lighthouse. We braced ourselves against the wind and climbed down the 313 steps to explore this lighthouse built in 1870.
There are a lot of options for lodging in the Point Reyes area. You can choose from tons of cute hotels, Airbnbs and camping. We stayed at the HI Point Reyes Hostel, which was very clean, had a great communal kitchen and some nice common areas. I picked it because it was one of the few places located inside Point Reyes, unlike other lodging in adjoining towns.
The next morning we woke up early and visited the yummy Bovine Bakery in Point Reyes Station. Then we drove into San Francisco to the airport. We had such a great trip to California and we will definitely be back!
trip Reading
Unlike my other travel adventures, I didn’t read as much on this trip. I’m not sure if it was due to being busy exploring nature, but I read much less. What I did read, though, I liked. My two books for this California trip were:
- Trust Exercise by Susan Choi – An emotional mind game of a book and a fascinating read.
- We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter – I tore through this heartbreaking story of a Jewish family in Poland during World War II.
