5 incredible road trips in California

Gateway city: Los Angeles

Where else would a film location tour start but near Hollywood? LA has long been the world’s movie mecca, and your first stop, Griffiths Observatory, has been the setting for several. Set high on Mount Hollywood, the gleaming, white-domed, 1930s building has withstood knife fights in Rebel Without a Cause, welcomed a certain Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator, and bewitched young lovers Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in La La Land. Downtown, the Insta-friendly, bright orange Angels Flight funicular railway takes you 90m up Bunker Hill for $1 each way; Gosling and Stone’s characters kissed here.

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Hilton Checkers

Check into this A-list worthy bolthole, and make like a movie star around the glamorous rooftop pool.

Motor onto chic Palm Springs, out in the desert. Here, Bradley Cooper played a gig at its Convention Center in A Star is Born and Tom Cruise filmed a memorable helicopter scene in Mission Impossible III.

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Casa de Monte Vista

Book a room at Casa de Monte Vista and channel Liberace’s fabulous lifestyle - it portrayed his fictional home in Behind the Candelabra.

Nearby Pioneertown actually was a film set, built for westerns in the 40s, now home to a hip motel and boutiques; don’t miss prime BBQ at former biker joint, Pappy & Harriets.

Next up on your road trip, pose for pictures on Death Valley’s cinematic salt flats, and watch the layers of rock glow at Zabriskie Point. Aptly-named Movie Road will take you through the rugged rock formations of the Alabama Hills; here, Lone Ranger Canyon has stood in for Afghanistan in Iron Man; and emulated the Spanish countryside Russell Crowe galloped through in Gladiator.

End at the 3,371m-high Mammoth Mountain, whose snowy summit stood in for the Himalayas in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Gateway city: San Diego

Before you head for the stars, start in sunny San Diego, home to dozens of family-friendly sights and experiences. Explore art, science or aerospace museums  at Balboa Park, stroll around the lively Gaslamp Quarter, and transport yourself back to the past at the city’s Old Town, home to Spanish settlers. Fancy some beach time? Head to Pacific or Mission Beach, and try a kayak tour of shimmering Mission Bay.

Motor onto the gold rush town of Julian, whose abundant orchards not only draw in apple pie lovers (we recommend trying one at the Julian Pie Company or Mom's Pie House) but also a chance to sample apple fritters and cider, the latter best experienced on a tasting tour at Julian Station. After you've eaten, you can learn about Julian's history during the 1870s gold boom at the Eagle and High Peak Mine. Be sure to also pause at the town's Pioneer Museum for another big dose of frontier heritage.

Then, it's onto Borrego Springs, California’s first designated International Dark Sky Community: surrounded by mountains, in the middle of the 600,000 acre Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, it’s hidden from the glare of urban lights, making stargazing a must. Choose your own spot at Little Blair Valley or Culp Valley, or with astronomer Dennis Mammana.

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Borrego Palm Canyon Campground

if you’re staying at Borrego Palm Canyon Campground, there are free stargazing events on selected weekends. Or if you'd prefer to seek out the stars by yourself, private excursions can be arranged.

After your night under canvas, motor on to Joshua Tree National Park. By day, spy the teddy-bear cholla of the Cholla Cactus Garden, spy the alcoves and caves which honeycomb Skull Rock or summit Ryan Mountain (1,663m) for epic panoramas of Southern California's rugged contours. After dark, set your stall out in the park (the unusual formations of Cap Rock is a good spot) for stars in the high desert surrounds. From some places you can see the Milky Way.

End your stellar trip at Twentynine Palms, whose Sky’s the Limit Observatory hosts an impromptu ‘star party’ every Saturday. By day, the town has a serious art vibe, with a host of galleries and events.

Gateway city: San Francisco

Step back in time with a tour around California’s fascinating history, taking in Spanish settlers, church missions, gold mining, and the growth of the railroad. You’ll start at the Misión San Francisco de Asís in San Francisco, the city’s oldest building, founded in 1776 as one of 21 missions by Spanish Roman Catholic priests. The city’s Presidio was built as a Spanish fort the same year, before becoming a US Army base. Explore its 1,491 acre park, encased within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, where views of the iconic namesake bridge and walks among eucalyptus groves await.

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Inn at the Presidio

This Georgian-Revival bolthole drips with history, with its status as a former home for bachelor officers during the time the Presidio served as a US Army post. If only walls could talk...

Cross the Golden Gate Bridge and cruise into Sonoma’s winelands. Stop at its eight-acre Plaza, the site of the Bear Flag Rebellion of 1846, when several American settlers revolted against the then-Mexican government and – briefly – established the Californian Republic.

Explore the state’s first capital, Vallejo, named after the deposed Mexican governor who welcomed American rule. This is heaven for architecture enthusiasts, with Vallejo's Old Town still boasting houses dating back to the 1800s, the Vista de Vallejo neighbourhood a mix of 1930s romantic styles and Colonial and Tudor Revival houses lining the districts of Bay Terrace and Vallejo Heights.

Visit Old Sacramento, founded at the heart of the Gold Rush, which served as the terminus of the Pony Express. Its Historic District has dozens of preserved buildings, museums, shops and restaurants, while a guided underground tour shows how the city raised the street level to combat regular floods.

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Delta King

Spend the night on board the Delta King, a 1927 docked paddlewheel riverboat with fine views of Old Sacramento's Historic District.

Continue on to former boom towns, Sutter Creek and Murphy’s, which once mined gold and quartz, and now offer wine tastings, fine dining and more. Finish at the Columbia State Historic Park, which brings the Gold Rush era to life - ride a stagecoach, or drink in a Western-style saloon.

Gateway city: Alpine

Have a designated driver on hand for this trip, as there will be lots of beer-tasting, as well as soak-up-the-booze eating. Start at the Alpine Beer Company, known as the ‘Home of Pure Hoppiness’ in the rural mountain town of Alpine, and sample small-batch brews like its celebrated Keene Idea double IPA.

Head into San Diego, which boasts a thriving independent brewing scene; highlights include the Karl Strauss Brewing Company which kickstarted the movement – try their gold-medal-winning Red Trolley Ale which goes well with their ribeye steak – and the Pariah Brewing Company in North Park which specialises in unusually-flavoured beers, using everything from locally-roasted coffee to kiwi, green tea and orange blossom honey.

Pair craft beer with fine food at The Kettle Room, run by renowned San Diego brewery Ballast Point, and take a brewery tour at Stone Brewing in Escondido, one of the city’s oldest. Explore its ‘World Bistro and Gardens’, complete with waterfalls, then bag a table on the patio and tuck into crispy fish tacos or Bavarian pretzels.

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Kimpton Alma

Counting San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter and Little Italy as its neighbours, Kimpton Alma oozes understated California cool. Fittingly for a city with such a strong brewing heritage, this hotel has a beer concierge on its staff.

Pause at Stone Brewing in Escondido, one of San Diego's oldest craft breweries, before heading to Oceanside to the Bagby Beer Company. Here, there's over 60 beers to choose from – pair a pint with beer-battered fish tacos and enjoy both on the rooftop deck, accompanied by sunset views to savour them with.

Ditch the car for a coach-led Craft Brew Tour of Anaheim where you’ll visit three different breweries across the Orange, Anaheim and Fullerton regions, with tastings galore.

Top it all off at Beachwood, Long Beach, which has over 25 beers on tap to help you toast your road trip and end it exactly the way you started.

Gateway city: San Francisco

This trip starts in the big city, but then tracks the coastline through smaller towns espousing a slower pace of life. Get the big hitters ticked off first: bike across the Golden Gate Bridge, then soak up the atmosphere in colourful Fisherman’s Wharf, where popping into one of the many fish restaurants for a bowl of seafood chowder is a must. The lively Mission District is great for nightlife, and you’ll find great dim sum in the largest Chinatown outside of Asia.

Leave the city and head north, stopping along the Pacific coast at Point Reyes National Seashore, a striking stretch of land jutting into the ocean offering remote beaches, sea cliffs and deep cliffs. There's always something different to absorb here depending on the season you visit, whether its hiking to the wildflowers of Chimney Rock in spring or spotting migrating gray whales in winter.

Trace California's fringes further north and the coastal town of Mendocino perches on a wave-carved headland, which draws artists aplenty keen to capture the stunning views. Colourful Victorian-era homes and B&Bs perch on the cliffs, and it’s a magnet for foodies, thanks to regular festivals celebrating everything from crab to wine.

Nearby Fort Bragg, a former military garrison and lumber town, offers experiences from the old-fashioned Skunk Train, which chugs into the redwood forests, to Glass Beach at MacKerricher State Park, a unique stretch of seashore covered in tiny pebbles of polished seaglass.

On this part of the road trip, it’s all about the trees. The 50km Avenue of the Giants curves through prehistoric forest – don’t miss the Shrine Drive-Thru tree, which does what it says on the tin. Explore the towering redwoods (they can grow to over 110m) more thoroughly at the Humboldt Redwoods State Park; the Rockefeller Forest is home to the world’s second tallest.

Make the pretty seaside town of Trinidad your next stop, a great base for admiring the seastacks that speckle the water along this stretch of coastline and surround Pewetole Island. Make time to kayak around Trinidad Bay with seabirds and seals for company, before motoring on to marvel at the World Heritage Site of Redwood National and State Parks, where paths wind between the tallest trees on Earth.

End at Crescent City, home to California’s northernmost lighthouses; built in 1856, the Battery Point Lighthouse sits on an islet that's reachable on foot at low tide. The lens that belongs to the lighthouse on St. George Reef 10km offshore can be spied at the Del Norte County Main Museum. Finish off at the Northcoast Marine Mammal Center, where injured sea lions and elephants are nurtured and look after before being released in the wild again.