over the past 5 years traveling full-time we have seen a lot California
is such a big state and has so much Beauty to be explored that we thought we'd put
together a few of our favorite places in a 3 to 5 day plan trip because the key to
an epic road trip is balancing the time you spend driving and the time you spend
exploring if you're traveling by RV and need a place to stay close to the entrance of the
Redwood National Park we recommend the elk Valley Casino in Crescent City California for a free
stay start your journey down the US 101 where you'll find a few places
with Gorgeous views be sure to stop and take a few minutes to
capture some photos for memor thinking we got to get a picture here thinking
[Music] so look for the gray striped bark and of course the size is definitely a giveaway so
the size is definitely a giveaway hug they the gray striped bark I think like that one
right there our main stop starts at Exit 765 to get on the Newton B Drury Scenic Parkway any
vehicle of any size can be on this road that's crazy there are plenty of well-marked trails
and pullouts for vehicles of all sizes along the parkway this road is about 10 m long and
will likely be one of the most stunning drives of your life so you read it's like 100 ft in
is that big or what that's go stand by it wait for
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it allow at least 20 minutes to drive the length of this road without stopping that
will end at Exit 753 back on US 101 about an hour and a half from this exit is the
entrance to the Avenue of the Giants I'm ready for Big Trees let's go get some big
trees Big Trees the Avenue of the Giants is a fantastic tour of these stunning natural
Treasures that takes you through the ancient redwoods of the Humbolt County Redwood state
park it is named after the coastal redwoods that Tower over the route the road is a a
former alignment of US 101 and continues to be maintained as a state highway as State Route
[Music] 254 dille Overlook MH and dyerville was a stage coach stop a
shipping port and a Crossroads town that played an important role in the
early settlement of this Redwood area and it was completely destroyed by the flood of 19
1955 and then if we go over look over there I think we can see the Rockefeller Forest well
remember you're not going to overlook if you just look over okay okay we learned this in
bahaba you know the B the Haba of B right on the other side of our country well actually it was
aadia P yeah but we didn't Overlook nothing cuz we all we did was just look over yeah there it is I
ain't Overlook nothing okay and don't forget to stop near Exit 656 to see the shrine Drive-Thru
[Music] Tree
[Music] about 40 minutes south on US 101 you will find the chandelier tree at the drive-through Tree
Park it is a 276 ft tall Coast redwood tree in leet California with a 6 wide by 6' 9 in
high hole cut through its base to allow a car to drive through its base measures about 16 ft in
diameter
if you have an extra 2 days we recommend driving over to spend some time in South
Lake Tahoe you'll want to allow one day to drive the perimeter and one day to walk around
as well as take a boat tour the boat tour will give you some great history of Lake Tahoe in
the area the core shopping area is in Heavenly Village and the Village Center area but you'll
find fun and interesting shopping in a number of spots including the four casinos and the
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Crossing
if you don't have the extra time then continue on down to our next stop that takes us to yosan
National Park if you don't have a reservation you can still visit yosee without a reservation you
now must arrive at the entrance station before 5:00 a.m. or after 400 p.m. they
recently changed that time from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. coming in on Big Oak Flat Road we
recommend turning on tooga road to make your first stop at talami grove talami Grove is a
place we missed during our trip but with it being so close we recommend stopping to see this if you
have the time you will have to hike just about 1 and 1/2 miles to reach the talami Grove but
it should be well worth the work to enjoy these massively beautiful trees with a lot less crowds
than the Mariposa Grove at the South End of the park this area is about 16 Mi west of yose
Village next head back down to Big Oak Flat Road and make your way through Yos National
Park and enjoy the views of places like Yos Valley Vista Point Yos Valley View and many
more [Music]
be sure to stop at L Capitan for a photo op at more than a half mile high and 1 mile wide
elcapitan is the tallest exposed vertical face of granite on Earth it's more than twice the height
of the Empire State Building which is 1,250 ft tall says it includes nearly 12200 square
miles of mountainous scenery including High cliffs deep valleys tall waterfalls ancient
giant seas and a large Wilderness now I did see a sign over there um it mentioned the bridal veil
waterfall which is really tall we pass that I think well it's talking about the restoration
process I think it was so it's closed like I think normally you could take a trail there
but um they're working on it evidently the trail we always stop at the visitor centers
at every National Park just to pick up a few tips from the people who know these Parks the
best they often can help you make the best of your time and give plenty of helpful tips and
updates on possible road closures that will help you save more [Music] time and don't
forget to visit yosan Village it's a great place to get a souvenir and grab some [Music]
lunch
as far as Beauty California is we got bugs too California is probably
uh right at the top of our list favorite States just because of
the the beauty such a huge State there's just so much to [Music]
it
[Music] our next recommended stop takes you to the
seoa National Park to see the General Sherman giant seoa tree located at an
elevation of 6,919 ft above sea [Music] level you guys ready to see General
Sherman with a height of 275 ft a diameter of 25 ft and an estimated age of 2,300 to 2700 years
it is nevertheless among the tallest widest and longest lived of of all trees on the planet the
shuttle does come right here picks you up takes you here and so that way it's a really short walk
it's just there you don't have to walk near as far looks like it is wheelchair accessible
here [Music] too [Music] if your vehicle is under 8 ft tall don't forget to take the drive to Tunnel
log drive-through Tree in seoa National Park tunnel log is located in the giant forest area
along Crescent meow Road just a half mile past another famous seoa National Park feature called
moral [Music] Rock to end this California trip we recommend heading over to death Valley National
Park for a completely different landscape this below sea level Basin steady drought and record
Summer Heat make Death Valley a land of extremes yet each Extreme has a striking
contrast
this was all once underwater you know it was a big lake with mountains kind of at the top and
uh silt and volcanic ash would go to into the lake and settle at the bottom but then
since then seismic activity has brought all of that up to the surface to what we see here
now
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and that our friends is our best 3 to 5day road trip of California
and its national parks now it's time to call it a
day