California

LOS ANGELES

  • Balboa Island – take the ferry and eat a frozen chocolate banana
  • Huntington Beach 
  • Catalina Island – get a golf cart to see the island
    • Eat: Catalina Coffee & Cookie Co
    • Drinks: Descanso Beach
  • Laguna Beach – have a drink on the water, walk the boardwalk and wander the downtown 
  • Rodeo Drive / Sunset Blvd / Hollywood Blvd
  • Beverly Hills Hotel 
  • Santa Monica Pier / Venice
  • Griffith Observatory / Hollywood sign 
  • Eat: Bear Pit – Bakersfield, In N’ Out, Del Taco

SEQUOIA & KING’S CANYON NATIONAL PARKS

  • Moro Rock
  • General Sherman Tree & Congress Trail
  • Grant Grove & General Grant
  • Lodging: Grant Grove Village 
  • Eat: Sierra Subs – outside of Three Rivers

YOSEMITE

  • The Valley: Rent bikes and ride around the valley 
  • Tunnel View: A must stop upon entering the park
  • Upper Yosemite Falls: A difficult 8 mile hike – great views of the valley, but maybe only worth it if there is water flowing from the falls
  • El Cap: Bring binoculars to look for climbers
  • Half Dome: Plan ahead if you plan on hiking to the top
  • Taft Point: An easy walk out to striking cliffs, with some of the best valley views. Some of the cliff drops offs are INTENSE.
  • Valley View: A nice view of El Cap and Cathedral Rocks
  • Glacier Point: Offers one of the best views of Half Dome
  • Eat: Del Taco in Fresno en route to the park, Yosemite Valley Lodge, Curry Village & The Eatery
  • Lodging: Curry Village – bring layers for the tents if staying in the fall/winter

SAN FRANCISCO

  • Fisherman’s Wharf: Eat clam chowder and sourdough 
  • Pier 39
  • Ferry Building
  • Lombard Street
  • Little Italy 
  • Ghirardelli Square 
  • Golden Gate Bridge: Marshall Beach and Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center

HWY 1

  • Santa Cruz: walk around the downtown & drive by the wharf and boardwalk
  • Monterey: Monterey Aquarium
  • Carmel: walk around and eat at Vesurio 
  • Big Sur: Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge
  • Ragged Point: grab lunch and walk to the point 
  • Cambria: cute downtown 
  • Cayucos: stop at the Brown Butter Cookie Company (amazing cookies) 
  • Morro Bay: walk around the bay and eat at Dutchman’s or Great American Fish Company. Enjoy a Whale Watching Boat Ride
  • Malibu: Airbnb – ours is no longer available but we splurged on ours and it was a great airstream on a cliff! We ate pizza and enjoyed the sunset

PRO TIPS:

  1. We did all of this in 2020 for our honeymoon, so things may be slightly out of date or not open any more. Also, we weren’t able to do a lot because of this!
  2. We didn’t climb Half Dome, but want to come back and do it. If you’re interested in this you will need to register months before!
  3. Check out the website for the National Parks to see what is open during the season you are going! There are often many road closures in the off season