California road trip itinerary 10 days – the Ultimate Guide

Day 1 – San Francisco: What the American city life looks like

To start our California road trip itinerary 10 days, we landed in the windy city of San Francisco in the late afternoon, after an 11-hour flight from Frankfurt. Rym was too exhausted because of the long trip, but I was too excited to be there. That’s why she went directly to bed. However, I spent a couple of hours walking at night in the old town streets and at the same time looking for a SIM card with a good price for the internet until I found a good one. That’s how our West Coast road trip planner started!

On the day after, we spent a day wandering between famous spots like Union Square, Lombard Street, Pier 39, and the Golden Gate. Actually, it was a nice sightseeing tour. However, the places are too touristy, crowded, and all about consumption and consumerism, which is not really our thing or type of travel. So we quickly found where to eat in San Francisco and then continued the tour.

That is why a day was more than enough in SF. Our west coast road trip planner was OK for this. If you are staying longer in the city, make sure to explore the neighboring region on day trips from San Francisco.

Nevertheless, the highlight was this picture and spending sunset time in this viewpoint watching the busy life of SF from the other side. Actually, the bay region of SF also has some nice trails around. So if you have some spare time, you should consider hiking in the San Francisco bay area.

Looking for more budget tips for this city? Read this post about San Francisco on a budget. I also advise you to look at this San Francisco bucket list post if you have enough time to spend in this city.

Day2: Let the California road trip itinerary 10 days start!

Motorhome holidays have become so famous around the world, and we couldn’t wait to try them. Until the time has come. It was a Monday morning. The real fun was about to begin as we just picked our Coachmann camping car, our Home for the California road trip for the next 10 days.

Check our guide here if you also want to get around California in a camping car.

Here we have to admit that making sure we have everything on board was a little challenging. We recommend using printable motorhome checklists to ensure you don’t forget anything and avoid surprises on the way!

By midday, and after getting enough food and water from the nearest Walmart, we hit the road to our first Stop. According to our West Coast road trip planner, it’s Edoardo National Forest with its famous Californian Wood Houses and the beautiful Lake of Tahoe, which is supposed to be one of the greatest fall destinations in the US. We then had our first surprise when we met the real Californian Winter.

On the way there, due to the heavy snow and the temperature drop to -15°C, the police ordered us not to drive further for security reasons and because we didn’t have winter chains. So we had to spend the night on the forest roadside by -17°C

Who said it is warm all around the year in California? That was our first misplanning mistake. But we had lots of fun out of it. West coast road trip planner sometimes makes mistakes!

Day 3: West coast road trip planner must include Eldorado National Forest and Lake Tahoe

After spending the night on a roadside inside Eldorado National Forest, the snowstorm disappeared in the morning. So we put some great road trip songs for the way, and we finally made it to the longly stalked on Instagram Lake Tahoe.

The official first stop of our California Roadtrip was magic but also freezing. Actually, one of the best reasons to travel in low or shoulder season (which we almost always do) is that you barely cross tourists on your way, and you will never have a problem finding a parking slot. But it was freezing. Oh, I’ve already mentioned that haha!

By the way, if you want to visit Lake Tahoe without driving, you could check the train from San Francisco.

So, in the second half of the day, we had this scenic drive by Lake Tahoe, and we couldn’t wait to finally see the Yosemite National Park, one of the best national parks in the USA. But, honestly, we were also kind of naive because we thought heading South would be better against the negative temperatures.

Second Surprise of the trip? Guess! The temperature stayed at -15°C, and the main road crossing the Yosemite was considered too frozen and dangerous to drive into and therefore closed. As I am, of course, too stubborn to accept giving up on the Yosemite, I found another road leading to the park. It was a long way, but we made it down there anyway.

The scenery in Yosemite was magic and beyond our imagination. We arrived in the valley by sunset time, and the area was so quiet and breath-taking.

By the way, if you are heading to Yosemite from the Eastside, the ghost town of Bodie would be an interesting stop on your road trip. The town was built next to a gold mine back in the past and was abandoned later. However, it still has its old architecture and is worth a quick stop!

Day 4: Lake Isabella ~ we discovered this magic place by pure chance

After the bad news of the closed road through Yosemite, we had to drive again out west from the Park down to our next stop, which we never reached that day…

On the way, one of the vehicle batteries gave the soul and wouldn’t charge again. This means no water, no stove, and no light. That’s why we had to change our itinerary to find a special RV repair shop. (camping cars and motorhomes are also known for Recreational Vehicles in the US) The good news is that we paid nothing (thanks to the customer support of Motorhome Republic), but we lost most of the day there.

Now where to spend the night? I was browsing the map until I found a blue spot nearby (my way of finding uncommon places which you might have crossed on my Instagram). We arrived at night after crossing a kind of mountain road that pushed enough adrenaline in my blood (Rym couldn’t bear it and buried her head in a pillow ), and then guess what? We landed in an abandoned area where it doesn’t look safe to spend the night in. Shit…

So we looked for some lights nearby. It was a hotel with large empty parking. After getting permission, we spent the night in the parking. Lesson learned: ask, always ask, no matter what crazy thing you might ask for.

We woke up the next day on the view of this hidden gem in the US. I think you should include it in your West Coast road trip planner.

Day 5: Death Valley ~ surviving unexpected incidents

So, the next surprise on our California road trip itinerary was 10 days: we had to change our camping car.

We were stuck just in front of the Death Valley, and batteries still wouldn’t charge, even after the repair. Crossing the Death Valley will take us 2-3 days, and we didn’t wanna take the risk of doing it with a broken motorhome. So the rental agency suggested that we bring it to Las Vegas (on the other side of the Death Valley) and take a new one. We thought, if we had to go there, we could finally explore some of the top attractions in Las Vegas. But we gently refused because that will make us lose even more time. So what did we do?

After a long discussion, the rental agency sent us a guy from Las Vegas to meet us with a new vehicle. But where? Where there is no cellular network and no public phones: in the middle of the Death Valley

Back to old ways. We set the time to meet at 3PM in a known point in the Death Valley, and we had to follow the Atlas Maps to go there. Good that we found a copy inside the motorhome.

Of course, nothing went as planned. We could meet the guy only by 6 PM. So 3 hours of waiting in the middle of nowhere with no signal. The reason was: the guy somehow got lost in the valley and couldn’t find us. I love my life.

Nevertheless, a day to remember. Some animals kept company, and we finally spent the night in a new camping car.

Day 6: The west coast road trip planner made us enjoy (finally) the Death Valley

Well, it seems crazy, but we finally had a normal day without surprises  (how come?)

Although many of my friends didn’t recommend me to go there. The Death Valley was the highlight of our trip. Those places are a must-visit: Mosaic Canyons, Zabriskye Point, Sahara Dunes. In two words: this park is just amazing. However, If you don’t have too much time to visit it, here is how to spend one day in Death Valley.

They are just wonders of nature. And there are so many more parks and hiking on the West Coast. We can’t wait to see more of it. Nothing more to say here will let the pictures we took speak for me:

Day 7: West coast road trip planner says further South, for a Reason…

We finally left the Death Valley, a little late for our West Coast road trip planner, yet have stayed under its charm for days…

Although it is one of the national parks near Las Vegas, we didn’t make it to visit that city. We actually headed further South because of a spot I found on Instagram However, the way down there was so long that we had to split it into 2 days. It was getting dark on the road until I found this beautiful place in Mojave National Park, which was our home for that night. A magic place…

The next surprise (you missed this, right?) was not a good one. Our camera suddenly gave her soul, and that frustrated us enough the following days. Anyway, we had a delicious dinner (called Ejja for Tunisians ) and had to watch the beauty of this place and try to keep memories in our minds (a terrible challenge for somebody with a terrible memory like me)

So we had been trying to document the rest of the road trip with our phones, like this fire photo I took with mine.

Not that tragic, tomorrow will be a better day

Day 8: Joshua Tree, Road 66, and our broken Camera

Well, I must admit that we didn’t plan to visit this region either. However, we found ourselves following Road 66 by pure chance (yeah, we are such a spontaneous and chaotic couple) as we were heading to our secret spot (wait for Day 10 to find it out ), so we stopped over as everyone would do and took that cliché photo.

Then we got amazed by another beautiful face of California: the Joshua Tree Preservation Area. The vegetation and the landscape totally changed. Although Joshua Tree National Park is huge and rich, we could spend only a couple of hours there. However, the park is at least worth a whole day. Some people even book Airbnbs near Joshua Tree National Park to enjoy the region to the fullest.

A fascinating variety of plants and animals make their homes in a land sculpted by strong winds and occasional torrents of rain. Dark night skies with shiny stars that you could watch if you try glamping in Joshua Tree National Park.  this region has such a rich cultural history, and surreal geologic features add to the wonder of this vast wilderness in southern California. The whole area is rich in attractions, and you can easily spend one day in Joshua Tree National Park.

Enough fun, we have a broken Camera to fix. So we headed to the biggest town nearby: Palm Springs, to try to fix it…

Day 9: West coast road trip planner reaches Palm Springs ~ the good news day

While some cool, unique things to do in Palm Springs, we focused on fixing our camera. And guess what? We found a way to get a working camera in Palm Spring after having left Joshua Tree Reserve.

However, it cost us half a day, again. But now, we can finally and proudly drive to our next spot: the Painted Canyons.

This place is a real wonder of Nature. Colorful mud-stones from pink to green build a supernatural view and making you feel so small in front of the greatness of nature while hiking between them. A place to recommend with no restrictions. Add it to your West Coast road trip planner. Especially if you will not make it to the great Great Canyon of Arizona.

We arrived there at sunset time. So we spent the night in front of the hike starting point, watching the light of the clear sky and the stars on the mountain shadows.

A magic view to sleep on and forget the exhaust of a long driving day

The canyons can be a little challenging once you hike into them. Be careful of misleads. It’s like a labyrinth. Once you make it to the top, you will forget about the 2 hours hike.

If you are into more canyons, think about visiting Bryce Canyons. They are worth the detour!

Also, if you are thinking about a destination for a girls trip, this guide about Palm Springs Girls Trip can help you a lot in planning what to do.

Day 10: reaching our SECRET spot of our California road trip itinerary 10 days

Today we arrived at the returning turn point of the Roadtrip and the most Southern point we could reach in California without losing too much time.

I found this magic place on Instagram (surprise surprise!) just some days before the trip, and I couldn’t hold myself from adding it to the plan and make a little surprise for Rym with it.

Spending the night in a wood Cabin is Must-Do once in a Lifetime. It was our first glamping experience ever!

The place is called Big Bear Lake, a tiny village, 2300m high (pop up again your winter clothes) and a clean wilderness area in the middle of the desert, yet green and cold because of the high altitude.

Bonus: watch a horror movie in that cabin at night has a different feeling

Day 11: California road trip itinerary 10 days – Back to Civilization

It was the first day of the way back up to San Francisco, But sadness surrendered for the excitement of finally meeting the Pacific Ocean and trying the famous Pacific Coast Highway (known as PCH) Last part of the trip!

Although there is so much to see in Los Angeles, we couldn’t make it to visit the city because our timing was right after all that happened. So instead, we chose to spend the first night of the way back in Santa Barbara, one of the cutest towns of the West Coast, and have a look at the amazing beaches there, and the city didn’t disappoint us.

The city was not crowded as of low season (told ya! heaven for me), so we found great parking on the beach, and we even paid nothing to spend the night there. The guard spot was just unoccupied.

In the morning, I quickly fell in love with this city. If they ask me where I would live once in the US, I will choose this beautiful city with its positive vibes of life.

Day 12: Wrapping up California road trip itinerary 10 days: McWay Waterfalls

After having left beautiful Santa Barbara with mixed feelings, we headed to our very last stop of the whole trip…

Although there are so many things to do in Santa Barbara, we unfortunately did not have enough time to enjoy this beautiful city.

It should have taken us 4 hours to reach McWay Waterfalls, but it took us longer because we ran out of fuel. So, we went off circuit, and we had to cross military areas to find the nearest gas station.

McWay Waterfalls were one of the most amazing falls I have seen in my life. I never saw a source of freshwater falling directly on a beach before. It was another stunning show of mother nature.

The last night was given the right to be spent directly at the Pacific ocean. We found the spot as usual by pure chance. We slept on a magic red sunset, wishing us goodbye and a safe trip back home.

If you fell in love with this place, have a look at what you can else do in Big Sur on a day trip.

California road trip itinerary 10 days ended with such a beautiful landscape.

If you guys are looking for a better plan for the PCH. Have a look at this post about the Pacific Coast Highway.

Thank you, California. You’ve been kind to us!

To sum up: our California road trip itinerary 10 days

Our trip lasted about 12 days, including the first day in SF. This is how I actually planned it in our West Coast road trip planner. We would also have loved to go further South and try walking on some famous bridges in San Diego. Unfortunately, time was not enough.

And this is how we actually did it:

California road trip itinerary 10 days

California is just huge! We heard also that there are great road trips from Seattle. Too sad we didn’t have time to check out most of this golden state. Nevertheless, the itinerary that we took was pretty rich!

So, in the end, that is how our California trip went out! But we are not done yet with our USA bucket list! Anyways I hope I could help with this Post. If you have any ideas or questions, drop them in the comment field below, and don’t forget to subscribe to my blog 😉

Thanks to the amazing Mak&Cha for their great recommendations to help plan a big part of this trip!

If you want more inspiration, read this nice post about which other beautiful national parks to visit. It may help you even more if you plan your USA trip;-California was at the top of the list when it comes to the best places to visit in the US. But in general, visiting the USA in winter is really worth it. We visited California in February, and it really was worth it!

See you, Ash and Rym.