San Bernardino National Forest- so many great spots! doesn’t feel so arid as the rest of SoCal does which is amazing. I went to Deep Creek Hot Springs on a backpacking trip. That hike down to the springs was extremely hard and I wouldn’t actually recommend it, but driving through that area in general is so beautiful.
San Luis Opisbo- TV Tower Road is a little known free dispersed camping road that goes up a mountain. Car camping is perfect car because it does get windy overnight in a tent. Over 3h from LA but if you’re on a trip north its so worth it
Joshua Tree- but go to 29 Palms for cheaper camp sites. I’ve found great deals on HipCamp on ppls property. I love hiking and climbing the rocks in the national :))
2d ago
Related Recs
🏕
I grew up near Palm Springs and tbh I would stay tf outta the desert rn. its ungodly hot fr not worth it you could not pay me to step foot in the area rn But if you do drink dummy mf water and have a TON of it in your car (ideally not in plastic bottle form cause they will get hot and taste disgusting xox) if you wanted to drive through Joshua tree or something you could drive out to idyllwild which is in the mountains above the desert which is so beautiful and fun and tbh kind of a deep cut so you will definitely be cool and edgy if you do. You can also go out to big bear which is gonna be poppin this weekend for the 4th
Otherwise like I also grew up in the Yosemite foothills and I am very partial to bass lake as a camping destination and place to spend time, we went every summer and it’s truly charming Plus you can do a day or two in Yosemite park which like duh shes gorgina
Last likeee if you really don’t mind driving santa Cruz is The Way (I also lived in the bay lol) like oh yeah you can forest camp but also go to the ocean every day?ahahahahahahaha
And then like duh Tahoe. love that bitch. 10/10 location there is a nude beach that looks like a mountainous mermaid cove im sure you can find it w minimal research also plenty of people don’t get naked but like you could lol
2d ago
🏜
If you can sneak up to Joshua Tree it’s 100% worth it. It’s like a 45 minute drive to the north entrance. Pioneertown is up there too and it’s very tiny, but Pappy + Harriet’s is a bbq spot and music venue and it’s awesome — perfect mix of desert rats and a more trendy crowd. You’d totally get the desert lifestyle
Mar 2, 2024
⭐
some of these do not have public transportation because they’re in the middle of nowhere but i hope they’re still of use to you.
washington DC:
so many museums, a lot of them free. a lot of them are also huge so you can spend entire days looking at art and history. it’s also a beautiful city to just walk around and look at. if you’re driving, be careful because these are the worst drivers i’ve encountered in my entire life.
washington state:
the west side of washington is absolutely gorgeous. if you have time, i recommend you check out mount rainer then head over to the olympic forest and spend as long as you can there. it’s absolutely breathtaking with a ton of trails and beaches.
oregon:
definitely check out the oregon coast. by the washington border is fort stevens state park which is one of the coolest trails i’ve done. a herd of elk crossed the trail 10 feet in front of me (i thought i was gonna get rammed and my life flashed before my eyes but still cool). definitely check out portland. my favorite place was the japanese garden. it was a little pricy but it was worth it because it’s huge and very very cool. just outside of portland is the columbia river. if you have the means, drive the columbia river highway and check out the trails and waterfalls. farther west on HWY 30 there’s the rowena crest viewpoint. right before you get to it there’s a trail on the left. DO THAT TRAIL ITS SO COOL!! it has a mountain piano. no i will not explain. also in oregon is florence, a nice little beach town. the little brown hen cafe has great food and serves spiked coffee. and lastly, secret beach off of HWY 101 is absolutely breathtaking at sunset.
northern california:
by the oregon border is crescent city. nothing too exciting but the good harvest cafe had the best food i ate the entire trip. lady bird johnson trailhead is a redwood trail that was really great. any redwood forest you go to is gonna be great but this one especially. this part of the state is elk country so there’s a bunch of places to see them along the highway. the azalea nature trail was pretty cool, and fort bragg was pretty cool too. lots of beaches along the town and record stores and restaurants. there are a ton of viewing spots to stop along HWY 1. if you haven’t driven the PCH i definitely recommend!
central california:
there’s obviously so much to do in san francisco and there’s a lot of public transport there. and the beaches on the north side are pretty nice. it also has the historic GLBT historical society museum and an entire street full of queer businesses and rainbow decor year round. just outside of santa cruz is the henry cowell redwoods state park. i’m not sure the exact trail name, but just south of the toll house resort on HWY 9 there’s a trail that takes you to the train tracks that you can walk along to a river. monterey is full of culture and also has public transit. the monterey bay aquarium is the best i’ve ever been to so definitely check it out. carmel is much more lowkey and quiet. there’s a ton of restaurants, small businesses, and art studios to explore and the beach is nice. right down the highway is point lobos nature reserve which is a MUST. serveral trails with views of the coast and there are big ass rocks that house hundreds of birds and seals. make sure you’re there at low tide so you can check out the tide pools. pfeiffer big sur state park has a ton of redwood trails.
i saw someone recommend new mexico so i have to mention that the drive from LA to ABQ was SO COOL. and if you’re going to albuquerque, the art museum is great. they have a whole section dedicated to georgia o’keefe. you also need to go to sadie’s mexican restaurant. the best damn taquitos i’ve ever had. but go to the one on 4th not the other one the other one sucks.
ok thats it, i hope this helps and i hope you have fun wherever you end up going!
Apr 14, 2024
Top Recs from @hotassbeat
they look like pearls in oyster shells AND add some protein to your favorite struggle meal
Jun 18, 2025
and waking up by the ocean to a thick fog morning. one of my favorite parts of my road trip, partly because it felt like we were getting away with something big ($1k fine if you’re caught sleeping at a pull off) and partly because it was only the 3rd of 16 nights car camping up the coast so the novelty hadn’t worn off quite yet.
Dec 26, 2024
⭐
I haven’t done this before today (rainy tuesday matinee) & I‘m glad I went! saw Poor Things btw would also recommend the movie
Feb 7, 2024