Questions about SUV trails and must-sees for a California road trip

Hi everyone! 🙂 As you can see, we're heading back from September 6th to the 27th. Everything’s booked for September—flights, accommodations, and the car. As I plan, I’ll be asking the experts for help. This is our second trip to California, but most of the stops are new to us. We’ll start directly from San Francisco to our first overnight stop, Davis, before heading to Lassen Volcanic Park for 4 nights. Our flight lands at 12:50 PM.

Here’s our itinerary: Day 1: Davis – overnight stop Day 2: Red Bluff – exploring Lassen Volcanic Park (scenic drive to Lake Helen) Day 3: Susanville – scenic drive through the park via the South Entrance, points of interest, and hikes Day 4: Susanville – Cinder Cone and Painted Dunes hike Day 5: Susanville – Warner Valley (hikes) Day 6: South Lake Tahoe Day 7: South Lake Tahoe Day 8: Mammoth Lake Day 9: Mammoth Lake Day 10: El Portal via Tioga Road Day 11: El Portal Day 12: El Portal Day 13: Oakhurst Day 14: Miramonte Day 15: Three Rivers Day 16: Three Rivers Day 17: Coalinga Day 18: Monterey Day 19: Monterey Day 20: San Francisco Day 21: San Francisco Day 22: Departure

For hikes in Lassen Volcanic Park, I’ve planned: Bumpass Hell, Cold Boiling Lake (Day 2) Paradise Meadow (maybe not going all the way), Devastated Area, and the loop around Reflection and Manzanita Lakes (Day 3) Cinder Cone and Painted Dunes (Day 4) Devil’s Kitchen and Boiling Spring Lake (Day 5)

I’ve read there are trails to access the trailheads for Cinder Cone (11 km) and Warner Valley. Are these easy trails for an SUV? Are there any other must-see spots or things we shouldn’t miss?

That’s where I’m at for now. Thanks for your replies, and have a great evening! Marcalamar 🙂

Based on Google Maps, there don’t seem to be any particular difficulties getting to the trailhead parking for the hike to Cinder Cone. For Warner Valley, the few trails you can see look pretty well-maintained. Just to clarify, I haven’t been there myself, but Google Street View gives a good idea.

Don’t miss Virginia City near Lake Tahoe. Between Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lake, there’s of course the town of Bodie in Bodie State Historic Park. And Mono Lake (go straight to point 37.9386, -119.0268—this is where the most interesting part is concentrated). South of Mammoth Lake, there’s Lake Crowley and its columns (visible depending on the lake’s water level). Be careful, around Crowley Lake, SUVs can’t get through. You’ll have to park and do it on foot.

There’s a good part of your trip I’m not familiar with yet, so I’m looking forward to following along! 😉 !

Hi there! 🙂 Thanks, Olive, for your reply. We already know Bodie since we went there in 2017, but we’re going back because we loved it. Cool tip about Lake Tahoe and Mono Lake. I saw you have a travel journal—I’ll check it out. It’s a bit sad to see how hard it’s been for the Forum to bounce back since it shut down during Covid, but it’s always nice to see familiar usernames 😉 Have a great day, everyone. Marcalamar 🙂

Yeah, I never really understood why they shut down the forum during COVID, considering it was the time when people needed to escape the most. But I guess, like everyone else, they needed to find a way to stay afloat financially, and the site wasn’t supporting them. A lot of travelers have also moved to social media now. My travel journals are a bit dated, but I still reread them from time to time. It’s kinda nice to reminisce about all that 😉

Northern California is truly extraordinary—endless pine forests (Plumas, Shasta, Modoc...) and very, very sparsely populated. Unfortunately, it’s been burning everywhere the past few summers. If you’re not heading all the way to the redwoods on the coast, I imagine you’ve already been there—it’s also pretty magical.

We didn’t *love* Lassen NP, so I’m not the best person to ask. We were pretty disappointed by the geothermal features. In the end, we preferred the surrounding areas: Lake Almanor, Quincy, and the Plumas National Forest. Oh, and if you’re into that sort of thing, there’s a little gem—a brewery right in the middle of the forest in Blairsden: The Brewing Lair.

Lake Tahoe... yeah, it’s super touristy, but the coves are beautiful. On the way south, there are Grover Hot Springs if you want a possible stop.

There are quite a few points of interest east of Yosemite NP—Bodie, Lundy Canyon, Mono Lake... and if you push a little further toward the Nevada border, there’s another almost ghost town: Benton Hot Springs. It even has some pretty unique hot springs at the campground, with each site having its own private pool.

Hey there, fellow travelers! 🙂 Thanks for your post, Nico—I saw it this morning (I don’t always get VoyageForum notifications when there are new posts). I checked out Grover Hot Springs you mentioned, but they’re a bit too far off our route. Someone recommended some near Bridgeport, so I think we’ll swing by there instead. I’ll head back to your blog—it’s so tough making choices and missing out on hidden gems! I’ll jot down your lakes and points of interest. You never know what the future holds. Tomorrow, I’ll tackle the drive between Susanville and our South Tahoe lodging. I know it’s gonna be another tough call deciding what to do 😕 Have a great weekend, everyone! Marcalamar 🙂

At Lake Tahoe, if you really want to see beautiful coves and have amazing views ... do the RUBBICCON TRAIL (a long hike, almost alone in the world—only crossed paths with 3 people ... but it’s gorgeous to do, about 15 km round trip). Otherwise, by car, you won’t see much! Nevada City is also really worth seeing

Hi Jojo 🙂 I just saw your message (I no longer get notifications for new reply posts). I had spotted the Rubicon Trail, but I gave up on the idea since we’re only there for 2 nights—it’d take too much time for the 15 km and would keep us from doing the lake loop. Anyway, thanks for your reply! I’ll post with a few questions. Marcalamar 🙂

No worries

The bummer is that on the lake loop by car, you won’t get many viewpoints in the end... the stops and possible views are few and far between.

Happy trails... planning your next destinations is already traveling!