Road Tripping Through NoCal on a Budget

Road trips are a great way to spend time together as a family and see the country. Even if you’ve only got a few days, you can cover some serious ground and see the sites. Many people opt for this method of travel as a way to see places and do things without having to break the bank.

California is an ever-popular tourist destination thanks to its great weather, beautiful scenery and abundance of things to see and do. While most people think of Southern California locales like Los Angeles and San Diego as must-see stops on a California vacation, Northern California (or NoCal for short) has just as much to see and do as its southern counterpart and is ideal for road tripping, even if you’re on a limited budget.

If you do have to watch your pennies, you may want to skip the big cities like San Francisco, famous for its over-priced hotels, heavy traffic and frequent toll bridges, but that doesn’t mean a road trip through NoCal shouldn’t be an option. Simply bypass the city and head north via the coastal roads to enjoy some of the most beautiful scenery in the state.

Although Napa Valley is home to beautiful rolling hills and incredible wineries, it is an expensive area and should probably be left off the itinerary if you are trying to stick to a budget.

State Highway 101 parallels the Pacific Coast Highway, also known as the 1 most of the way. While the 101 moves much quicker than PCH (until the two highways meet at the town of Leggett where the road continues north as the 101), the 1 offers incredible ocean scenery and lets you experience the small coastal towns you would otherwise not notice from the main highway.

Mendocino, California. Photo: Nancy Ziller | Dreamstime.com

One possible itinerary for your NoCal road trip is to head north from the Bay Area toward Mendocino then up to Crescent City, making sure you hit Redwood Forest National Park along the way. From there head to Mt. Shasta where you can either pick up the 5 and head back south toward Sacramento via the inland route or you can venture southeast through the mountains to pick up Highway 395 and take that into Lake Tahoe to enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery before continuing south to Yosemite National Park.

Some spectacular sites to see along your route should include Lassen Volcano National Park, Redwood National Park and Lake Shasta. There are reasonable accommodations along the way to each of these sites that will make your trip comfortable without breaking your budget. Along the way you will find great spots for hiking, picnicking and viewing the beautiful landscapes.