Northern California Peaks & Pour
A classic loop through the heavy hitters: the foggy bay, the granite cathedrals of the Sierra, the alpine blue of Tahoe, and the rolling vineyards of wine country.
SFO → Yosemite → Tioga Pass → Mono Lake → Lake Tahoe → Napa → Muir Woods → SFO
San Francisco Soul
Welcome to the Bay! Grab your rental car and head straight for the city.
San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
Welcome to the Bay! Grab your rental car and head straight for the city.
Ferry Building
Start with a local coffee and a walk through the artisan stalls. It’s the best place to grab high-end snacks for the road.
Painted Ladies
In American architecture, painted ladies are Victorian and Edwardian houses repainted, starting in the 1960s, in three or more colors that embellish or accentuate their architectural details. The term was first used for San Francisco Victorian houses by Morley Baer, Elizabeth Pomada, and Michael Larsen in their 1978 book, Painted Ladies: San Francisco's Resplendent Victorians.
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American surrealist mystery horror drama television series created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. It premiered on ABC on April 8, 1990, and ran for two seasons until its cancellation in 1991. The show returned in 2017 for a third season on Showtime.
Into the Granite Heart
Leave early to beat the Bay Area traffic heading east toward the mountains.
San Francisco
The centerpiece of the Bay Area, San Francisco is one of the most visited cities in the world, and with good reason. The cultural center of northern California, San Francisco is renowned for its mixture of scenic beauty and unique culture that makes it one of the most vibrant and desirable cities in the nation, if not the world.
Mariposa Grove
Mariposa Grove is a sequoia grove located near Wawona, California, United States, in the southernmost part of Yosemite National Park. It is the largest grove of giant sequoias in the park, with several hundred mature specimens. Two of its trees are among the 30 largest giant sequoias in the world. The grove attracts about one million visitors annually.
Tunnel View
Yosemite National Park is a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Sierra Nevada mountains in east-central California. Approximately four million visitors each year come to Yosemite to marvel at its spectacular granite cliffs, towering waterfalls, remote wilderness, massive sequoia trees, and high mountain meadows.
Yosemite Valley
Yosemite National Park is a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Sierra Nevada mountains in east-central California. Approximately four million visitors each year come to Yosemite to marvel at its spectacular granite cliffs, towering waterfalls, remote wilderness, massive sequoia trees, and high mountain meadows.
Valley Floor & Vertical Walls
Valley Floor & Vertical Walls (20km, 1h drive)
Yosemite Falls
Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in Yosemite National Park, dropping a total of 2,425 feet (739 m) from the top of the upper fall to the base of the lower fall. Located in the Sierra Nevada of California, it is a major attraction in the park, especially in late spring when the water flow is at its peak.
El Capitan Meadow
Bring binoculars and look for the tiny specks of rock climbers tackling the 3,000-foot vertical face.
Mirror Lake
An easy loop trail that offers a stunning reflection of Mt. Watkins. Great for a relaxed afternoon.
Cook's Meadow
A flat boardwalk walk through the center of the valley with perfect views of Half Dome.
The High Sierra Traverse
Drive the highest highway pass in California (Note: only open seasonally, usually June–Oct). The scenery changes from lush valley to rugged alpine.
Tioga Pass
Tioga Pass is a mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California. State Route 120 runs through it, and serves as the eastern entry point for Yosemite National Park, at the Tioga Pass Entrance Station. It is the highest elevation highway pass in California and in the Sierra Nevada at an elevation of 9,945 ft (3,031 m).
Tenaya Lake
Tenaya Lake is an alpine lake in Yosemite National Park, located between Yosemite Valley and Tuolumne Meadows. The surface of Tenaya Lake has an elevation of 8,150 feet (2,484 m). The lake basin was formed by glacial action, which left a backdrop of light granite rocks, whose beauty was known to the Native Americans.
Mono Lake South Tufa Area
Descend the eastern escarpment to see these strange, otherworldly limestone towers rising from the salty water.
Bridgeport
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Island Sound, it is a port city 60 miles (97 km) from Manhattan and 40 miles (64 km) from The Bronx.
Alpine Blue & Emerald Bays
Head north on Highway 395, one of the most beautiful drives in the country, flanking the eastern Sierras.
Bridgeport
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Island Sound, it is a port city 60 miles (97 km) from Manhattan and 40 miles (64 km) from The Bronx.
Emerald Bay State Park
Emerald Bay is a state park in the Lake Tahoe region of California. This is a small bay located at the southwest corner of Lake Tahoe and contains its only true island, Fannette Island.
Sand Harbor
Cross into the Nevada side for the clearest turquoise water and those famous smooth granite boulders.
South Lake Tahoe
South Lake Tahoe is a city in the Lake Tahoe region of California in El Dorado County. South Lake Tahoe, the largest town around the lake, sits on the south shore, and offers beautiful views of mountains covered with fir and pine trees, deep blue water year-round, and a wealth of outdoor activities.
Mountains to the Valley
Enjoy a slow morning by the lake before beginning the descent out of the mountains.
South Lake Tahoe
South Lake Tahoe is a city in the Lake Tahoe region of California in El Dorado County. South Lake Tahoe, the largest town around the lake, sits on the south shore, and offers beautiful views of mountains covered with fir and pine trees, deep blue water year-round, and a wealth of outdoor activities.
Old Sacramento
Old Sacramento State Historic Park occupies around one third of the property within the Old Sacramento Historic District of Sacramento, California. The Old Sacramento Historic District is a U.S. National Historic Landmark District. The Historic District is sometimes abbreviated as Old Sacramento, or Old Sac, and since the 1960s has been restored and developed as a significant tourist attraction.
Napa Valley
Napa Valley, in the Bay Area in California, is the most internationally renowned winemaking region of the United States of America and one of the major wine regions of the world. It is also known for its gourmet restaurants, cafes, and spa-treatment centers.
The Art of the Vine
Day 7 explores the sophisticated heart of Napa Valley, from a medieval-style castle to world-class dining destinations.
Castello di Amorosa
Castello di Amorosa is a winery located near Calistoga, California. The winery opened to the public in April 2007, as the project of a fourth-generation vintner, Dario Sattui, who also owns and operates the V. Sattui Winery named after his great-grandfather, Vittorio Sattui, who originally established a winery in San Francisco in 1885 after emigrating from Italy to California.
St. Helena
Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, west of the mainland of the continent of Africa, with the Southern African nations of Angola and Namibia on its southeastern coast being the closest nations geographically.
Oakville Grocery
Grab some local cheeses and charcuterie. It's the oldest continually operating grocery store in California.
Yountville
Yountville is a small town in Napa Valley, California named for its founder Georg Calvert Yount. It is now home to many world class restaurants and wineries as well as fantastic boutique shopping.
The Golden Gate Return
One last vineyard breakfast before heading back toward the coast.
Napa
Napa is a city in the state of California, located 50 miles north of San Francisco, at the southern end of scenic Napa Valley.
Muir Woods National Monument
Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area of California. The city begins in the canyons and ridges at the base of Mount Tamalpais and extends into a broad valley that reaches the Richardson Bay portion of the San Francisco Bay.
Battery Spencer
The ultimate view of the Golden Gate Bridge looking south toward the city.
San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
Drop off the car and catch your flight home.
- Always check Tioga Pass (Hwy 120) status if traveling in May/June or Oct/Nov; if closed, you'll need to loop north via Hwy 88/50.