California Coastal Byways

50 of California's Best Backcountry Drives

Cruise all the best spots to experience California's coast from your car with this guide to 50 drives from San Diego to the Oregon Border. In this thoroughly updated fourth edition, each trip and map has been rechecked and updated with the latest information on fires and regulation changes. Also included is a new trip through and old-growth forest in Northern California's Del Norte County.

With California Coastal Byways in your glove box, you will:

-Wind along serpentine roads near towering redwoods on the rugged Lost Coast

-Breathe easy atop desert-to-ocean overlooks in L.A. County's San Gabriel Mountains

-Edge along precipitous Black Canyon Road in San Diego County

-Soak in remote hot springs in Santa Barbara County

-Spot sunning seals or migrating whales from and abandoned north coast lighthouse