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Stop in San Simeon for Hearst Castle and Elephant Seals

As if Hearst Castle wasn't attraction enough, summer brings adult male elephant seals home to mate, loudly and with commitment. Ride a little more than an hour south of Big Sur for this larger-than-life nature channel show, live and loud. Hearst Castle's not a bad stop, either. For that matter, Cambria's nice, too... oh heck. You know the feeling. Just keep riding and exploring.

For visitors to this pristine piece of the Central Coast, San Simeon and Hearst Ranch - without the famous castle - offer a vision of early California that any Golden State lover will find irresistible. Coastal trails wend through egret, pelican, fox, deer, coyote and turtle habitats; cattle graze on sun-bleached hillsides; oak groves give way to evergreen forests and cypress stands; and beaches teem with galumphing elephant seals... In June and July, thousands of male elephant seals return to San Simeon's beaches to molt. Come early in the season and you'll beat both the castle throngs and the worst of the summer fog. Read more about Hearst Castle and the San Simeon area in SF Gate.

Mendocino and the secret road to the three tallest trees in the world

Mendocino scores as the cutest town on the north coast. All the buildings are vintage and the local community strives to keep it that way, both for tourism and for the occasional film crew. The town's “Murder She Wrote” character comes at a price and the locals often refer to it as “Spendocino.” While it’s a nice place to visit, there are more authentic experiences to be had nearby. Comptche-Ukiah Road, for example. This route between Mendocino and Ukiah is an itinerary that guests on Leod Escapes tours always rave about. It’s got it all--115 miles riding San Francisco to Mendocino on Highway 1, forest twisties, hidden valleys, and the three tallest trees in the world.

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We Stop in Big Sur for Literary History at the Henry Miller Library

I'm a literary junkie, and never pass up an opportunity to visit important writerly sites. One of those is the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur. Even if you're not a literary buff, it's a great place to just sit on the porch and watch the world go by. SF Gate has a great story on this cultural gem with lots of photos, plus information about events.

The Henry Miller Library is a library only in the sense that it is full of books. Books for sale stacked on tables, early editions hanging from the ceiling, more stored in back. The archives of Miller’s writings, letters and rare manuscripts are held off site in safe, climate-controlled storage. The library's most important function, according to director Magnus Toren, is as a sanctuary — for Henry Miller fans, lovers of the arts, and local residents. Read more about it in SF Gate.

Exploring the Pardee and Camanche Reservoir Area in the Sierra-Nevada Foothills and Gold Country

It's tough to tear yourself away from a destination like Lake Tahoe and, after tooling around Monitor Pass, Topaz Lake, and the shores of Emerald Bay, I wasn't about to join the traffic jam on 50 and 80 back to the Bay Area. My friend Joanne agreed, and looking for a new way home I spotted some reservoirs and farm country in the Sierra-Nevada foothills in gold country around a place called Valley Springs. On Highway 49 at Jackson, we gassed up at the Shell station and a local in a pickup truck confirmed that the scenic road past Pardee Reservoir was right there, but it was awfully twisty, he said, shaking his head.

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Old-Fashioned Fun at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Santa Cruz isn’t the only place in California that offers sandy beaches, twisty roads galore, dense groves of redwood trees, big waves for surfing, and a quirky personality. But it does have something unique that draws over 3 million visitors each year: the historic Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

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South Lake Tahoe Loop to Virginia City in Nevada: Gold Rush, Literary, and Psychedelic History

Combine the Sierra's epic mountain roads, a wild west flavor and the spicy history of Nevada's Virginia City for a great loop starting from South Shore Lake Tahoe east on Highway 50 which follows the shoreline. You'll pass Zephyr Cove (a great summer beach spot), which climbs up and offers one of the area’s most spectacular views, so feel free to pull off into Sand Harbor and just absorb the beauty Lake Tahoe has to offer. The route I propose takes 3 1/2 hours according to Google, but with the twisties, the viewpoints, and the meanders around historic Gold Country towns, it is a pleasant all-day jaunt back through history, literary, and pop culture.

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Bodie Ghost Town in the Sierras off Hwy 395 Worth the 13 Mile Detour

Headed to the Sierras? Down a dusty, bumpy, slow 13 mile long road off of State Highway 395 you'll find Bodie...

...an original mining town from the late 1800's. What's left today stands in a state of "arrested decay" and is maintained by the California State Parks System, who took over the town in 1962 to make it a State Historic Park. In 1859 William (a.k.a. Waterman) S. Bodey discovered gold near what is now called Bodie Bluff. A mill was established in 1861 and the town began to grow. It started with about 20 miners and grew to an estimated 10,000 people by 1880! By then, the town of Bodie bustled with families, robbers, miners, store owners, gunfighters, prostitutes and people from every country in the world. At one time there was reported to be 65 saloons in town. Among the saloons were numerous brothels and 'houses of ill repute', gambling halls and opium dens - an entertainment outlet for everyone...

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Party Time in Port Costa: A Hidden Treasure Under the Vallejo Bridge

About halfway between San Francisco and Napa via a narrow winding road four miles from anywhere of note takes you to the town of Port Costa on a dead-end road to the bay. When the Martinez railroad bridge was buit in 1930 the population was a bustling 3000. Today, without the railroad traffic, only 250 people live there, but I'll bet about 3000 visit on some weekends, especially when the biker poker runs gather or a popular band plays at the Waterfront Cafe, both of which occurred when I happened by on a Sunday afternoon this spring when I was wandering the East Bay hills.

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Highway 4: The Road Less Traveled from the Bay Area East to the Sierras

Heading out from the Bay Area to the Sierras or beyond? Highway 4 gives you a taste of rural California farmland and the Sacramento Delta, and is a great alternative to the more heavily traveled and much less scenic freeway system.

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Fern Grove Cottages: A Soft Place to Land in Sonoma's Russian River Valley

After a long day of riding the twists and turns of the Russian River Valley in Sonoma Valley north of San Francisco, I longed for a plush place to hang up my gear for the night. As if by magic, a charming cluster of cottages appeared among the ferns, redwoods and wildflowers growing wild among the cottages sitting perched on the hillside. The appropriately-named Fern Grove Cottages are in the perfect setting along River Road in Guerneville.

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