san luis obispo

Central California

Central California is often overlooked for the perfect weather of SoCal or the wineries and coast life in NorCal—but there are some great gems here too! I did a road trip loop exploring the middle section of California and here are all of my recommendations!

King's Canyon National Park

King’s Canyon National Park

This is a very small National Park about an hour from Fresno and nestled up against Sequoia National Park as well. There is just one road through the park so you can accomplish a lot of things in a short amount of time here. A day was the perfect visit for me personally! Recommendations:

  • Kings Canyon Scenic Byway: A beautiful scenic drive through the canyon to the end of the park. There are beautiful views throughout, but the Junction View is particularly great. It takes about an hour to drive from the start near General Grant to the end of the road.

  • General Grant Trail: This is a short and sweet trail at three-quarters of a mile and 15 minutes to complete to the third largest tree in the world by volume. You can also walk through a down tree in the forest as well which is neat.

  • Panoramic Point Trail: A short half mile trail to a beautiful panoramic viewpoint! I would recommend doing this trail earlier in the day because by late afternoon the lighting was not as ideal.

  • Mist Falls Trail: A nice trail at 8 miles long with 1,100ft of elevation gain that takes about 3 hours to complete. The trailhead is at the end of the road and a launching pad for many backpackers and campers. It starts off flat and exposed and then dives into the forest. There is really only one section that is steep with stone steps, otherwise it is easy to moderate throughout. The trail leads to a large waterfall, but I would actually say the best view is in the middle of the stone steps looking out into the canyon.

  • Roaring River Falls: A quick walk (7 minutes roundtrip) to a nice waterfall near the end of the road. This trail is paved so it is very accessible.

  • Hume Lake: A very odd spot is how I would summarize Hume Lake. Part Christian Camp, part National Forest. A nice spot to relax and enjoy the lake/views post-hiking, but the views from the day use area are not super nice, but if you go over to the camp area and towards the dining hall you have a nice mountain backdrop.

Heather Lake Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park

Sequoia is another relatively small park that is filled with very large and very old trees!

  • Watchtower Trail: This trail is 8.3 miles long with 2,106ft of elevation gain and takes about 4 hours to complete. It is a pretty moderate trail throughout, with just one steep section towards the end. The views from the Watchtower are dramatic, and you can also see nearby Tokopah Falls from here as well! The trail then continues on to the beautiful Heather Lake, or you can add on more lakes beyond this as well!

    • If you are afraid of heights or if there is any risk of ice I would absolutely not recommend this trail, you walk along the edge of a cliff at times.

  • General Sherman Tree Trail: A quick hike to the largest tree in the world! The trail is 1 mile long with 268ft of elevation gain and takes about a half hour. It’s relatively steep but since it’s so short it’s still accessible. This is a very busy trail so there is a park shuttle you can utilize if parking is too full.

    • You can also continue on to the Congress Trail for more large trees, but how many trees do you need see in a day really?

  • Moro Rock Trail: This short trail at a half mile long leads up stairs to a viewpoint. It is a popular spot for sunrise!

    • There is a tunnel log nearby you can drive through as well which is fun!

  • Big Trees Trail: This is another option in the Giant Forest at 1.2 miles long, mostly flat, and takes about a half hour to complete. The trail runs along the road from the museum center at the start so it is a bit noisy, and overall was just another walk in the trees :)

  • Gateway Restaurant: A great spot on the river just outside the park for lunch or dinner!

There Does Not Exist SLO

San Luis Obispo

SLO is a super cute little city with a lot to offer! I really enjoyed my time in this area.

  • There Does Not Exist: This is a great brewery a bit outside of town with fantastic beers and a good variety to choose from.

  • Brewery hop in the LoBro neighborhood! This area is full of breweries, cideries and beer bars to explore!

    • Ancient Owl Beer Garden and Bottle Shop: A cool beer bar and bottle shop with 24 taps. They have another spot in Atascadero as well!

    • Shrine Brewing: A small brewery with 10 taps and good vibes. Right next to Ancient Owl

    • Humdinger Brewing: Another brewery option with a small food menu and some arcade games. The main taproom is in nearby Arroyo Grande.

  • Montana de Oro Bluff Trail: This nice, easy trail along the coast is very pretty. I got about 4 miles and 200ft of elevation in about 1.5 hours.

  • Scout Coffee: This coffee shop has multiple locations in the area. I visited their spot in Morro Bay and it was an adorable space with delicious coffee and amazing pastries.

  • Wayward Baking: This little bakery in nearby Los Osos is whipping up some amazing things! Definitely recommend popping in.

  • Explore Morro Bay and visit Morro Rock!

  • Central Coast Brewing: This brewery has a couple of locations in the area. The beer is pretty solid. The SLO taproom also has bar food in a warehouse type setting.

  • I stayed at the Best Western Plus Royal Oak Hotel: This was a nice hotel with a fun pool area and a good breakfast.

  • Silver Bar Cocktail Lounge at the Madonna Inn: This is a very touristy spot that is cute with all pink vibes, but I realized when I walked in it was not my vibe. Some of you will love it so I wanted to let you know about it!

Booker Vineyards

Paso Robles

Paso is the heart of wine country in Central California! There are SO many wineries to choose from in this area (over 400!). The downtown itself is also cute with plenty to keep you occupied! Be sure to make reservations for your tastings in advance.

Pinnacles National Park

This is a very small national park with two distinct sides—east and west. Bear Gulch Day Use Area is home to a lot of the trailheads. The park is known for condors so keep your eyes on the sky!

  • Moses Spring and Rim Trail Loop Trail: This trail is 2 miles long with 550ft of elevation gain and takes just under an hour to complete. It hits Bear Gulch Caves and the reservoir. It was a bit boring but there were a few fun landscapes.

  • Originally I was going to do the Condor Gulch to Bear Gulch to High Peaks which is 5.6 miles long with 1,633ft of elevation gain but it was really really hot and it did not seem like a good choice.

Tioga-Sequoia Brewing in Fresno

Fresno

Fresno is not a city I loved or really felt the need to visit, but it is conveniently located as the gateway to Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks. It’s a great spot to spend the night before entering a park early the next day.

  • Tioga-Sequoia Beer Garden: A good brewery with a wide variety of beers and a very nice space. They have frequent events and are located right across from the baseball field downtown.

  • MachineHead Brewing: A nice Sour-focused brewery with a good patio space.

  • Crow & Wolf Brewing Co: A warehouse-style brewery right around the corner from MachineHead with a lovely patio. They have a wide variety of beer styles and are pretty impressive.

  • Eureka!: This beer bar and kitchen has locations across the area and is not typically somewhere I would recommend since it has chain/strip-mall vibes but the food is actually quite good and they have great rotating taps, such as Bottle Logic Brewing.

  • Out of the Barrel: A beer bar with several locations in California. Their tap list and to-go selection is good, but the strip-mall vibes are not my favorite.

  • Burning Sun Brewing Co: An average brewery where the beers are pretty solid but the space is not.