California’s best kept secret that tourists have ‘never heard of’
California is known for Hollywood, Disneyland and the Golden Gate Bridge – but this is where you need to go while it’s still a hidden gem.
Australians have a soft spot for California. It is on our screens in TV and movies. For most of us travelling to the US (Aussies’ fourth most popular overseas destination), we will land in Los Angeles or San Francisco first.
Travellers are likely to top their lists with iconic tourism hotspots like Hollywood, Disneyland, the Golden Gate Bridge, Yosemite National Park and Napa Valley.
But as Visit California’s Ryan Becker tells us, there are some incredible spots Aussies are missing out on, just because they haven’t had the same global hype – yet.
“I’m born and raised in California and I’ve lived there all my whole life and I still find stuff all the time that I’m like ‘where did this come from?’” he told news.com.au on a recent visit to Melbourne.
What you probably don’t know is just over an hour drive south of San Francisco International Airport is Gilroy, nicknamed the “Garlic Capital of the World”.
You’ll find garlic everywhere, but you’ll also find wine.
“I would consider that a very undiscovered wine region,” Mr Becker said.
“I do think five years from now it will definitely be on the map and much more crowded. It’s one of those places that if you want to go while it’s still a hidden gem, now is the time.”
Another gem often skipped over by tourists visiting nearby Yosemite National Park is one of the oldest grape growing regions in America, Madera County in California’s Central Valley.
“It’s really fantastic and a very different vibe than you would see in some of the more well-known wine regions in the state,” Mr Becker said.
He said not only was the wine trail there more affordable, but also less crowded.
“It’s one of those places where the person pouring your taste is probably the person who made the wine. I love that kind of thing,” he added.
But if you ask Mr Becker, the real secret of escaping hordes of tourists and experiencing an authentic California, is swapping the iconic Highway 1 road trip along the coast for Highway 395, which runs east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
“It is one of the most spectacular drives that I have ever done. Most people have never heard of it, especially travellers,” he said.
He recommends flying into Los Angeles (they are currently pleading with tourists to return after the devastating fires), hiring a car, heading through the desert and up to Lake Tahoe to see an “unbelievable slice” of the state.
“You’re going to see desert, you’re going to see alpine lakes; what you won’t see are crowds,” he said.
“I’ve done that road before, even in high travel season and for an hour you don’t see another vehicle. It is pretty cool.
“There’s lots of little places to stop along the way – hiking, biking, fishing and meeting real Californians.”
If you are going to hike and camp make sure to be bear aware and always put your food in dedicated storage lockers located in state and national parks.
According to Lonely Planet, on the Highway 395 road trip you can find Bodie (a ghost town), Mammoth Lakes (famous ski area), Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest (home to the oldest trees in the world), Long Pine (the setting for many Western movies), Mount Whitney (highest mountain in the contiguous US), and Death Valley (hottest place on earth).
Mr Becker added that fortunately rental cars are more accessible again in the state. There had been problems with supply after Covid leading to high prices.
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