Free California road trip guide

There's a 95 percent chance Senior Editor Christine Sarkis is thinking about travel right now. Follow her on Instagram @postcartography and Twitter @ChristineSarkis.

Christine Sarkis is an SATW-award-winning journalist and executive editor at SmarterTravel. Her stories have also appeared on USA Today, Conde Nast Traveler, Huffington Post, and Business Insider. Her advice has been featured in dozens of print and online publications including The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, and People magazine. She has also shared travel tips on television and radio shows including Good Morning America, Marketplace, and Here & Now. Her work has been published in the anthologies Spain from a Backpack and The Best Women's Travel Writing 2008. She is currently working on a travel memoir.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: The Trtl Pillow. It's easy to pack and comfortable, and makes it so I can actually sleep on flights.

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: Seeing the Aurora Borealis from the comfort of somewhere warm, like a glass igloo or hot spring.

Travel Motto: Curiosity is an amazing compass.

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: Aisle all the way.

Email Christine Sarkis at editor@smartertravel.com.

See recent posts by Christine Sarkis

Last week, I received the free copy of California Drives 2007 I’d requested from the California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC), and after leafing through it countless times and leaving it around the house to see if it piqued the interest of anyone else (it did), I feel ready to summarize and opine.

Twelve road trip itineraries are detailed in the California Drives magazine. Each focuses on a regional theme, for instance “deserts,” “gold country,” or “inland empire” (which I’ve always thought sounded way cooler than it is). The itineraries range in length from two to eight days and from 100 to 785 miles.

I grew up and now live in California, and can say from years of experience that road trips are a great way to see the state. I’m not sure I would ever follow one of these itineraries from start to finish, simply because I’d likely get sidetracked somewhere along the way, but I do think the ideas are good and useful for planning. I especially like the way you can get a sense of the major sites in a region simply by scanning the itinerary. Then it’s just a matter of prioritizing and customizing for your traveling style.

We hand-pick everything we recommend and select items through testing and reviews. Some products are sent to us free of charge with no incentive to offer a favorable review. We offer our unbiased opinions and do not accept compensation to review products. All items are in stock and prices are accurate at the time of publication. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission.