Road-trip stops in California

Cabazon Dinosaurs

A 65-foot Brontosaurus named Dinny and a 45-foot T-Rex named Mr. Rex have been waving cars off I-10 since 1975. The kids will demand the stop before you finish saying 'maybe later.' Walk inside Dinny's belly for the gift shop. Pee-wee Herman fans will recognize it. Five minutes off the freeway, photo gold.

Death Valley National Park

The lowest, hottest, driest place in North America. Badwater Basin sits 282 feet below sea level (the bottom of a salt flat that stretches to the horizon). Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes are the easiest dune-hike spot. Zabriskie Point at sunrise is the photo. Avoid June–August (regularly 120+ °F). October–April is the sweet spot. Furnace Creek visitor center has the air conditioning. 2 hrs from Las Vegas, 3 hrs from LA.

Disney California Adventure Park

Disneyland's sister park, opened 2001 across the esplanade from the original. Heavily reworked since opening — Cars Land (Radiator Springs Racers is the can't-miss), Avengers Campus, World of Color nighttime show, and Pixar Pier. More food-festival-friendly than Disneyland proper. Plan one full day; pair with Disneyland for a 2-park stay. The Park Hopper pass works between both gates, less than 100 yards apart.

Disneyland Park

The original 1955 Disneyland — the smaller, more compact, more original-Walt of the two Disney resorts. Main Street USA leads to a Castle that's only 77 feet tall (Disney World's is 189 ft). Six lands: Main Street, Adventureland, Frontierland, New Orleans Square, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland. Indiana Jones Adventure is the headliner Steve says you have to ride first. Plan one full day for Disneyland; add California Adventure next door for a two-day trip. Off I-5 in Anaheim, 30 min from LAX.

Joshua Tree National Park

Twiggy Dr. Seuss trees, boulder piles that look like a kid stacked them, the darkest night sky you'll see this close to LA. Drive through is two hours if you don't stop, six if you do. Skull Rock is the kid-magnet. Bring more water than you think.

Madonna Inn

The pink palace of central California. Every one of the 110 rooms is themed and unlike any of the others — there's the Caveman Room, the Yahoo Room with a rock waterfall shower, the Just Heaven Room with literal cherubs. The lobby looks like a wedding cake. Stop even just for a coffee and pastry to see it. The men's-room waterfall urinal is a tourist destination of its own.

Mystery Spot

A guided forty-minute tour of a tilted cabin where balls roll uphill and your brain politely loses the argument. Open since 1940. It is exactly the kind of dad-pleasing roadside science your family will pretend to be skeptical about, then take fifty photos of. Reserve a tour slot in summer.

Roy's Motel and Cafe

The most photographed gas station in California. The Googie-architecture sign and motel cabins sit in the middle of the Mojave Desert on the original Route 66 — completely abandoned by the 1970s, partially restored by the current owner since 2005. Sells fuel, snacks, gear with the Route 66 logo, and lets you walk around the cabins. The neon comes on at dusk and the sunset over the empty highway is the postcard. Off I-40 via Kelbaker Rd, 25 mi north of the highway.

Salvation Mountain

Three stories of hand-painted adobe in the California desert, built by a man named Leonard Knight over twenty-eight years using donated house paint and adobe clay. Looks like a Kool-Aid mountain from a Salvador Dalí dream. Hot — go early. Free, bring water and respect the volunteer caretakers.

Santa Monica Pier (End of the Trail)

The western terminus of Route 66 — the 'End of the Trail' sign at the Pier entrance is the photo every R66 traveler takes. The 1909 pier itself has Pacific Park's small Ferris wheel and roller coaster, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., the historic carousel from 1922. Free to walk on, paid to ride attractions. Sunset is the moment; LA traffic getting here is the challenge. Off I-10 in Santa Monica.