Sacramento to San Diego Road Trip Guide

After such an adventurous and thrilling day it is time to relax and enjoy camping by the beach. After all, this is California, home to some of the most beautiful and scenic beaches on the planet. Even though your end destination is San Diego, California's ultimate beach city, we would recommend spending the night and rising up early at San Clemente State Beach before driving on to San Diego.

What makes San Clemente State Beach even more perfect is the fact that it comes with a large campground and a day-use parking area. You can easily settle down for the night right by the beach and wake up early to enjoy the view of the sunrise, with mesmerizing cliffs, ravines, high bluffs, and wooded hills surrounding you.

Once you are done enjoying some time lounging on the beach you can hike on the trails or enjoy a good bike ride and long walks on the San Clemente Coastal Trail. When you are all relaxed and energized, say your farewells to San Clemente and drive on to the vibrant city of San Diego.

Your day of fun and thrilling rides isn't over just yet. Another hour and a half of driving will get you to Santa Clarita, CA, where you have another fun-filled and adrenaline-triggering stop awaiting you. This place claims to have more world-class roller coasters than any other theme park in the entire world. That’s a big claim to make, but they seem to have it in the bag nonetheless.

Rides with names like Sling Shot, Goliath, Viper, Apocalypse, and Twisted Colossus only adds to the organizers’ creativeness and the visitors’ excitement. This theme park fulfills all the adults’ wildest adrenaline fantasies and is a great place to stop when on an RV road trip with friends.

This amusement park is also great for families because the little kids can either brave these rides or they can be taken to the Bugs Bunny World which is the kiddy version of the amusement park that features mellower rides.

People who think museums are boring have clearly never been to the California Living Museum, also referred to as CALM. CALM is an unconventional museum as it is both a type of zoo, as well as a botanic garden.

The museum exhibits only native Californian animals that cannot be released into the wilderness because of their endangered status. There’s a high chance that you’d be seeing some of these animals for the first time.

The garden at CALM exhibits plant communities with such a diverse collection that Californians themselves are surprised to see so many unique and unusual plants native to the Golden State. This museum also houses two extremely rare California Condors. Their indoor exhibit called California Coast Room is home to moon jellyfish, octopus, and seahorses with its inter-tidal touch tank.

One exhibit, in particular, is extremely popular and is known by the title 'Cats of California'. This exhibit houses mountain lions and bobcats native to the once vast Californian wilderness.

You’ll hit your first jackpot stop about an hour later in Stockton. Fun Town at Micke Grove is a petite amusement park located inside Micke Grove Regional Park in Lodi, CA. You do not have to be a kid to enjoy the ten rides offered here as they are entertaining, to say the least. If you’re on this road trip with the family, you’ll certainly earn some extra brownie points with the kids.

You can spend a good two or three hours here, snacking on popcorn, ice cream, and enjoying the Tilt-A-Whirl, Kiddie Coaster, and the Fun Town Express Train. Fun Town also offers various carnival-inspired treats as well as party packages. The best thing about this stop is that it has something for everyone.

If you’re still not ready to hit the road, you can exit Fun Town and enter other facilities in the park such as the 18-hole disc golf course, the softball fields, water play features, and the San Joaquin County Historical Museum.