Santa Barbara

Let’s be honest. Los Angeles has everything you need: Beaches, skyscrapers, desert hikes, a foodie scene; the list goes on. However, sometimes you just need a complete change of scenery. Lucky for us, California is filled with adventurous spots that are only a car ride away. Here is a list of the best road trips to take from Los Angeles.

Get to know the best areas of Los Angeles from a local.

Ever contemplated a new method of travel? A way to break up all of the traffic-filled roadtrips or miserable treks to the airport, only to wait 2-3 hours for a flight? Fed up with the same old highway views (or lack of views from the plane)? If so, this guide is for you! From the very first time I boarded an Amtrak Long Distance (LD) train in 2016 in Oakland, CA, I was immediately overcome with excitement, which quickly morphed into a passion. I have yet to go on a trip and not catch myself in a trance staring out the window on multiple occasions, failing to read/watch all of the books/shows I thought I would need or having a deep conversation with a complete stranger in the observation car. These experiences are the reason why I write this guide, to share and hopefully inform prospective travelers. If you are not familiar with Amtrak’s LD services, fear not! I intend to offer as much information about the train options, destinations, schedules and anything else I can think of to lead your potential adventure. This is just part one of a three-part guide and will cover the intro as well as the first five long-distance trains (numerically). Be sure to check out the other two sections (below) as well as all my other work on Amtrak and budget-oriented traveling. If for some reason, I don’t cover something or you have questions, feel free to reach out!