This Epic Road Trip Video Shows Why California Is The Best State For Road Trips In The United States

I love long distance road trips. I’ve been on some wonderful ones in my time: San Diego > Pennsylvania. Chicago > New Orleans. New York > Miami. Pennsylvania > Colorado. Colorado > Pennsylvania. You get the drift.

This past October I was feeling pretty weird about getting old, so I cashed in a couple vacation days away from the blog grind, booked a flight to Los Angeles, rented a Nissan Altima coupe and just… Drove. I don’t own a car or get to drive a lot in my day to day life, so it’s a joy for me when I actually get to. And usually when I go to California it’s for work, which tends to be pretty lame: Meetings during the day and stuffing In-N-Out in my face by myself in a hotel room by LAX at night.

This was not one of those trips. This was about the journey, not necessarily the destination, so I tore around up the PCH through Malibu to Santa Barbara, up to Big Sur and Monterey, then doubled back through the Central Valley the whole way down to Palm Springs, right on the edge of the desert. I did more or less the same L.A. > S.F. trip with my grandparents about 20 years prior, so wanted to look at the Pacific Coast with adult eyes.

Each leg of the trip has it’s own distinct set of friends and fun. But the last day was the highlight: A long, desolate drive through Joshua Tree and the Mojave Desert to finish in Vegas for my birthday with friends. About three hours of the drive on old, abandoned Route 66 were spent chasing a rainstorm, which cast double rainbow on the empty highway. It felt like driving on a real-life version of the Mario Kart Rainbow Road level.

What I’m trying to say here is this: California is arguably the best state in the country to road trip in. There’s such stunning diversity of habitats and natural scenery to explore, it literally takes your breathe away. I totally get why Californians are so proud to call such a beautiful place home.

To show off their home state,  filmmaker Morgan Maassen and surfer Nole Cossart went on road trip with a Mercedes GLC around California. If you aren’t already convinced you need to head west for your next adventure, their work — posted above — speaks for itself.

Brandon Wenerd is BroBible's publisher, writing on this site since 2009. He writes about sports, music, men's fashion, outdoor gear, traveling, skiing, and epic adventures. Based in Los Angeles, he also enjoys interviewing athletes and entertainers. Proud Penn State alum, former New Yorker. Email: brandon@brobible.com