San Diego to Crescent City is about 13 hours or 900 miles, so that’s a good start, but then you’re stuck with no other option than either crossing into Oregon or going back the same way you came.
Also, going back down on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada is remarkably difficult without crossing into Nevada. I was able to get the following route, however, which at 1,885 miles and 32 hours beats out Michigan ever so slightly: https://maps.app.goo.gl/otW9AFKewssi9ZfXA
California wins this one, but by a much smaller margin that expected.
It’s not the most convenient sightseeing tour but you’ll definitely get to see a lot of the variety of the state while only missing out on a few major tourist destinations (like Yosemite or Sequoia Nat’l Parks).
Yosemite can actually be accessed from the east side of the Sierra, at least during the summer months, but it would require either going out the same way you came in or taking a larger detour and crossing at another pass.
San Diego to Crescent City is about 13 hours or 900 miles, so that’s a good start, but then you’re stuck with no other option than either crossing into Oregon or going back the same way you came.
Also, going back down on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada is remarkably difficult without crossing into Nevada. I was able to get the following route, however, which at 1,885 miles and 32 hours beats out Michigan ever so slightly: https://maps.app.goo.gl/otW9AFKewssi9ZfXA
California wins this one, but by a much smaller margin that expected.
I put some more California in your California: 36h, 2106mi
(I have no idea if any of these new stops would actually make a viable trip, aside from Santa Barbara)
It’s not the most convenient sightseeing tour but you’ll definitely get to see a lot of the variety of the state while only missing out on a few major tourist destinations (like Yosemite or Sequoia Nat’l Parks).
Yosemite can actually be accessed from the east side of the Sierra, at least during the summer months, but it would require either going out the same way you came in or taking a larger detour and crossing at another pass.