United States, California
Palomar Mountain and the back roads to Julian give real corners within an hour of the coast.
First instinct from San Diego: head north east to Palomar Mountain.
Scored roads in range
2
Nearest great road
121 mi
Best rated nearby
9.1 / 10
Shortest full loop
9 hr 17 min
Checked by the Drivers Atlas desk
Scored and written by the Drivers Atlas editorial desk, drawing on driven routes across the UK and Europe, mapping data and member road reports. Every road in the library carries a driving and scenery score set by the same method. How we score roads.
Last reviewed 26 June 2026
150 to 400 km from the centre
Leave early, take the long way back and make a day of it.
Roughly 10 hr 8 min of driving if you string the lot together and come back the way you came.
121 mi away · California
Los Angeles's mountain playground, hours of clean sweepers above the basin.
106 km · 65.9 mi · Atlas rating 9.1 / 10
134 mi away · California
The Santa Monica Mountains run every Los Angeles driver knows, ending at the Pacific.
34 km · 21.1 mi · Atlas rating 8.9 / 10
Plan it
Nearby cities