The Other Great California Road Trip -WSJ

[LogDog75]

3. I've driven from Reno to Victorville on 395

In January of 2023, a friend and I drove from San Diego to Reno for a bowling tournament. We went up I-5 to Sacramento and then took Highway 50 around South Lake Tahoe because snow has closed the pass on I-80. On our return trip we decided to take Highway 395 to Victorville and then take I-15 to San Diego.

The drive was nice but the main drawback was for much of the drive there was no cellphone coverage until you got to Bishop and the number of homes or businesses were few for dozens of miles so if you had a breakdown you'd have to wait for someone to drive by for help.

One bright spot of the trip was stopping in Bishop at Erick Schats Bakery for lunch and for some sourdough bread. We got there in the mid-afternoon and the place was busy. My friend said the place was well known to travelers which is why it was busy.

We'll be heading up to Reno again in April 2026 for the bowling tournament but I won't take Highway 395 again.