Kristen Bell hits the road in new 2025 California Road Trips guide

Visit California has officially launched the 2025 Visit California Road Trips Guide, the organization’s first-ever edition written entirely from a first-person perspective. The guide is headlined by cover star Kristen Bell, a celebrated actress and longtime Los Angeles resident.

This unique edition features personal narratives from a diverse group of influencers, travel experts and public figures, each offering their own perspective on the freedom and variety found along California’s scenic highways. Whether it’s a luxury retreat, a cultural journey or time spent outdoors, each story highlights a different element that makes California the ultimate road trip destination.

“California is what you make of it,” Bell shared. “We have an RV that we drive around every summer. Now we are California-getting-on-the-road people.”

Highlights from the 2025 Road Trips Guide include:

• Cory Lee (Curb Free with Cory Lee) navigating a wheelchair-accessible journey through San Francisco, Napa Valley, Tuolumne County and Yosemite National Park.
• Jeremy Austin, luxury travel expert, curating high-end experiences in Carmel, Monterey and Mendocino.
• Anthony and Marlie Love (Travel While Black) exploring the cultural depth of Gold Country.
• Harish Kumar, Pacific Northwest-based photographer, capturing the natural beauty of the Shasta Cascade and North Coast regions.
• Ann Marie Brown, one of California’s foremost outdoor writers, offering expert guidance on exploring all nine of California’s national parks.

The guide also features a culinary road trip from Los Angeles through the Central Valley, family-friendly theme park itineraries, a Route 66 artist’s road journey and winter adventures in Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes.

Visit California has printed 1 million copies of the guide, highlighting its continued investment in large-scale consumer outreach. Guides will be available at California Welcome Centers and regional tourism offices statewide, and can also be accessed at VisitCalifornia.com/travel-guides, where users can view and download a digital copy or request a mailed copy.

To extend its national reach, Visit California has partnered with Dotdash Meredith to distribute the guide through the summer issues of Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine and Real Simple across 12 major U.S. markets — aligning California’s brand with premium editorial platforms and capturing the attention of high-intent travelers.