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San Diego Self-Guided Driving Tour: Scenic Backroads
4.2
13 Ratings
Escondido
Embark on a self-guided driving tour of San Diego’s scenic backroads. Discover hidden attractions, visit the Palomar Observatory, explore Borrego Springs, and indulge in delicious apple pies in Julian.
Embark on a self-guided driving tour of San Diego’s scenic backroads. Discover hidden attractions, visit the Palomar Observatory, explore Borrego Springs, and indulge in delicious apple pies in Julian.
Duration:
6 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Queen Califia’s Magical Circle - Queen Califia’s Magical Circle is an outdoor sculpture garden created by artist Niki de Saint Phalle.
- Lake Wohlford - Enjoy a scenic overlook as you drive by Lake Wohlford.
- Pauma Valley - Take in the spectacular views of Pauma Valley as we make our way to Palomar Mountain.
- Palomar Observatory -…
- Queen Califia’s Magical Circle - Queen Califia’s Magical Circle is an outdoor sculpture garden created by artist Niki de Saint Phalle.
- Lake Wohlford - Enjoy a scenic overlook as you drive by Lake Wohlford.
- Pauma Valley - Take in the spectacular views of Pauma Valley as we make our way to Palomar Mountain.
- Palomar Observatory - Stop and visit the Palomar and Observatory and Museum, home to the famous 200-inch Hale Telescope.
- East Grade Road - Enjoy spectacular views of San Diego County from Kica Mik Overlook. Downtown San Diego and the Pacific Ocean are visible on clear days.
- Henshaw Scenic Vista Observation Site - Another viewpoint on Palomar’s East Grade Road provides breathtaking views of Lake Henshaw and the surrounding meadows.
- Santa Ysabel Mission - Stop and visit out one of southern California’s famous mission churches, dating back to 1818.
- Montezuma Valley Road - Enjoy stunning views of the harsh desert landscape and the Salton Sea from the Montezuma Valley Road Scenic Overlook.
- Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Visitor Center - Stop at the Anza Borrego State Park Visitors Center before deciding if you’ll take a short hike into Borrego Palm Canyon to see the fan palm oasis and seasonal creek. Be sure to keep an eye out for bighorn sheep, they blend in surprisingly well with the rocks!
- Borrego Springs Serpent Sculpture - We’ll take you to the some of the most iconic metal sculptures in Borrego Springs. With more than 100 scattered across the desert, you could spend a whole day visiting them.
- Julian - Explore the historic mining town of Julian, known today for its apple pies! We’ll tell you the best place to go for pie, plus we’ll point out several other local attractions worth visiting.
What's Included
- App & Tour Download
- Flexible Usage (unlimited access within 30-days)
- Downloadable Content (pre-download tour to save data)
- App & Tour Download
- Flexible Usage (unlimited access within 30-days)
- Downloadable Content (pre-download tour to save data)
What's Not Included
- A Smartphone
- Admission to Attractions
- Transportation
- A Smartphone
- Admission to Attractions
- Transportation
Additional Information
Explore some of San Diego’s unique and off-the-beaten-path attractions while driving some of the best backroads in San Diego County. We’ll make our way to the top of Palomar Mountain and visit the Palomar Observatory and Museum. We’ll descend down to the desert town of Borrego Springs with its bighorn sheep and iconic metal sculptures dotting the…
Explore some of San Diego’s unique and off-the-beaten-path attractions while driving some of the best backroads in San Diego County. We’ll make our way to the top of Palomar Mountain and visit the Palomar Observatory and Museum. We’ll descend down to the desert town of Borrego Springs with its bighorn sheep and iconic metal sculptures dotting the landscape. Finally, we’ll make our way back through the historic mountain town of Julian, known for its delicious apple pies.
You’ll want to allow a full day for this 152-mile drive. While the drive itself could technically be done in 4 hours, we’ll be pointing out several points of interest and places to stop along the way. We’ll also share some of the rich history of San Diego’s past.
Don’t miss out on this unforgettable San Diego drive!
- Palomar Observatory Closes at 3PM
- Anza Borrego Visitor Center Closes at 5PM
- Mom’s Pies in Julian Closes at 5PM
- Eagle Mine in Julian Closes at 4PM
- Queen Califia’s Has Extremely Limited Hours
Location
Plaza Del Lago Center
Del Lago Boulevard
Use your favorite navigation app to make your way to the parking lot at the Plaza Del Lago shopping center, located at 3440 Del Lago Blvd, Escondido, CA 92029. Once you're there, open the Drives & Detours app and tap "Start Tour".
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.2
(13 Ratings)
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Safari51892451352
Jul 15, 2025
A Genius App! - The whole idea of this app is genius! We hope to find more in other places we visit. We appreciated the historical information in the narration of the sites visited.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sabrina_l
Jul 7, 2025
Great experience - If you go the wrong way you kind of know because talking won't start for audio. I loved that there was audio to tell us some history of each spot. I would totally do this again with others and I'm definitely utilizing the 30 days full access you get. I've lived in San Diego for 34 years and I still saw stuff I've never seen before. Just a heads up, we spent 7 hrs on this adventure and still didn't get to do 1 thing because it was closed and didn't get as much walking around as I would like, I was with my older parents. Definitely plan for a FULL day or break it up over the 30 days you have access.
Review provided by Viator
C4600xwrachelw
Nov 27, 2024
Beautiful California Country Contrast - Great driving tour! I’ve lived in So Cal my whole life and had never visited Borrego Springs before. It was a great contrast between the mountain, small town atmosphere of Julian to the beautiful desert of Borrego Springs. We went in late fall and it was very pleasant weather wise. I would definitely NOT recommend this as a summer tour unless you like 100+ degree heat. Bring plenty of water any time and be sure to have sun protection if you’re going to do any hiking. Overall, the trip was fun and interesting learning the history behind places only a few hours away from home.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sarah_k
Oct 8, 2024
Great trip - We had never tried a trip like this before. We had a great time. The app worked perfectly. The sculptures at Barrago Springs are amazing and we would not have seen them if not this trip. The app worked well, we loved the history and appreciated the advance warning if the road was windy or not.
Review provided by Viator
Rebecca_o
Jun 17, 2024
I highly recommend this tour. It’s informative but not in an overpowering way. - After grabbing some coffee my husband and I started the tour with our children. We really enjoyed this tour because it was at our own pace and we got to do it in the comfort of our own car. I loved the areas this tour covered because the views were so beautiful. We would have never chose to go out of our way to do this otherwise. And the fact that we were learning about the history and finding other gems to travel back to, like the observatory. I highly recommend this tour to adults and families alike. You will be so glad you treated yourself. The set up is super easy and the GPS function follows you and updates automatically while you are on the road.
Review provided by Viator
Pmojo685
Mar 15, 2024
Beautiful top down drive - My wife and I had rented a convertible which turned out to be ideal for this drive. It's a long drive (especially if you attempt the whole thing) so we opted to skip the Palomar section and head straight for Borrego Springs. We had to re-launch the app after a long lunch break but otherwise it operated smoothly. The audio was timed well and the narrative was great - we learned quite a bit even though we used to live in San Diego. If you like taking the "scenic route" I would recommend it, we enjoyed it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Debbyw2025
Jan 25, 2025
Great way to spend the day! - Traffic instructions could come a little sooner as I had never been to this area but otherwise a very pleasant experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Edwardm577
Jun 23, 2024
Amazing driving experience. - We were surprised by the places near us that we wouldn’t usually go to. We didn’t have time to do the whole route since we started later than we should have. When in Escondido again we will visit the places we missed.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Travelforfun1946
Jan 31, 2024
A long trip - The auto app did not work, we were issued a full credit. The trip is long, which is mentioned in the description. We went ahead and did the trip following a review i had with us. The iron sculptures were ok. Julian was the highlight of the trip. I'm sure it would had been more interesting if we had the app.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nataliekorda
Mar 5, 2024
Got stuck in the desert - I do not recommend this self-driving tour. It doesn't even start you in the right direction from the starting point. *You can't turn left out of the shopping plaza.) So many times the app glitched during the drive and kicked me out. Then, you have to scroll through to get to where you were. Many times there were no directions (spoken or written), so you had to figure out the way to go. These issues happened so much just halfway through the trip. I got stuck in Borrego Springs. No directions. Then my phone wouldn't bring up a map to go home. I spent 5 hours on the portion I did and wanted to finish, but this was an absolutely frustrating experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
