SACRAMENTO, Calif.)—Pack up the family and hit the road this summer to discover some of California’s most spectacular and lesser-known destinations with California Drives 2007. This 32-page, four-color piece, produced by the California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC) and Sunset Custom Publishing, contains detailed maps that guide readers to the state’s rustic towns, cool mountains, country roads, family attractions, beach towns, cultural heritage sites and mining camps.

Each of the drives in the California Drives 2007 can be broken up into day and weekend outings. It also contains a map of the Golden State, as well as the location of California Tourism Welcome Centers. 

“California Drives 2007 is an essential addition to drivers’ travel kits,” said Executive Director Caroline Beteta of the CTTC. “This year’s annual piece specializes in back road discoveries and contains 12 new road trips and 188 destination adventures. Culinary tourists will also enjoy the details about dining and wine country tours.”California Drives 2007 has a circulation of over one million, 500,000 of those will be inserted into Sunset magazine’s July 2007 edition for subscribers in California and neighboring drive-market states. Additional copies are distributed through California State Parks, California Welcome Centers and various in-state visitor centers, as well as at domestic and international trade and media events. The online guide allows visitors to bookmark pages, make notes and print specific trips of interest.

Driving itineraries include the Shasta Cascade Region’s volcanic vistas, such as Lava Beds National Monument and Castle Crags State Park. In the North Coast Region, travelers go into the redwoods and through seaside hamlets. It’s vineyards and views driving through the San Francisco Bay Area Region from the grapes of Napa to the surf beaches of Santa Cruz. Drivers to San Diego County can relax on the pearly shores of the Pacific in a captivating collection of beach towns then detour to the desert. In Los Angeles County, travelers may want to uncover the secrets of historic Hollywood, including the Getty Center and the Southwest Museum of the American Indian.

New to the guide this year is information about the California Treasure Hunt Sweepstakes that offers participants the chance to win one of three ultimate California Getaways: the Hollywood Star Studded Vacation, the Ultimate California Spa Vacation or the Ultimate California Ski Vacation. To play, travelers must visit one or more of California’s Treasure Hunt Partner locations – Longs Drugs, Southwest.com, any California Welcome Center and participating California Treasure Hunt attractions and destinations – to receive California Treasure Keys. Then, they simply click to visitcalifornia.com/treasure and enter the key’s code to enter the sweepstakes for one of three getaways. Participants can also receive California Rewards “dollars” good for savings at California hotels and savings coupons for California’s attractions such as LEGOLAND® California, Monterey Bay Aquarium, San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, SeaWorld® Adventure Park, Disneyland® Resort and Universal Studios HollywoodSM, the Skunk Train in Fort Bragg, Carmel Plaza in Carmel, Pier 39 in San Francisco and the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway in Palm Springs.