Tourism Central California

If you're trying to find Parkfield, it's slightly to the left of James Dean's death site. Literally. Parkfield is 17 bumpy miles north (on a narrow one-lane road) of the spot on California 46 where Dean's fatal crash occurred, between Paso Robles and Bakersfield. The crash site is just east of the James Dean memorial in the tiny blink-and-you-miss-it town of Cholame (pronounced Sha-LAM).

If you're trying to find Parkfield, it's slightly to the left of James Dean's death site. Literally. Parkfield is 17 bumpy miles north (on a narrow one-lane road) of the spot on California 46 where Dean's fatal crash occurred, between Paso Robles and Bakersfield. The crash site is just east of the James Dean memorial in the tiny blink-and-you-miss-it town of Cholame (pronounced Sha-LAM).

When your romantic entanglement lives in Northern California, and you live in Southern California, you look for spots in between. There are worse places than the central California coast. We had reservations at the Cambria Pines Lodge, where we had stayed before. This time, the last weekend in January, we stayed in a cabin; a half-mile trail from the back of the lodge led down the hill to the village. We also found some good food.

When your romantic entanglement lives in Northern California, and you live in Southern California, you look for spots in between. There are worse places than the central California coast. We had reservations at the Cambria Pines Lodge, where we had stayed before. This time, the last weekend in January, we stayed in a cabin; a half-mile trail from the back of the lodge led down the hill to the village. We also found some good food.