Five Drives Worth Renting a Supercar For in LA and the OC
If you live in Los Angeles or Orange County, five of the best roads in California are within an hour of your front door. Here's what each one is actually like, and when to go.
Most people who rent an exotic in Southern California spend the day in traffic on surface streets, which is a waste of a very good engine. The alternative takes about twenty minutes of planning. Every road below starts within an hour of Newport Beach, Irvine, Costa Mesa, Santa Monica or Pasadena, and all five are better before ten in the morning.
1. Pacific Coast Highway — Santa Monica to Point Dume
About 25 miles each way. The famous one, and it earns it: ocean on your left the whole way out, cliffs on your right, and a surface that's mostly smooth. It's not a technical road — long sweepers, moderate speeds, plenty of signals through Malibu — so it's the right choice on a day where the point is the view and being seen rather than the driving.
When to go: leave Santa Monica by 7am. By 11am on a summer weekend, PCH through Malibu is genuinely stationary. Coming home, cut inland on Malibu Canyon Road or Latigo Canyon Road and drop into Calabasas — that's where the real corners are.
2. Angeles Crest Highway — La Cañada into the mountains
Roughly 50 miles of two-lane mountain road starting a few minutes above Pasadena. This is the best driving road within reach of Los Angeles, full stop. It climbs from suburbia to 7,000 feet through a continuous run of second- and third-gear corners, with genuinely excellent pavement on the lower half.
When to go: weekday mornings. Weekends bring motorcycles, cyclists and CHP in numbers. Check for seasonal closures above Red Box in winter, and treat the drop-offs with respect — there are no guardrails in long stretches.
3. Ortega Highway — San Juan Capistrano to Lake Elsinore
About 30 miles, and the OC's answer to Angeles Crest. It starts in San Juan Capistrano, twenty minutes from Irvine or Laguna Beach, and immediately climbs into the Santa Ana Mountains through tight, blind, technical corners. It's narrower and rougher than Angeles Crest and demands more attention, which is exactly why locals like it.
When to go: early on a weekday. It's a working commuter route in both directions at rush hour, and it has a reputation with law enforcement for good reason. Turn around at the lookout above Lake Elsinore and come back down.
4. Santiago Canyon Road — Orange to Silverado
A 20-mile loop behind Irvine and Orange that most residents have never driven. Flowing medium-speed curves, open sightlines, foothills on both sides, and it's ten minutes from Tustin. It's the best short option in the county — enough to be worth the car, close enough to do before breakfast.
When to go: anytime outside commute hours. Combine it with Live Oak Canyon down toward Trabuco for a genuinely good ninety-minute loop out of Costa Mesa or Newport.
5. Mulholland Drive — the ridge above the Valley
The stretch west of the 405 toward Topanga is the one worth driving: tight, slow, dramatic, and lined with views of both the Valley and the Basin. It is not a fast road and shouldn't be treated as one — it's residential, heavily patrolled, and the corners are blind. Drive it for the setting.
When to go: just after sunrise, or at dusk for the lights. Pair it with a run down Topanga Canyon to PCH and back through Santa Monica.
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Planning a canyon day around a rental
A few things that make the difference between a great day and an expensive one:
- Watch the mileage allowance. Every rental includes a set number of miles per day. A PCH-plus-canyons day out of the OC can run 200 miles round trip. If you're planning a big loop, tell us up front and we'll build the miles into the quote rather than surprise you afterwards.
- Fill up before you climb. There is no fuel on Angeles Crest above La Cañada and effectively none on Ortega. These cars drink hard when you're using them, and premium only.
- Go early, come back for lunch. Every one of these roads is better at 7am than at noon, and you'll be back in Newport or Santa Monica before the traffic builds.
- Mind the surface. Canyon roads get gravel wash across the apex after rain, and low cars find the crests. Slow in, look through the corner.
Book the car for two days if you're doing a canyon run. The first day always goes on getting comfortable — the second is when you actually enjoy it.
Common questions
What's the best driving road near Orange County?
Ortega Highway out of San Juan Capistrano for a technical mountain road, or Santiago Canyon Road behind Orange and Irvine for a shorter, faster-flowing loop you can do in under two hours.
What's the best driving road near Los Angeles?
Angeles Crest Highway, starting in La Cañada above Pasadena — around 50 miles of mountain switchbacks with good pavement. Pacific Coast Highway through Malibu is the better scenic option.
Will a canyon day use up my included miles?
It can. A PCH-and-canyons loop from the OC is often close to 200 miles round trip. Tell us your plan when you book and we'll quote the mileage you'll actually need.
Can I take a rented exotic out of Southern California?
Longer trips — Vegas, the central coast, Big Sur — are possible but need to be agreed in advance so mileage and coverage are set correctly. Just ask when you book.
Book the car, then pick the road
Tell us your dates and the drive you have in mind — we'll match a car to it and deliver anywhere in LA or the OC.