She created Wander In Arizona to share first-hand information about traveling to the many fantastic cities, trails, national parks, monuments and more as she continues to explore.
- From San Francisco to Phoenix: A Haunted Road Trip - October 17, 2024
- 25 BEST ARIZONA WINTER HIKES FOR ADVENTURE - October 10, 2024
- EPIC ARIZONA BUCKET LIST – 50 THINGS TO DO - July 18, 2024
For a unique Halloween experience this Halloween season, take a haunted road trip down from San Francisco to Phoenix.
The road from San Francisco to Phoenix is paved with blood, sweat, and tears.
If you stop, spend the night in Santa Cruz and LA, and explore, the trip will take about a week, but it’s well worth learning the haunted history of California and Arizona.
Hunting ghosts is also one of the best things to do in Phoenix in Winter, so don’t forget adding this on your Arizona winter holiday.
San Francisco
San Francisco’s Grant Avenue – Copyright US Ghost Adventures
Kick off your haunted road trip in San Francisco, a place characterized by greed and misfortune.
From the Gold Rush to the Silicon Valley boom, San Francisco has always been kind to some and cruel to others.
San Francisco has everything from buried Hollywood secrets to haunted hotels to ancient Mayan curses.
Grant Avenue, the oldest street in San Francisco’s Chinatown, is one of the city’s most haunted sites.
On a San Francisco ghost tour, you’ll also visit the Fairmont Hotel, the Sutter Building, and the Pacific-Union Club, three of San Francisco’s creepiest structures.
You will learn about the ghost of a murdered streetwalker who leaves bathtubs overflowing with unknown liquids and of the ghost of Dennis T. Sullivan.
Sullivan suffered severe injuries during the 1906 earthquake while trying to save others.
Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk – Copyright US Ghost Adventures
From San Francisco, head out on the US-101 S and exit 398B for the CA-85 S. From the CA-85 S, take exit 11A for the CA-17 S to continue to Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz has one of the most enchanting coastlines in the country.
Its majestic redwoods and scenic trails make it a popular resort destination.
What lies underneath, though, may shock you. People born recently may not have heard of Ed Kemper, “The Co-Ed Killer,” a serial killer from Santa Cruz who killed seven women and a teenage girl in the 1970s.
But his name is implemented in blood across Santa Cruz.
At the Golden Gate Villa of Santa Cruz, you may get a glimpse of its former owner’s daughter, whose distraught father was killed after falling into a spiral of despair due to a failed investment.
Another must-visit in Santa Cruz is the Sunshine Villa, which Alfred Hitchcock used as inspiration for the Bates Motel.
From serial killers to psychopaths to Satanists, this hotel, the most haunted in Monterey Bay, has seen visitors of every kind.
Some people say that the Santa Cruz beach itself is haunted by the ghosts of people who were swept out to sea and drowned.
There is only one way to find out! Don’t miss the chance to visit this idyllic seaside resort city.
Los Angeles
The Hotel Roosevelt – Copyright US Ghost Adventures
On the way to Arizona, you can take advantage of a stop in Tinseltown.
Take the CA-1 S from Santa Cruz and continue along the US-101 S before using the CA-46 E, I-5 S, and CA-110 S to Los Angeles.
Under LA’s sunny skies and the Hollywood Sign lies a trail of shattered hopes and tears.
At the Magical Castle, there’s a room called the Houdini Séance Room, where a medium performs séances to contact Houdini’s spirit, a long-standing tradition in the magician community.
This room is haunted by the spirits encountered during his searches.
The Magic Castle is also haunted by the ghost of its former owner, Rollin Lane, who passed away within its walls.
Along the Walk of Fame, you’ll find two haunted buildings directly opposite each other.
The Roosevelt Hotel, on the one side, is said to be haunted by the ghost of none other than Marylin Monroe herself.
On the other side is the TCL Chinese Theatre, which has an entire system of creepy hidden tunnels and passageways between its walls.
The TCL Chinese Theatre is close to the bizarre Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum.
Phoenix
The Hotel San Carlos – Copyright US Ghost Adventures
From LA, it’s finally time to head to Phoenix, our final destination, using the US-101 S and continuing along the I-10 E on your San Francisco to Phoenix road trip.
The haunted Superstition Mountains, one of the best spots to enjoy a stunning Phoenix sunset, are located east of the Phoenix metro area and are visible from the city.
And yes, these mountains are appropriately named.
When the Pima (Akimel O’odham) tribe lived on this land, they told stories of strange sounds coming from this mountain range.
Many of them feared these mountains, telling tales of the many mysterious deaths and disappearances that have occurred there.
One of the mysteries of the Superstition Mountains is that of the Lost Dutchman Mine.
Many a fortune seeker have met their demise searching for this mythical mine, which is rumoured to house hidden gold treasures.
James A. Cravey, a prospector who ventured into these mountains in search of gold in the 1940s, was found with his head severed – only his headless body remained.
In the heart of Phoenix is the Hotel San Carlos, which opened in the 1920s.
Soon after its opening, a young woman by the name of Leone Jensen jumped from the rooftop to her death.
Her ghost has haunted the hotel ever since, and guests report eerie occurrences at night. However, this specific area has been the site of tragedy and death before that.
It was the site of Phoenix’s first school, and three of its students drowned in a well there during that time.
On a Phoenix ghost tour, you’ll also visit a firefighter training site with a bizarre, disturbing, and ghastly basement, a psychiatric care building that was shut down due to a disturbing event, and a lot more.
