As the third largest state with hundreds of miles of coastline, nine national parks and endless scenic, cultural and historic attractions, it figures California has numerous beautiful drives. This story focuses on the byways in the northern half while a second article features the southern part. Northern California is home to San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento, the state capital. The renowned vineyards of Napa and Sonoma are here as well as the headquarters for Google, Apple, Netflix and Facebook. But despite its urban, high tech side, most of Northern California is wild and rural with rugged ocean shores, redwood forests, farmland and volcanic features such as lava tubes and bubbling mud pots which these five byways bring to life in spectacular fashion.