Snow to Surf:The California Double with Toyota and Lexus

California has this ridiculous trick where you can snowboard in the morning and surf the next day. It sounds like a cliché until you actually do it. It also earns you bragging rights if you've done it.

Toyota and Lexus recently invited a group of creators to try exactly that – what is called the “California Double.” Two days. Mammoth Mountain to Laguna Beach. Snow to surf. But doing it behind the wheel of some of their newest trucks and SUVs.For me, the trip started with a vehicle I know pretty well – the Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro.

I currently own two 4Runners – a third-gen and a fifth-gen – so I was curious to see what Toyota had done with the new one. The short answer: a lot.

The drive from Southern California to Mammoth is about six hours if traffic behaves, and it’s the kind of road trip where you really get a sense of a vehicle. Long stretches of highway, open desert, and eventually the climb into the Sierra.

The new 4Runner is immediately different from the outgoing one. The old truck has character, sure – but it also has the driving dynamics of something designed in the early 2010s. I still love my 2018 4Runner TRD Offroad, but the new one feels like Toyota brought the 4Runner into the modern era.

The biggest change is the hybrid powertrain. Instead of the old naturally aspirated V6, the new version gets a turbocharged four-cylinder paired with an electric motor. On paper that might sound like a downgrade. The only downgrade is probably the gas receipt, which I welcome anytime.

The torque comes on immediately, and the truck just moves with a kind of smooth, effortless shove that the old model never had. Passing slower traffic on two-lane mountain roads takes half the thought it used to.

And the ride? Way more composed. It’s still body-on-frame. It’s still a proper truck. But the new chassis soaks up highway miles in a way older 4Runners never quite managed.

Six hours passed quickly. I actually pulled over a couple of times – not because I needed a break, but because the views demanded it. I did not get a chance to take it off-road though. Maybe next time.

Toyota had clearly committed to the theme. Waiting in my hotel room was a duffle bag stuffed with gear: Smith goggles, sunglasses, Rossignol winter gear, sunscreen, lip balm – even a surf changing poncho for later in the trip. They clearly wanted us to have fun!

My mountain portion of the trip centered around the Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in the stunning turquoise which they coined Wave Maker. This truck turned out to be a surprisingly fun thing to drive in snowy conditions. Full-size trucks in the snow can sometimes feel like trying to guide a refrigerator across ice, but the Tundra’s traction systems and hybrid torque made it feel planted and predictable.

Mostly though, Mammoth was about being outside.The wind gust was no joke around 80mph at the peak so they had to stop the gondolas, but we still got plenty of fun runs. Some of the guys and gals on the trip with us were top Olympic level winter athletes and I had no intentions of even being photographed near them!

Speaking of the Olympics, Toyota also introduced us to curling. Which – if you’ve only seen it on TV – looks like shuffleboard on ice. In reality, it’s shuffleboard on ice with way more skill than anyone expects. At nearly 8,000 feet elevation, sweeping a broom maniacally on ice suddenly becomes a full-body workout. Pushing the curling stone across the ice is also not easy, and the altitude had me gasping after a few rounds.

The next morning the convoy pointed south. It was time to leave the mountains behind us and head to the ocean. My ride down to the coast was the Lexus GX, which turned out to be the perfect contrast to the snow-day trucks.If the Toyota side of the trip leaned rugged and outdoorsy, the Lexus portion was all about luxury and recovery. After a full day of snowboarding and curling, the GX’s massage seats might have been the single most appreciated feature of the entire trip.

It’s a strange feeling descending from alpine terrain toward the Pacific while the seat kneads the fatigue out of your back, but I could get used to it. The GX still has the bones of a real off-road SUV – ladder frame, serious four-wheel-drive hardware – but inside it feels like a rolling lounge. Exactly what you want after a long day in the mountains.

By the time we reached the coast, California had completely changed personalities. Snow jackets disappeared and sand replaced ice. We ended up on the beach in Doheny State Park just before sunset – the Pacific glowing orange, waves rolling in slowly. They weren’t exactly pipeline-sized waves. More like ankle-slapping rollers. But honestly, it didn’t matter.After two days of driving, riding lifts, sliding rocks across ice, and crossing half the state, just sitting on the foam board and watching the sun drop into the ocean felt perfect.

The trip showcased a lot of vehicles. But the one that left an impression was the new 4Runner TRD Pro. Maybe that’s because I’ve lived with the older ones for years. Maybe it’s because the 4Runner has become one of those vehicles that people build lifestyles around. I certainly have.

The new one finally feels like it caught up to the moment. More torque. Better ride. Way more refinement – but still a 4Runner. And after driving it from desert highways to snow-covered mountain roads, it’s clear Toyota didn’t lose the soul of the thing along the way.