I lived in central coastal California for years. Trichocnemis (Ergates) spiculatus were enormous. Prionus californicus were big, too. Have to check lights or set up black lights for these creatures. Pine forests to oak forests in the mountains, summertime. Also check for Rosalia funebris, the banded alder borer, they come to freshly painted buildings in the daytime in foothill areas all over California, north to south. Look at records on iNaturalist, bugguide.net, whatsthatbug.com, etc. You can glean a LOT of specific locales on these sites, you can also delimit records to geographic areas (your nearby region) on some of these sites.
Regards,
Mike