West Coast Road Trip

Mrs_Moore_To_Be

Hi All,

Im new to this section of the forums so be gentle with me!

In May next year me and my OH are going on Honeymoon in USA,

We have booked flights into San Fransisco and flights home from LA. Car hire all booked too.

The original plan was to stay in San Fran for a few days then start the road trip by going to Yosemite, overnight there then onto Vegas for 3 days. Then Grand Canyon, then either Phoenix or Palm Springs, onto San Diego then ending up in LA.

It would seem that the road/pass we were going to take through Yosemite is likely to be closed when we go. There are other routes but we are now considering not going via Yosemite.

To cut a long story short, im looking for advice on where is good to go from San Fran to Vegas, what route is fairly direct/worth seeing?

Thanks in advance :beer:

IamJen

For what it's worth, most any route that takes you from SF to Vegas is going to go through Yosemite, unless you go really out of the way. Other things that might be of interest: wineries in northern California, Death Valley park/monument, loads of "ghost towns" in Nevada particularly.

It would be a ridiculous way to go, geographically speaking, but if you traveled down to LA, then across to Vegas, you could drive along the Pacific Coast Highway. It's quite beautiful.

Definitely plan to spend a few days at the Grand Canyon too. It's simply the most amazing natural wonder that America has to offer. I've been many times and it still takes my breath away.

Lower_North

we travelled south from SF to monteryon the coast road then onto the Big Sur. both loved that road, surely one of the great drives. We called into Hearst Castle, at end of big sur Americas only Stately Home. On the coast are colonies of seals well worth seeing. Some lovely Hotels on the coast around Canbria.

After Big Sur cut east accross CA towards to LV.

markandkate

Much of the road above the Yosemite valley is closed until the end of May and so is likely to be impassable. We went in mid June and there was still snow. You should try and stay in Yosemite if you can as it is so peaceful once the crowds have gone but you will need to book early via the National Parks website.

We flew from Oakland to Vegas ( just over the bay from SF) and this saved us a great deal of time. The flight was only about an hour but it woud lhave taken all day to drive. Once in Vegas we stayed for 2 nights then took a car to the Grand Canyon and stayed there one night then back to Vegas for one night and flew back to Oakland the following morning. Southwestern airlines offer a wide choice. You could even fly into Vegas and out to another location such as LA or even Hawaii.

I would recommend staying overnight at the Grand Canyon as it has a much differnet feel once the day trippers have gone and you can get the sunrise/ sunset experince where the sunlight cahnges the colours of the rocks.

If driving fom Yosemite you could try and follow route 49 for part of the way as this is the old route for the gold rush towns and there are many lovely old saloons and typical western style places.

Lower_North

I agree with Gold Country, it is very much like how you imagine 19th Century US was. and the hotels are a throwback to the past. Placerville is still in the 19th century

We went down a gold mine and the guide used the most corniest line ever as we were going out....

"look the light at the end of the tunnel"!

Mrs_Moore_To_Be

IamJen wrote: »

For what it's worth, most any route that takes you from SF to Vegas is going to go through Yosemite, unless you go really out of the way. Other things that might be of interest: wineries in northern California, Death Valley park/monument, loads of "ghost towns" in Nevada particularly.

It would be a ridiculous way to go, geographically speaking, but if you traveled down to LA, then across to Vegas, you could drive along the Pacific Coast Highway. It's quite beautiful.

Definitely plan to spend a few days at the Grand Canyon too. It's simply the most amazing natural wonder that America has to offer. I've been many times and it still takes my breath away.

Thanks for the tip on the Grand Canyon, we have so far planned on 2 days there but have the flexibility to extend this if we want.

As for travelling down to LA then to Vegas its not an option unfortunately due to time constraints

Lower_North wrote: »

we travelled south from SF to monteryon the coast road then onto the Big Sur. both loved that road, surely one of the great drives. We called into Hearst Castle, at end of big sur Americas only Stately Home. On the coast are colonies of seals well worth seeing. Some lovely Hotels on the coast around Canbria.

After Big Sur cut east accross CA towards to LV.

Our flights are fixed and booked so we fly into San Fran and out of LA so doing the big sur will mean we wouldnt have time to do the Canyon which is a must on our list.

markandkate wrote: »

Much of the road above the Yosemite valley is closed until the end of May and so is likely to be impassable. We went in mid June and there was still snow. You should try and stay in Yosemite if you can as it is so peaceful once the crowds have gone but you will need to book early via the National Parks website.

We flew from Oakland to Vegas ( just over the bay from SF) and this saved us a great deal of time. The flight was only about an hour but it woud lhave taken all day to drive. Once in Vegas we stayed for 2 nights then took a car to the Grand Canyon and stayed there one night then back to Vegas for one night and flew back to Oakland the following morning. Southwestern airlines offer a wide choice. You could even fly into Vegas and out to another location such as LA or even Hawaii.

I would recommend staying overnight at the Grand Canyon as it has a much differnet feel once the day trippers have gone and you can get the sunrise/ sunset experince where the sunlight cahnges the colours of the rocks.

If driving fom Yosemite you could try and follow route 49 for part of the way as this is the old route for the gold rush towns and there are many lovely old saloons and typical western style places.

We cant change the flights but thanks for the suggestions. Ill have a look at route 49. my other half mentioned about going via Sacramento if the road is closed and a bit tricky.

Thanks for everyones help so far, I was hoping it would be a simple swap out, Yosemite for something slightly further North or South, how Naive of me!! :rotfl:

jackieblack

It would be a shame to miss Yosemite, it was one of the highlights of our trip - stunning!

Red_dog_Sam

I have sort of done this in the other direction (LV to SF via Yosemite)
If Tioga Pass is closed , which is very likely in May, then you can go South then East to get to Vegas. South entrance to Yosemite is Oakhurst (1 - 1.5 hrs from Yosemite Valley) and you could stay there if not in the expensive and limited availability valley itself. Lake Isabella is one potential stop off between Yosmite and LV and there is the Sequoia National Park to visit. On the return leg from Grand Canyon to LV head for the Hoover Dam and then overnight in Boulder City (Boulder Dam Hotel is good) instead of LV for a relaxing change of scene.
The National parks annual pass is good for the SF historic dockyard so you could buy it there, then use it for Yosemite, Sequoia and Grand Canyon national parks.
I bought USA maps for my TomTom and found that really useful on the roadtrip - highly recommended. I also found Roadtripamerica is a good site for more hints and tips with helpful locals and regulars happy to reply to posts.

McAzrael

If the Tioga Pass being closed does take Yosemite off the itinerary then you can get into the Owen Valley from the north (Lake Tahoe perhaps) and drive down. In spring it is stunning, before the summer heat takes hold. Go see Mono Lake (read up on it first - very political), Bodie, Manzanar, June Lake, Climb Mount Whitney (if you're fit and have done your homework). If you're really lucky then you may catch the end of the ski season in Mammoth. You can decide then to jump off at Lone Pine and go through Death Valley or carry on down to Barstow and catch route 15 to Vegas.