California Road trip suggestions?

skintbuthappy81

Another vote for Sausalito we spent a few hours here and I fell in love with the place.

Santa Cruz- I personally wouldn't recommend this but that's because we went on a Friday and everything was closed!!!! It may be very different when it's all up and running.

Pismo- we loved, so chilled out and the sea kayaking there was brilliant. If you do go make sure you have the cinnamon rolls mmmmm.

Monterey- again we loved it here but went on a weekend so it was really busy.

Carmel- we only stopped off here but the place like Sausalito was lovely. Well worth a visit.

John259

visidigi wrote: »

Anyone suggest the best way to do Sequoia or Yosemite?

For Sequoia there's a good range of motels in Porterville, Visalia and Fresno. You can search for them on Google Maps or on the specific chains' own web sites. I'd recommend Motel 6 for overnight stops (minimal facilities but clean, comfortable and inexpensive), or Super 8 if you want to go a bit up-market, or of course the more luxurious chains if you prefer. Sequoia has a through road so you could stay at Porterville one night and Fresno the next. As well as the scenery and the trees, there's also a cave tour in Sequoia.

For Yosemite we've always stayed in Merced on the west side and Bishop on the east side but you might prefer somewhere closer, perhaps Oakhurst on the west side.

It might be a good idea to have Google Maps open at the same time while reading this to see where the places are if you're not familiar with the area.

There are four main entrance roads to Yosemite:

Ca120 from roughly west of the park, from San Francisco, Sacramento, etc. San Francisco to Yosemite Valley 190 miles.

Ca140 from roughly southwest of the park, from Merced, Mariposa, etc. Merced is about 80 miles each way from Yosemite Valley, with a fascinating change in the terrain and vegetation as you leave the Central Valley and enter the Sierras.

Ca41 from roughly south-south west of the park, from Oakhurst, Fresno, etc. Oakhurst to Yosemite Valley 47 miles. Fresno to Yosemite Valley 92 miles.

Ca120 from east of the park over the Tioga Pass Road (closed in winter due to snow, usually reopens sometime between late May and early July), from Lee Vining (on US395 in Owens Valley), Bodie State Park (ghost town), etc. US395 goes south to Mono Lake, Mammoth Lakes, Bishop, Big Pine and then if you wish Death Valley and Las Vegas. On the east side we've stayed at Bishop which is a pleasant and convenient medium sized town. Lee Vining to Yosemite Valley 75 miles. Bishop to Yosemite Valley 140 miles.

When the Tioga Pass road is closed then the other state highways over the Sierras will probably also be closed. Then the alternative routes are US50 (round the southern side of Lake Tahoe), I-80 (which has the highest priority for being cleared after snowfalls), or go right down south to Bakersfield and go south of the mountains.

Yosemite is a huge park with a lot to see. If your time is limited then it's worth doing some planning and prioritising.

Yosemite Valley: park at the day use parking area at Curry Village (or anywhere on the western part of the valley shuttle bus route, such as Sentinel Bridge, if you can find a space). Then use the free shuttle bus service (you can get on or off at any stop; the eastern part of the route is closed to private vehicles). In the valley there's Happy Isles with footbridges over the Merced River and a hiking trail up to a waterfall (not too strenuous); Mirror Lake which involves a walk of about half a mile each way on a paved traffic-free road with a very gentle slope; Yosemite Falls which involves a walk of perhaps a quarter of a mile in each direction on a flat paved path. There are optional tram tours in and around the valley area for which there is a charge; we've never explored them.

Glacier Point: About 30 miles each way by road from Yosemite Valley. A fabulous view of the valley far below and over Half Dome. The road is closed in winter and usually reopens at roughly the same time as the Tioga Pass.

Mariposa Grove: On the Ca41 road. Giant sequoia trees. There is very little parking at the grove so it's best to park at Wawona where's there's plenty of room and get the free shuttle bus to the grove (this is totally separate shuttle bus service to the one in the valley). There's an optional tram tour round the grove for which a small charge is made.

Tioga Pass Road: There are various stopping places along this road, including Tuolumne Meadows (mountain wild flowers) and Lake Tenaya. In good weather conditions this road doesn't present any problems except perhaps to the most nervous of drivers. In rain and especially in icy conditions it's naturally more of a concern.

Hetch Hetchy: A valley which has been dammed and turned into a reservoir to provide water for the Sacramento and San Francisco areas. There have been proposals to demolish the dam and let the valley return to its natural state - extremely controversial of course. Personally I would rate this part of the park as a low priority compared to the others.

There's more information and photos of Sequoia, Yosemite and all the other national parks on the US National Park Service web site and Wikipedia, and some good videos on YouTube - for example Phil, Emma and Ben (California Road Trip - Day 6 onwards for Yosemite). Also try a search on YouTube for road trip california.

zaax

We came down the I395 smaller less busy road nearly on top of the rockies with a detour though Death Valley, were it rained for the first time in over 100 years. The turn off the 395 at Owens lake was weird its just a huge salt pan

FluffyFiFi

We loved Cambria on the way up the Pacific Coast Highway and spent two nights at the Cambria Pines Lodge. It is not a chain hotel, has loads of charm and the gardens are beautiful. We were there about 6 years ago and still talk about how lovely it was. The Lodge still has good reviews on Tripadvisor. The sunsets were fantastic and the quality of the air was amazing, also it is a very boho type place with lots of quirky galleries, clothes shops as well as lovely places to eat.

blindman

SouthWest USA thread

All the answers to your Q's

gggareth

Another one for Curry Village.. shed with a tarp over the top right in the park and just put your walking boots on.
Sequilla is also a good day out be aware that roads can still be closed in May due to snow..

John259

Here's a good video of arriving at Curry Village and staying in one of the cabins:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXiB4wre6xk
As the other poster said, there are also tents available at Curry Village.

Sorry to be a pedantic pain but the spelling of that other park is Sequoia.

John259

Referring to San Francicso...

visidigi wrote: »

the steep hill (wiggly road!)

You've probably figured it out long since but just in case not, it's Lombard Street
https://maps.google.com/?ll=37.80218,-122.418476&spn=0.002018,0.008605&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=37.802204,-122.418009&panoid=IK1YFXSRMsg7DTDnc-7BRg&cbp=11,271.56,,0,-7.22

John259

visidigi wrote: »

Any suggestions on areas/places to go in San Francisco? We've got the Bridge, the steep hill (wiggly road!), trams and Alcatraz, but any others of note?

Coit Tower
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coit_Tower

Twin Peaks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Peaks_%28San_Francisco%29

The Presidio
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidio_of_San_Francisco

The Walt Disney Family Museum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walt_Disney_Family_Museum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gXjyGS8n6Y (from about the six minute mark)

Muir Woods National Monument
(probably a low priority if you're visiting Sequoia National Park, or the Mariposa Grove area of Yosemite)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muir_Woods_National_Monument

After driving over the Golden Gate Bridge northbound, you can take the first exit (signposted Vista Point) to a parking area and excellent viewing point.
https://maps.google.com/?ll=37.832226,-122.48065&spn=0.004034,0.017209&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=37.832224,-122.480642&panoid=G97B1uPLko7xh05pOjTcew&cbp=11,323.12,,0,-3.68
Southbound, take the last exit before the bridge (signposted Sausalito, a short way south of the tunnel, and easily missed), then run up to more equally excellent viewing points on the west side.
https://maps.google.com/?ll=37.835107,-122.484469&spn=0.008067,0.034418&t=m&z=15&layer=c&cbll=37.835097,-122.484485&panoid=1a7Zj5aJT362NlmU88QWrQ&cbp=11,153.53,,0,-4.85

This video might give you some more ideas:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeeWUiExyhI