isabel

I am thinking of going from Berkeley to LAX and would ideally like to see Yosemite, Sequoia, Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks. How long would you allow for that. How much time in each one? This would be sometime in the last half of March 2014.

Michael

A couple of days ion Yosemite should suffice, especially if you do not intend to go to the Badger Pass ski area and rent skis or snow shoes. March is still snow time. We once had 5 ft. fall in one day up at the Badger Pass area, with snow in the valley. Chains would then be required, and are not usually allowed on rentals. You would have to rent a 4 wheel drive car or SUV. The same thing is true of Sequoia. So you may have to be willing to work out some quick alternatives if the weather does not cooperate, perhaps go down the coast or do the Camino Real from mission to mission on your way to Joshua Tree and Death Valley.

Photo taken some years ago in March: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...57624516613985

janisj

You can't get to Death Valley from Yosemite in March w/o going all the way south to Bakersfield and across -- a hellishly long drive. And adding Sequoia means just the YNP > SNP > DV drive (w/o any stops) is 9 to 10 hours. So even w/ 2 days in each place you'd need a full week just for those three.

Adding Joshua Tree - you have nearly 20 hours drive time from the Bay Area to LAX. So -- are you talking about 8 or 9 days?

isabel

Yeah, I can have about 8 or 9 days if I need that much.

I was thinking the following - does this make sense?
Day 1 & 2 drive from Lafayette to Yosemite Valley (3hr 15 min). Two nights?

Day 3 - Drive to Sequoia (2hr 30 min) - spend most of day there - then drive (at dusk) to Bakersfield (2 hr) for the night.

Day 4 & 5 Bakersfield to Death Valley (4hr 15 min) - spend two nights

Day 6 drive to Joshua Tree (4hr30 min) One night

Day 7 - late afternoon drive to LA (2hr 30 min to airport area)

That gives me one and a half days Yosemite, most of one day Sequoia, one and a half days Death Valley, and almost one and a half Joshua Tree.

Questions?
1) Those drive times are from google - are they sort of accurate?

2) Do you need chains in Yosemite Valley in March? Can you find out ahead of time if that is the case? (Like the day before). How about Sequoia?

3) Would you need reservations in these area at that time of year?

4) Would you change the amount of time IN each park? We would only want to do short (under 3 hr) hikes - in most cases I imagine we would mostly drive around and take short trails to the more interesting lookout - but not really 'hike' much if at all.

Thanks

emalloy

Your plan sounds good IF the weather cooperates. If weather were so bad that you needed chains for either Yosemite or Sequoia, you should not plan to go there unless: 1, your rental allows them, 2 you know how to put them on, 3 you have driven with chains in snow.

I would have a plan B, watch the weather and, maybe go along the coast where it is less likely to snow and then head for Death Valley, etc. If you make reservations for lodging, be sure they can be cancelled.

tomfuller

My advice would be to drop Death Valley and Bakersfield.
If the Tioga Pass is still closed because of snow, just head for Joshua Tree and spend more time there.
You can see large Sequoias in the south end of Yosemite in the Mariposa Grove (depending on snow).
If you get to a place where you need chains, turn around and go to a drier place like the Mojave National Preserve which also has plenty of Joshua trees.

janisj

I personally would NOT ever stay in Bakersfield unless it was for a wedding or a funeral (and the person would have to be VERY dear to me even then . ). Honestly - no earthly reason.

I'd spend the night in sequoia and just get an early morning start the next day.

The drive times are maybe a bit optimistic but not too far off. The kicker is the drive into LA. You will be driving through the afternoon commute . I'd wait til later to leave Joshua.

You absolutely need reservations in Yosemite - always. As far in advance as possible.

isabel

Thanks - lots of good ideas. I think I will plan two trips (good thing I love to trip plan) - one for not so great weather and one if I get lucky and the weather is good. So one coastal and one which would include Yosemite.

My research is showing that at this time of year I am not going to be able to see any large sequoias. Looks like Mariposa Grove road will still be closed, and the road to the big trees in Sequoia will also be closed till some time in April. Is this correct? If so I guess I'll skip Sequoia since that would be the main reason I want to go there.

The staying in Bakersfield was not to see anything, just to break up the drive - looks like it has plenty of chain motels and Olive Garden type restaurants and that's all I'm looking for. But if I eliminate Sequoia I'm going to need to rethink things anyway.

Thanks for the help.

tomfuller

Several years ago I was in Mariposa Grove the first week of November. It was bright and sunny, temps in the 50's. A tour bus pulled in just as we were leaving.

michele_d

Hi isabel,
I live in the Tehachapi Mountains which is one hour east of Bakersfield on the 58 fwy. You will drive through here on your way from Bakersfield to Death Valley. Our pass is 5000' so just be sure to watch the weather for here and not just Sequoia and Yosemite as we can and do get snow here up until late May.

It is not usually horrible but the freeway does shut down frequently for icing conditions, especially in the mornings. Just wanted to give you a heads up.

If you do decide to do Death Valley and are on the road to Bakersfield, just keep in mind that we have several nice hotels right alongside the freeway here in Tehachapi as you pass through town. We are just under 1 hour from the 99/58 fwy intersection in Bakes.

janisj

IMO Staying over in Tehachapi would be 1,000,000% better than staying in Bakersfield. Honest -- B'field is an armpit . . . .

emalloy

If you go on the coast road you can see quite large trees in Julia Pfeiffer State Park. There is an easy hike there that goes through a nice grove.

Shanti

If you end up going to the coast, you might be able to fit in a visit to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park north of Santa Cruz. It has a very nice and short walk through coastal redwoods.

The road to Mariposa Grove might be open during your trip (but I'm not promising anything.) We went there around that time of year two or three years ago. It was so nice - the tram wasn't running on weekdays nor was the shuttle service from Wawona - so it was relatively empty and quiet.

I've stayed in Bakersfield during trips. I'm grateful that I don't live there and wouldn't choose to go there but if it's a convenient stopping point for your travels it will not be the end of the world.

isabel

Wow, I had no idea you could get snow in southern California as late as May! But thanks for the warning.

And I will definitely look into Techachapi instead of Bakersfield.

So I'm looking into what I might want to do along the coast if it turns out the weather is not conducive to a Yosemite trip. I guess I'm looking at Santa Barbara area. Anyone been to the Channel Islands? I would only do a day trip not an overnight. There is some info on the major guidebook sites and the NPS site but not a lot of first hand info.