indyhiker

I posted a question last week asking for some advice on Lake Tahoe in mid/late May. To recap, my husband and I have plans to travel to San Francisco and Tahoe in mid-late May. Plane tickets (direct, woo hoo!) into SFO have already been purchased; I'm about to reserve a VRBO property in the city; and I've already reserved a hotel in Tahoe Vista. After booking the trip, I started to have some reservations about Tahoe that time of year. I admittedly didn't fully consider whether the hiking trails would be passable by then, as well as the risk of snow (and bad roads) that time of year. I think the consensus was that there will likely be some trails to hike but that there obviously is no guarantee of anything that time of year. I can (mostly) live with that.

But I did think it wise to have a Plan B in my back pocket. So, I started looking at the areas north of the city, e.g., Point Reyes, Mill Valley, Mendoncino, Gualala, and points further north, including Humboldt County and Redwoods National Park. I'd also include Sonoma County in that list, e.g., Healdsburg. Well, gosh, there's just so much to see and do! Given the weather/climate issues in Tahoe, I started wondering if Plan B should be Plan A. Then I started to wonder whether we really even want to spent four days in the city. I've been there; he hasn't, but if we're being honest with one another, we have the most fun and the least stress when we're outside big urban environments. We mostly enjoy hiking, biking, kayaking and the like.

I'm not even sure what advice I'm looking for. Short of Tahoe being a complete bust because of a really bad winter and/or bad weather, I don't know that we can go too wrong, but if anybody has any experiences in any of these areas--positive or negative--I'd love to hear them. I will say that if we scrap Tahoe, the trip will likely become more expensive because or lodging there was super inexpensive compared to the places we'd be likely to stay on the coast. But that, in and of itself, isn't a deal breaker. If we stick with the city/Tahoe as Plan A, is it exceedingly difficult to find lodging on the coast that time of year if we end up having to go with Plan B at the last minute? Thanks for any insight you can offer.

MichelleY

Stick with Plan A. It will probably be fine. Plus, if the weather is snowy in Tahoe(odds not likely) the coast will be rainy and you will have bad weather where ever you go. Plan B should not be hard to implement, unless it is over the Memorial Day weekend. Even then, the north coast will not be overly jammed.

happytrailstoyou

I much prefer Plan B for many reasons including the ones you mention.

indyhiker

Thanks for the responses, divergent though they are! I think I'm just going to have to chat with my husband about it tonight. I'd feel no time pressure to make the call, but I have a contract for a San Fran vrbo listing that I need to firm up if we're going with Plan A and/or intend to integrate into Plan B.

kleroux

Well I like plan B too. If you stick to VRBO rentals in Healdsburg you won't find things too expensive. Lots of pretty hiking around Sonoma County. Check out Armstrong Woods State Park. I would not stay in Mendocino county.. its difficult to get to...or at least a "car sick" kind of drive, IMO. Humbolt is pretty far north too. Healdsburg is 1.5 hrs north of the Golden Gate bridge. From there you can visit the Coast where the Russian River meets the sea, and still find places to hike, eat and sleep that are afordable.

StuDudley

>>Then I started to wonder whether we really even want to spent four days in the city. I've been there; he hasn't, but if we're being honest with one another, we have the most fun and the least stress when we're outside big urban environments.

indyhiker

Yeah....I'm leaning toward Plan B myself. I'm just finding myself more excited about the possibilities. I'm leaning toward spending some time in both Mendocino and Sonoma counties. I have my eye on a vrbo rental in the former and am leaning toward Healdsburg for the latter. Now, I just need to run it past my husband. I tend to think we'll still opt to stay in the city as planned, too. We'll likely end up feeling rushed, but that's nothing particularly new on our travels. We'll leave north Lake Tahoe for another visit. My preference is to go there in late August, but that just wasn't in the cards for this coming year. Keep the input coming, but I do think I'm moving from indecision mode to planning mode!

StuDudley

You might post where your vrbo place is located in San Francisco. Most of us locals are familiar with the pluses & minuses of most neighborhoods.

Stu Dudley

kleroux

I think getting to Healdsburg in a little over an hour, beats driving to Tahoe.. next time fly into Reno as another poster suggested. Just know that in Healdsburg VRBO rentals inside the town limits are illegal. There are plenty which are legal just outside town limits and so only a couple of minutes from the Plaza. Read reviews .. there are so many to choose from. Enjoy your vacation.

aprillilacs

You mentioned kayaking--there are opportunities to kayak in San Francisco that you might want to check out. We did a moonlight kayak paddle on San Francisco Bay a couple of weeks ago with the SF Recreation and Parks Department, which was a lot of fun. Check out their kayaking site at http://sfrecpark.org/recprogram/waterfront-recreation/. Only the fall classes/activities are listed now, but they may have something that fits your schedule in May. At least one private kayaking company (between the Ferry Bldg and the ballpark) also offers Bay kayaking.

Tabernash2

That's a tough one, because Tahoe is such a special place.

clarkgriswold

Yup, you MUST see Tahoe. How about 3 nights SF, one night Tahoe, and 3 nights elsewhere? you mUST see Tahoe.

janisj

Sorry - but I think 1 night at Tahoe is very impractical w/ a 3 hour drive each way at the very best of times. And often it is a 4+ hour drive because the traffic on I-80 can be hellacipus all the way from SF through Sacramento/Roseville or I-80/hwy 50 if going to southshore.

IMO go to Tahoe - for at least 2 nights or not at all.

The chance for more than the very high trails being blocked by snow isn't that likely. And there are lots of places to hike at lake level so even w/ a freakish snow pack you will have lots of options. Areas on the east side of the lake get much less snow so those trails will almost certainly/100% be clear.

I spend a week at Tahoe mid May most years and there is very occasionally snow -- but normally it is glorious.

indyhiker

Thanks for everyone's input. We did change to Plan B. We're spending 4 nights in the city, four in Mendocino County (a short drive outside the village) and 2 in Healdsburg. Everything is booked and I can now move onto obsessing about what to do and where to eat. Hiking, kayaking and cycling are all on our list.

I realize we're covering a lot of ground during the trip, but that's fine. We definitely intend to do Tahoe another time (and would for sure stay longer than a day!). I would rather go in late August/early September though and that just wasn't an option for 2014. We'll consider flying into Reno, although the direct flight from Indianapolis to SFO that United recently added makes that airport an attractive option for us.

aprillilacs

Good choice. Another lovely kayaking spot is on the coast west of Healdsburg (south of Mendocino, on Hwy 1), at the little town of Jenner where the Russian River meets the sea. You can rent kayaks right there, paddle around the estuary, and go as far up the Russian River as you'd like. Check it out--we loved it.