Driving Cedar City to San Francisco
Oct 13th, 2015, 05:13 PM
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Driving Cedar City to San Francisco
Hi,
We are looking to take 4 days to drive from Cedar City (nr Salt Lake City) to San Francisco in late December this year. On Bing maps there appears to be a straight line option albeit over big mountains (Mammoth, Yosemite etc)! This route looks like it would be wonderfully scenic & interesting and we would love to explore Yosemite but is it open in late Dec? There are 2 other suggested routes; 1 via Las Vegas & Bakersfield, and the other via Reno. Which would you take in late Dec if the priorities are beautiful scenery & interesting towns to visit? We will have 3 kids <10 yrs with us who are all good roadtrippers but it's one reason we are hoping for interesting towns to stretch our legs/ get snacks etc. We have done quite a bit of winter driving but nothing very wild and would prefer to avoid any roads that are famous for accidents or closures at that time of year. Thank you for any help
We are looking to take 4 days to drive from Cedar City (nr Salt Lake City) to San Francisco in late December this year. On Bing maps there appears to be a straight line option albeit over big mountains (Mammoth, Yosemite etc)! This route looks like it would be wonderfully scenic & interesting and we would love to explore Yosemite but is it open in late Dec? There are 2 other suggested routes; 1 via Las Vegas & Bakersfield, and the other via Reno. Which would you take in late Dec if the priorities are beautiful scenery & interesting towns to visit? We will have 3 kids <10 yrs with us who are all good roadtrippers but it's one reason we are hoping for interesting towns to stretch our legs/ get snacks etc. We have done quite a bit of winter driving but nothing very wild and would prefer to avoid any roads that are famous for accidents or closures at that time of year. Thank you for any help
Oct 13th, 2015, 05:40 PM
#2
>>on Bing maps there appears to be a straight line option albeit over big mountains (Mammoth, Yosemite etc)! This route looks like it would be wonderfully scenic & interesting and we would love to explore Yosemite but is it open in late Dec?
Oct 14th, 2015, 03:17 AM
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Fun
The drive between Cedar City And SLC is very pretty because you follow along the mountains the whole way and it's mostly rural until about an hour south of SLC.
Unfortunately in my opinion the drive from SlC to Reno is the most boring drive I have ever done. There are NO interesting or pretty towns to stop in, unless you like Reno. I would highly recommend flying for this part of your trip!
Probably flying between St George or Las Vegas and SF would be best.
The drive between Cedar City And SLC is very pretty because you follow along the mountains the whole way and it's mostly rural until about an hour south of SLC.
Unfortunately in my opinion the drive from SlC to Reno is the most boring drive I have ever done. There are NO interesting or pretty towns to stop in, unless you like Reno. I would highly recommend flying for this part of your trip!
Probably flying between St George or Las Vegas and SF would be best.
Oct 14th, 2015, 05:53 PM
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Fun,
It might help if we understood your entire plan for your visit to the US. Are you trying to see some of the southern UT National Parks too? Why Cedar City? International visitors just do not normally have the town on their radar!
It might help if we understood your entire plan for your visit to the US. Are you trying to see some of the southern UT National Parks too? Why Cedar City? International visitors just do not normally have the town on their radar!
Oct 14th, 2015, 06:54 PM
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Hi,
that's all bad news - but thank you for making me aware of it. We're actually doing a 10 week 'dream' trip around the US from Sydney in Nov/Dec. We land in Dallas & explore Austin/ San Antonio before driving to Orlando via New Orleans and Santa Rosa beach/ Tallahassee. After Orlando for 5 days, we're taking about 5 days to drive up to Washington DC/ then Philli then NYC for about 5 days each (I will post this separately but any thoughts on a special Thanksgiving experience near Philli - was thinking a country town might give a more authentic feel than a city?). Fly NYC to Las Vegas, then drive to Anaheim (parks) followed by Joshua Tree/Idyllwild - Sedona/ Grand Canyon/ Moab (maybe 2 day skiing in Telluride) - Park City for 14 Dec then Brian Head/ Cedar City for Christmas. Basically then need to leave on Dec 26 to be in San Fran on Dec 29. We love road trips but preferably not boring ones
although it would have to be really bad to be worse than lugging 3 kids + luggage around an airport (!) so still more interested in driving Vs flying to San Fran for the last leg. We will get a car with snow & mud/ 4wd etc
that's all bad news - but thank you for making me aware of it. We're actually doing a 10 week 'dream' trip around the US from Sydney in Nov/Dec. We land in Dallas & explore Austin/ San Antonio before driving to Orlando via New Orleans and Santa Rosa beach/ Tallahassee. After Orlando for 5 days, we're taking about 5 days to drive up to Washington DC/ then Philli then NYC for about 5 days each (I will post this separately but any thoughts on a special Thanksgiving experience near Philli - was thinking a country town might give a more authentic feel than a city?). Fly NYC to Las Vegas, then drive to Anaheim (parks) followed by Joshua Tree/Idyllwild - Sedona/ Grand Canyon/ Moab (maybe 2 day skiing in Telluride) - Park City for 14 Dec then Brian Head/ Cedar City for Christmas. Basically then need to leave on Dec 26 to be in San Fran on Dec 29. We love road trips but preferably not boring ones
although it would have to be really bad to be worse than lugging 3 kids + luggage around an airport (!) so still more interested in driving Vs flying to San Fran for the last leg. We will get a car with snow & mud/ 4wd etc
Oct 14th, 2015, 08:30 PM
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For Thanksgiving, that's really a family holiday, so in smaller towns, you run the risk of not having anything actually open. In larger cities, you'll have restaurants serving dinner, esspecially at the nicer hotels.
Oct 14th, 2015, 11:27 PM
#7
Its obviously up to you but no rental vehicle with 4WD is going to travel over a route that is closed because of a storm and even if a route is open, there's nothing more boring or dangerous than doing that whole thing.
Could it happen? Who knows, but I think you could find something to do to fill in that couple of days in and around San Francisco after you have flown there.
Watching snow fall is fun for about three minutes when you'd rather be elsewhere.
Have a great trip and maximize your time, too.
Could it happen? Who knows, but I think you could find something to do to fill in that couple of days in and around San Francisco after you have flown there.
Watching snow fall is fun for about three minutes when you'd rather be elsewhere.
Have a great trip and maximize your time, too.
Oct 15th, 2015, 03:57 AM
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Could you break up the trip a bit by doing the driving portion in the south then dropping the car before or by DC and using trains/busses in the DC, Philadelphia, and NYC portion before flying from NYC west? A car is expensive to park and public transportation is good in DC and NYC. The possibility of bad weather and normal traffic problems are not to be forgotten.
Oct 15th, 2015, 09:42 PM
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Hi emalloy,
yes, I just mentioned to my husband that we should return the rental car in Washington DC. I think i'll eventually be able to persuade him to return in Philli, as he loves the flexibility of a car but I've shown him parking fee evidence! Is there anywhere within a few hours drive from Philadelphia that you would recommend for Thanksgiving? Otherwise, we will stay in the city.
Hi Dale & Dukey, I will re-look the route Vs flight options. Thx for all feedback!
yes, I just mentioned to my husband that we should return the rental car in Washington DC. I think i'll eventually be able to persuade him to return in Philli, as he loves the flexibility of a car but I've shown him parking fee evidence! Is there anywhere within a few hours drive from Philadelphia that you would recommend for Thanksgiving? Otherwise, we will stay in the city.
Hi Dale & Dukey, I will re-look the route Vs flight options. Thx for all feedback!
