bettyo70

Hi to All,

Planning a trip to Yosemite and/or Sequoia National Park in California around October. Just wondering...are there a lot of mosquitoes in either of these places?

I ask because I attract mosquitoes all the time so they're a big problem for me.

I'm currently based in LA. What would be the driving time to get to each park from here?

THANKS!

utahtea

Mosquitoes love me too! We've camped in Yosemite in October and I don't remember them being a big problem at that time of the year. If they are around, it's usually at dusk.


Los Angeles to the Lodge Pole Visitor center in Sequioa is about 225 miles and about a 4 hours drive...depending on where in LA and traffic.

Los Angeles to Yosemite Valley is a little over 300 miles so plan on at least 6 hours.

Lodge Pole Pine Visitor Center in Sequioa to Yosemite Valley is about 170 miles and about a 4 hour drive.

Utahtea

BayArea

It depends on whether it has started freezing at night. If yes, then no real mosquito problem. If still hot as blazes, or at least not freezing at night, plan on bug juice and benedryl.

Mosquito bitily yours,
BA

bettyo70

Thanks, Bay and Utah! Glad there are others who understand my problem. Yikes! I don't know why I thought Sequoia NP was much closer than that.

Hmmm...my neice from Italy is coming to California for the first time, and I wanted to show her something unique to our area. Perhaps Joshua Tree may be a better trip overall...a little closer and NO MOSQUITOES IN THE DESERT. What do y'all think?

I believe Joshua Tree is a three-hour drive.

Cheers! Bet

J_Correa

I have friends from Europe who are facinated with the desert, so that might be a good choice. I don't understand the appeal, but so it goes

Sequoia and Yosemite, of course, would be fabulous choices as well if you can do the drive. We went to Sequoia last year, and although I grew up on the CA coast with coastal redwoods, I was absolutely amazed by the giant sequoias - that something could grow to be that massive is incredible.

joesorce

Got a recommendation to try garlic capsules and Vitamin B12. Took one tablet of each daily on a recent trip to Maine (where they're having a stellar bug season this year), and only got bit once. Even though they were swarming around all the time, they didn't bite...so now I'm a big believer in this combination.

Also, keep moving. When hiking, if you stop, the mosquitoes will get you , but if you keep moving they won't.

BayArea

The only thing about J-Tree is that it might be really hot. One of the weather reporting services (Intellicast?) offers historical temperature information. Inland CA has suprisingly hot temperatures even into October, so I'd check for your dates.

I totally hear you on the mosquito bite thing. I get half dollar sized welts, so even two or three are a big deal for me. I'll try that garlic trick, although honestly the only thing that ever worked was to keep a steady level of Jameson in the blood stream, but that's tricky for hiking.