jsolo50

I need some advice planning a trip in September. It really has three segments. It is a 60th birthday trip. We will not be hiking, but can take short level walks. These would include to a waterfall or a main street shopping trip. Like scenic drives, museums, exploring both small and large towns, and eating in “local” places. Both of these meetings will have a lot of free time built into the schedules.

1. I have a meeting to attend in Yosemite N.P. from Monday September 12 to Friday September 16. We will be staying at the Tenaya Lodge. My wife and I plan to fly late Friday the 9th into Burbank. We will get a rental car at the airport. It seems that we could drive to the Bakersfield area and spend the night. I would like to spend Saturday and most of Sunday working my way towards Yosemite via Sequoia N.P. and Kings Canyon N.P. We have never been to these parks. I need advice about somewhere to stay Saturday night.
2. This is the main part of the trip. We will leave Yosemite on Friday 16th and will drive to Jackson Hole for another meeting. We have until the afternoon of the 25th to arrive in Jackson Hole at the Hotel Terra. Nine days of travel. Having never traveled this area I need help on a route and what is worth a side trip. We know we want to spend some time to see the Tahoe area and then drive to Yellowstone before going to Jackson Hole.
3. Scheduled to leave Jackson Hole on Friday morning and drive to Salt Lake City. We have never spent time in Salt Lake City and will not have much time as we plan to fly out Sunday.
Thanks for all of your help!!!

tomfuller

Any chance you can fly into Fresno? Try not to stay in Bakersfield. It is 4 to 4.5 hours from Burbank to Oakhurst using Rts. 99 and 41. You will like the lodging choices in Oakhurst much better than Bakersfield.
When you come in the south entrance to Yosemite, turn right to go out to the Mariposa Grove. Remember to turn into the parking area at the north end of the tunnel for a great view of the Valley.
Sorry I can't help you with closer lodging to Sequoia/Kings Canyon.
Are you planning on a big drop off fee renting in Burbank and dropping off in Salt Lake City? It is 10 to 10.5 hours from SLC back to Burbank and St. George, UT is about halfway.

boom_boom

Agree that Oakhurst will be nicer lodging and much closer than Bakersfield. Other options would include Visalia (about 1.5 hours closer) and Fresno (about 2hours from BFL).

Some possible side trips from YNP to Jackson Hole could include Mammoth Lakes on the east side of the Sierra. From there you could do day trip to Mono Lake and the ghost town of Bodie. You could stop in Reno and make day trips to Lake Tahoe and historic Virginia City. Since you're hitting SLC on the way out, take US 93 from Wells, NV to Twin Falls, ID and then a day trip to Craters of the Moon Nat. Mon before Idaho falls. For the final leg either US 26 out of Idaho Falls to Jackson or US 20 north to West Yellowstone and then down through Yellowstone NP to Jackson.

dbdurand

It could be that the previous 2 posters misunderstood your proposed itinerary. I think they missed the "via Sequoia N.P. and Kings Canyon N.P." part. After landing in Burbank, you are planning an overnight in Bakersfield, and then the next day a drive to Sequoia/Kings Canyon. The route will take you through Visalia, where you will take rte. 198 to Giant Forest in Sequoia. After x days in Sequoia, you will head for Fresno on rte. 180, where you will head north to Yosemite on rte.41, (which happens to go through the small town of Oakhurst). The ideal places to stay for both parks is in the park. Making those reservations is a whole other subject.

janisj

Some folks jump directly to "fly into Fresno" whenever there is a a thread about Yosemite. Fresno makes no sense whatsoever for this itinerary . . .

dburand has it right.

I personally would not stay in Bakersfield. If you are flying into BUR late at night, just get a room there. Then early the next morning drive straight up to Sequoia.

BillJ

Visalia is only about another 1.5 hours from Bake. If you can do that, you'll save some park time. The roads in Seq and Kings are notoriously slow.
Tenaya Lodge is not in Yosemite Park, but a few miles outside the south entrance. It will take about another hour to get to the floor of the valley.
For trip north from Yosemite, you have two options as I see it.
1. Tioga Pass will probably still be open, over to Lee Vining and Hwy 395 north, which you could take all the way to Reno. That is a beautiful way to cross the Sierra's, as it goes through Tuolumne Meadows and Tioga Pass. I would see Bodie, as well as some interesting mountain areas off of 395, such as Hwy 88 and 89. You could get into South Shore a couple of ways, check a map.
2.From Tenaya, you could backtrack down 41 and pick up Hwy 49 at Oakhurst. This route goes all the way north, taking you to Hwy 50 (south Shore Tahoe), or Hwy 80 (north shore). The route takes you through all the old gold mining areas of California's Gold Rush of 1849. A lot of very interesting little towns along the way. Moutains are foothills, and the road is a bit twisty/turny, therefore very slow. This would be very different from number 1 above.
The eastern side of the Sierra (395) is the dry side. You may also see some fall colors over there, though probably a bit early.
From Tahoe, take Hwy 80 East to Hwy 93. North through Idaho to the West Gate of Yellowstone, then go through the south gate to get to Jackson Hole.
Have fun.

BillJ

Forgot to give you this link on Historic Highway 49.
http://www.historichwy49.com/home.html

Otis_B_Driftwood

Depending on what time you arrive in Burbank, you could easily make Santa Clarita on I-5 for the night or continue on to Lebec where a poster here recently stayed and recommended the Holiday Inn Express. Bakersfield is a little less than 2 hours from Burbank (if no traffic) and if you can drive another hour and a half, there's Three Rivers which is the gateway to Sequoia National Park.

For your drive from Tahoe to Yellowstone, it's pretty much a two day drive by the most direct routes. If you spend two days at Tahoe and four at Yellowstone, you would have three days. With that extra day, you could take a detour off of US93 and take Hwy 75 up through Sun Valley and Stanley, Idaho. This is a spectacular drive and the Sawtooth area around Stanley has National Park like scenery.

After Stanley, you would rejoin US 93 which follows the Salmon River up to the town of Salmon and the Montana Border. At the border, you could head east at Chief Joseph Pass and visit the Big Hole National Battlefield and then wind your way over to Yellowstone on scenic backroads and visit the interesting old mining town of Virginia City. If you also visit Craters of the Moon, you would have to backtrack a little and probably add a day to the journey. Craters is an interesting park but I find the area around Stanley a lot more beautiful.

You are going to be in Salt Lake City at the end of September. Make sure you get out and drive around the Wasatch Range. The fall colors here should be at full peak and are outstanding. Better than anything you can find in California.

jsolo50

Thank you to everyone … This site is great!! Everyone gave me a lot to think about. Like several suggested,it seems one way to start this trip better would be to fly into Fresno. That would make the first couple of days sooo much better.

Jean

Since you're staying at Tenaya Lodge, I'd move to lodging in Yosemite Valley for a night or two after your meeting ends on Sept. 16th. You say you have lots of free time on the meeting days, but it would have to be half days to make it worth driving from Tenaya to the Valley, Hetch Hetchy, Tuolumne, Glacier Point, etc. How many times will you want to make that drive? FYI, sunset will be about 7:00 pm, but the light in the Valley dims earlier than sunset.

janisj

"Like several suggested,it seems one way to start this trip better would be to fly into Fresno."

Only one poster recommended flying into Fresno. . .

Fresno airfares tend to be much more expensive and there is limited service. Depending on where you are flying from the schedules may be complicated w/ multiple connections.

To clarify just a bit -- I suggested staying in Burbank only IF you are arriving late at night. If you land at a reasonable time then Santa Clarita or farther north would be good stops.

BillJ

Fresno Air Terminal (call sign = FAT - we can't live that one down) The City Council and Chamber of Commerce want it called FYI = Fresno Yosemite International.

Anyway, yes, I agree. No sense in driving all the way from Burbank. Yes, generally flights in and out of Fresno do cost a bit more. But the additional cost can probably be made up due to one less night on the road, and perhaps a day's car rental. American has a direct route from Dallas, United from Denver. Don't know where you're coming from. Don't understand Janisj's comment "limited services." All your major car rental co's are here. Restaurants, etc. It's a small airport, very easy to get in and out of.

From FAT ( or FYI) you are only an hour and a half from Tenaya Lodge via 41.

I also strongly agree with Jean to get a room on the floor of the valley for the full impact of Yosemite. Evenings and early am hours are enchanting.

janisj

"Don't understand Janisj's comment "limited services." All your major car rental co's are here."

I posted >><blue>Fresno airfares tend to be much more expensive and there is limited service. Depending on where you are flying from the schedules may be complicated w/ multiple connections.</blue>flights into FAT. Didn't mean/say anything about food/cars

BillJ

Ok, Janisj, I understand. There are surely less flights into and out of FAT than most of the larger airports. That's for sure. But, depending where OP is coming from, it might work.
Didn't mean to start an argument. Would save the OP about 3-4 hours of driving from Burbank. That's worth something.

Michael

To experience something other than the casino/tourist/desert area of Nevada, make a detour to Jarbidge (Google map your two end points and add Jarbidge as an intermediate destination).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623045320911/

The area around Ketchum and the mountains east of Ketchum (we just drove through them) are beautiful.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623050829865/