kiwianna

Hi
We are flying into LA mid November and leaving early December and would like to take a road trip. We need to be in Merced for Thanksgiving with family but want to travel either side of the holiday.

Mid November we would like to drive to Sedona AR taking in the sites along the way.
What are the road conditions at this time of year?
What are the must see visits?
How long do we need to allow for this?
After Thanksgiving with family in Modesto we want to go to Napa Valley and then Carmel and Big Sur back to LA.
Is it warm enough to hike Big Sur at this time of year?
What is the must see's in Napa?

Thanks for your help.
Kiwianna

tomfuller

Would you consider flying to San Francisco, Oakland or Sacramento instead of LAX?
Consider flying from your California airport to either Las Vegas or Phoenix for your Sedona and possibly South Rim Grand Canyon to avoid a long boring trip through the Mojave Desert.

kiwianna

Thanks for your help I appreciate it.

Our tickets are Auckland NZ to LAX airport - it makes sense to fly to Sedona time wise but we will be getting a rental and I think it would work out more economical to do LA pick up and drop off.

We are also coming over in August, I am wondering if we would be better to do this loop when we don't have to worry about road conditions?

If we did it then I would love opinions on this option as follows:

Day 1 and 2 - LAX - La Jolla -I love the beach and would be looking for swimming a couple of days.

Day 3 and 4 - La Jolla - Palm springs

Day 5 and 6 - Palm Springs - Sedona - I've always wanted to visit this place

Day 7 - Sedona - Flagstaff- South Rim do a bit of a hike probably don't have time to do much??

Day 8 - Flagstaff - to I'm not sure where.
Where would you recommend to break up this trip?

Day 9 - start from where you recommend? to Modesto

Patty

I would much rather drive to and visit Sedona in mid-November than in August unless you like hot desert weather. I personally wouldn't want to hike in that kind of heat either. It will be busier in Sedona/Grand Canyon in August vs November. November is the perfect time to visit the desert to me. Joshua Tree National Park is not far from Palm Springs. There's not much to see in between until you get to closer to Sedona. The drive via Prescott (Watson Lake with the granite dells just north of town is pretty) and Jerome is very scenic and goes through mountainous terrain. Skip this part and take the interstate if the weather forecast is iffy but you should be OK in mid-November. We ran into some snow in early December in Sedona but it melted quickly.

The climate on the central coast of California is temperate and doesn't vary a great deal year round. You can hike all year. The only issue in December may be rain. On the other hand it could be sunny and gorgeous. Again I'd keep an eye on the forecast and have a back up plan for Big Sur where heavy rain tends to cause rock/mud slides. If it looks iffy, take 101 back to LA. Depending on how long you're planning to stay in Carmel, you could also do a day trip from here down to Big Sur. Then you can pick and choose your day based on the weather forecast. There are plenty of wineries in Monterey County as well.

jamie99

LaJolla is very pretty, but it is part of San Diego, a good 2 hour drive from LA in non rush hour traffic. Instead consider a closer beach like Manhattan Beach (surfers and volleyball players) or maybe Santa Monica.
I'd skip Napa, if you are driving Highway 1, there are lots of wineries to visit with less expensive tasting fees, such as the Paso Robles area near Cambria and the Santa Ynez Valley near Santa Barbara.
You need another night between Big Sur and LA, too far to drive in one day.

kiwianna

Hi Patty,
Thanks so much for your feedback. I was worried about going to Sedona in November but you have made me feel much better about going then.
Where would you recommend stopping on our way back to Merced? We would like to cut out the return trip in 2 days so I know we will have 2 fairly big days of driving but I we want to be back for Thanksgiving.

kiwianna

Hi Jamie

Thanks for your tips -I did still want to see LaJolla as I've never been there so it probably will come down to how much time we have but I like the idea of staying in Santa Monica too and I've never heard of Manhattan Beach so I will research that out as well. Thanks

Patty

There's not a whole lot between Sedona and Merced. Death Valley comes to mind but it's not on the direct route and with only one night you wouldn't have much time to explore the park. Mojave National Preserve is along the way but there are only campgrounds there.

mlgb

Kelso Dunes in Mojave National Preserve.