West1010

I'm planning a roadtrip around the West coast of the USA in May, the route ive planned is shown below. Im completely happy with the majority of the route however Day 13 - Day 15 is still not great as it involves two very long days of driving. Im considering taking a day off of Yosemite and adding a stop in Death Valley somewhere to break it up a bit. I'm then not sure it will be worth going to Lone Pine as this is quite close to Death Valley.
One option I have is staying one night in Death Valley national park, then the second somewhere like Mammoth Lakes, however if the Tioga pass isnt open, wont this be a really long way to get into Yosemite?

Does anyone have any suggestions of routes I could take between Zion and Yosemite, with two nights in between?

Day 1 : LA
Day 2 : LA
Day 3 : LA
Day 4 : LA
Day 5 : Las Vegas
Day 6 : Las Vegas
Day 7 : Grand Canyon
Day 8 : Grand Canyon
Day 9 : Page
Day 10 : Bryce
Day 11 : Zion
Day 12 : Zion
Day 13 : Zion
Day 14 : Lone Pine
Day 15 : Yosemite
Day 16 : Yosemite
Day 17 : Yosemite
Day 18 : San Francisco
Day 19 : San Francisco
Day 20 : San Francisco
Day 21 : Monterey
Day 22 : Santa Barbara
Day 23 : LA

happytrailstoyou

The main problem I see is that if Tioaga Pass is not open in May you will not be able to drive to Yosemite via Death Valley and Lone Pine.

Worthwhile places to visit between Zion and Yosemite via the long route include the Valley of Fire, and Death Valley and Sequoia National Parks.

HTtY

tomfuller

If the Tioga Pass is still closed, you could go to Carson City or South Lake Tahoe instead of Lone Pine. Take US 50 to Placerville and visit the Gold Country.
If you take the South Lake Tahoe route you could also put San Francisco before Yosemite.

jamie99

It's a long drive from Monterey to Santa Barbara even though we will be on Daylight time in May. I'd maybe take a day from someplace else (LA or Zion) and add it to the coastal drive, staying in Cambria or Pismo Beach depending on what you want to see and do. Cambria has nearby Hearst Castle and also the elephant seals just north of Hearst, also wine tasting inland a few miles in Paso Robles. Pismo is a nice beach town and you can rent ATVs or take a Hummer ride in nearby Oceano Dunes.

ignutti

Hey!

Me and my friend Keren Liu are willing to join you for your trip, would you be willing to get off from SF (where we are located at the moment) on Saturday, 23rd or Sunday/Monday to LA (would also be keen to explore some national parks on the way if possible)? Please let us know asap, we are venturing in San Francisco at the moment. I have a flight back to Europe on 3rd June from SF and Keren is leaving on 1st Junde from San Diego. We are unable to drive though, is there any way to joing you? Thanking you in advance!

Please contact me or Keren 405 550 3415.

janisj

Welcome to Fodors ignutti. Don't count on the OP seeing your post - he hasn't been on Fodors since January.

You'll have to work out your own transport options (there are bus tours from SF to Yosemite)