Hi we are are family with teens and just booked flights to Los Angeles with going to Yosemite. I've listed the day we arrive as well day we leave from LA, what is doable during that time?
Day 1: Land in LA and drive to Bakersfield ?and stay overnight
Day 2: Drive to Sequoia National Park and overnight
Day 3: Drive to Yosemite and overnight
Day 4: Drive back to Los Angeles
Day 5 - fly back home from LAX airport

Any help is appreciated. We like to hike and enjoy the beautiful outdoors. Initially we thought to do a loop by driving from LAX to Jalama or Pismo beach and then head out to the national parks but think that may be a longer route.

WHEN is this trip? Time of year makes a huge difference. And what time/day of the week do you land at LAX - that also makes a big difference.

Forget the 'longer route' -- your current plan without the coast is more than long enough PLUS it has you spending a valuable night of your vacation in Bakersfield of all places . . . double

But to give you and idea - depending on day/time LAX > Bakersfield will take between 2.5 to 4 hours. Bakersfield to the Sequoia Visitors Center (not exploring any of the groves or hiking or anything -- just the drive to the entrance) is about 2.5 hours. Have you booked accommodations at Sequoia?

The from say Three Rivers to Yosemite Valley will take a minimum four hours car time. So maybe half a day in Yosemite. Have you booked accommodations in Yosemite? If not, do not be misled by hotels claiming to be near Yosemite or even 'inside the park' . The park is the larger than the state of Rhode Island so a hotel 'near the park' could be 2 or 3 hours from the Valley. Really the only places to look are in Yosemite Valley itself or in El Portal just outside the hwy 140/west entrance. If the trip is soon probably the only convenient place with availability will be Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal https://yosemiteresorts.com/yosemite-view-lodge/ But honesty you would have almost no time IN Yosemite. Unless you can stay at least 2 nights it is almost not worth it.

And THEN you would have a 6+ hour drive back to LAX. So essentially in 4 days you will have more than 20 hours in the car (when including driving within the parks).

One way to help this a little bit would be to fly from LAX to FAT (Fresno), pick up a rental car there -- stay 2 nights in Yosemite, 2 nights at Sequoia and one night at LAX

What is doable in 5 nights landing at LAX is to visit Los Angeles only.

This is a misbegotten itinerary. Focus on Yosemite only, Sequoia NP is nice but there are sequoias at Yosemite and there isn’t time to visit both parks in 4 days from LA (frankly pretty crazy).

You may have to connect, but Sacramento, San Jose, or Fresno are much better access airports for Yosemite then LAX which introduces traffic and goofy car rental access to your trip. Ticket changes these days are often free so you should pursue doing this.

In-park Yosemite lodging late spring to early fall is hard to come by.

tom_mn is right. Try to fly into Sacramento and focus just on Yosemite. Sequoia is wonderful but leave it for another time.

Yes, flying into SMF would be another option -- however from SMF to Yosemite Valley is still a 4+ hour drive.

What we are all saying -- what you are planning really isn't feasible.

Besides answering my question about when the trip is . . . have you already booked flights in/out og LAX and if so are they changeable fares or are they unchangeable/basic fares. Because LAX is close to the worst airport in California for visiting Yosemite. Well - San Diego and Orange County would be worse.

Thank you for the responses. The flight would land in lax at 1:30pm

The arrival time doesn’t really have a big impact on things, you are proposing driving great distances many days.

If you are committed to LAX then cut Yosemite and stay in the park (Sequoia or Kings Canyon, which essentially make one big park), and get your hiking in there, and spend some hours with the big trees.

Getting from place to place in the Sierras is often going from up in the mountains back down to the valley, across some flat distance, then back up into the mountains farther down. I recall the drive from Yosemite Valley lodging to Kings Canyon lodging to be in the 4 hour range, some of it is pretty but a lot of it is not. My point is that it’s not a quick jaunt.

Also, there can be traffic in the Central Valley. In driving north from Porterville through one small city after another, a coworker said, “there’s a whole state’s worth of people living in the Central Valley.”

Okaaaay? Are you lthomas6 or labraham6?? Two different screen names for the same person really isn't allowed AFAIK . . . Maybe contact the moderators to see if you can fix this.

1:30 arrival -- check. However please answer some of the other questions. When is the trip? Time of year makes a huge difference re access to the parks, availability of accommodations, etc. Are your flights changeable? LAX is more than 300 miles from Yosemite Valley and there are MUCH better options.

I live near Sacramento and close to a 4 hour drive to Yosemite Valley -- and I wouldn't try to squeeze Sequoia and Yosemite into the essentially 3.5 days you have free. And that is without any cross country flights.

What do you hope to see/do - because you really wouldn't have time to explore much of either park, or do any hiking. Mostly just a lot of time in the car and few hours with some good scenery.

So far this thread seems to be one of those don’t-confuse-me-with-the-facts-my-mind-is-made-up kind. Of course I could be wrong, in which case abraham/thomas will tell us when this ill conceived trip is to take place & is he open to suggestions to make it a success. WHEN will make all the difference.

As now planned the teens may revolt with all the driving & no time to speak of for an actual adventure. However there are any number of interesting locations within striking distance of LAX if only a decision is made for a radical correction to include realistic possibilities.

So abraham/thomas, ball’s in your court. Are you up for saving your trip & the possibility of being a hero to your teens? I’ll be watching.

OP, you should listen to the vox populi.

In late June my wife and I flew into Fresno and drove up to Yosemite. We did the Sugar Pine Railroad and then on to Yosemite for some hiking and sightseeing. The crowds really started to pick up as the weekend approached! Then we drove down to Sequoia and Kings Ntl Park. There were thousands fewer people there and we loved exploring the park and trails (Big Trees Trail, Moro Rock, Lost Grove, Gen Sherman & Grant, etc.). Then we hit the pool and various watering holes in Fresno (triple digit temps). A great trip! However, there was an accident on the road heading up to Yosemite and we sat in an unmoving car in 90-degree temps for an hour not moving at all (planes and helicopters assured up that something big had happened and a massive property fire torched several vehicles and acres right by the roadway - miles of vehicles jammed up, just waiting. I would not want to be in a car full of teens! Have fun and think about the best use of your time (both parks are high up, with Sequoia at almost 8,000 feet)!

I agree flying into Fresno would be much better if you can change your flights. If the goal is Yosemite, I would bypass Sequoia National Park (even though it is beautiful) and head straight to Yosemite. You might want to overnight in Fresno. You really don't have time to visit both parks.
Day 2 Finish driving to Yosemite
Day 3 Yosemite.
Day 4 Spend the morning in Yosemite and begin your drive back to LAX. Overnight somewhere along the way.
Day 5 Fly home

Just FYI, if you land at LAX at 1:30, depending on the airline, you probably won't be driving away in the rented car before 3:00... which on a weekday will put you in the absolute worst traffic driving north to leave the L.A. area.

From some terminal gates to baggage claim and ground transportation is a very long walk, and then the car rental companies are a couple of miles away.

Your driving route begins with going north on the 405/San Diego Freeway, the busiest section of the busiest freeway in the U.S. at the busiest time of day. The only thing that may save your sanity is that you can use the carpool lane for several miles.

Flying into Fresno would be the ideal, but even flying into Burbank would be better than LAX. It could potentially save you 2 hours getting from plane to Bakersfield.

I’m in total agreement having grown up 25 miles from KCNP. Pick one or the other. No way you can do both Yosemite and Sequoia in two days. Spending the night in Bakersfield, or better yet Visalia, then heading to Sequoia makes most sense. Hopefully you have accommodations in the park because driving up and down the “hill” takes time. Kings Canyon, Grant Grove area is beautiful and you have the nation’s Christmas tree to see. If you can go down to Cedar Grove it would be great, but spending time in Grant Grove and Giant Forest would be a great experience. Lots to see. Enjoy our great parks.