9 Day Trip to Yosemite, Oregon and Washington State
 

Hi All,
I am planning for a 9 day trip to Yosemite, Big Sur, Oregon cost/Oregon and Washington state – from May 24th to Jun 1st . My main objective is to enjoy the scenic drives, do landscape/nature/night photography and see wildlife (if around). And maybe a couple of short (3-4 mile roundtrip) hikes

I am yet to make any bookings so wanted to close down on my below mentioned tentative itinerary. I truly understand that I may just be “touching” upon the places, so still trying to make the best achievable and enjoyable plan !!

NOTE : I am totally open to doing the below mentioned itinerary in reverse, since it may be easier on my budget, considering the one way car rentals etc. Would appreciate suggestions on that as well

Day 0 – Land SFO at Night
Day 1 – Big Sur, Yosemite
Day 2 – Yosemite
Day 3 – Yosemite, Lake Tahoe
Day 4 – Lake Tahoe, Napa, Redwood
Day 5 – Crater Lake NP
Day 6 – Cannon Beach, Mt. Rainier
Day 7 – Mt. Rainier
Day 8 – Olympic NP
Day 9 - Olympic NP, Return flight from Seattle at late night

Apart from this, I have the following queries as well :

1. Doesn’t it make sense to do this trip North (Seattle) to South (SFO), since then I will be driving with the coast on my side of the road ?
2. Which are the scenic routes that I should take during my entire 9 day trip?
3. I can only do a couple of short hikes/treks during my trip so which ones should I go for?
4. Any other Tips and Tricks to make my vacation more enjoyable ?

Google Map link
https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=S...mra=pr&t=m&z=5

You need to think about which area you really want to see. You cannot see all of these places in nine days.

For example, depending on traffic it's about 2.5 to 3.5 hours from San Francisco to Big Sur and about 5 hours from Big Sur to Yosemite.

Tioga Road will be closed due to snow at that time of year so it will take 4-5 hours to get from Yosemite to Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe to Napa is about 3 hours and another 7 hours to get to Redwoods National Park.

And the distances get even worse when you try to add Oregon and Washington.

Merely for reasons of <b>Memorial Day Weekend</b> I would strongly contemplate <I><b>starting</i></b> in Washington and working my way south.

While any of those spots will be extra busy on the holiday weekend, it prooooooooobably wouldn't impact you as much in the far north, as in California.

I, too, have the gut feeling that you'll be pushing it to see all of your listed itinerary in the time you have.

And I think that even if I were doing your trip, <i>north-to-south</i> I would skip Cannon Beach <b>just because</b> it is perhaps more efficient, and similarly scenic (??) to go directly from Mount Rainier to (say) Bend, Oregon and then down to Crater Lake. (IF the right road is open, I don't even think I'd use the <I>Interstate</i> for such a trip).

(Even online mapping software sends one through <I>Yakima, WA</i> and <I>The Dalles, OR</i> when going from <b>Paradise, Mt. Rainier to Bend, OR</b>.

<b>Forest Road 25</b> in Washington State would likely be an awesome path <b>but I can't find easy info relating to just when it <I>opens</i> in a typical year!!</b>

But in brief, I think you should reduce your ambitious journey and give yourself time to actually photograph things.

I think you're going to get similar answers here to the ones you got on the same question on TripAdvisor. The Google map may say it's 41 hours' drive, but that's not taking into account seasonality, congestion, daylight and stops. It might physically be possible to get from SF to Big Sur to Yosemite in one day, but it would be all driving with no time for anything else.

Similarly, the rim road at Crater Lake will still be snowed in, and rental companies don't allow tire chains on their cars. That makes the whole day pointless IMO, just many more miles. Last July 1 the Paradise visitors center on Mount Rainier had 8 or 9 feet of snow on the ground.

Olympic NP is simply not visitable in a day, unless your idea of visiting is to stop at the entry sign and take a picture of it.

I would offer three alternative possibilities for nine days.

1. All California: SF - Yosemite - Tahoe - Crescent City - Redwoods - Mendocino coast - SF.

2. All coastal: SF - redwoods - Oregon coast - Olympic NP coast/rain forests - Seattle.

3. Pacific NW loop: Seattle - Palouse - Columbia Gorge - Olympic NP coasts/rain forest - Seattle.

Even with these highly reduced driving routes, you'll still be pushing it on some days, and you really should add a couple of days for rain/down time. May and early June are NOT summer in the Pacific NW and coastal northern California, let alone the Sierras or Cascades.

We spent 4 days in Yosemite, 13 days in Oregon, and 13 days in Washington. With just 9 days, stick to just one State and you will be far far happier.

Yeah, this is two or even three different trips. If you did this plan, you would need a vacation when you got home.

>>Day 3 – Yosemite, Lake Tahoe
Day 4 – Lake Tahoe, Napa, Redwood
Day 5 – Crater Lake NP
Day 6 – Cannon Beach, Mt. Rainier<<

Not only waaaaaaaay too much - it borders on insanity. Sorry -- I don't mean <i>you</i> are insane (since I don't know you I can't judge ;) ) . . . But this <u>plan</u> is nuts.

Just day 4 for example . . . Do you realize that Lake Tahoe to Napa to say Redwoods National Park is <u>9 full hours</u> 'behind the wheel' time . . . IF you don't hit any traffic at all. In real life - assuming you want to see anything at all, it is a 2.5 day drive.

How I would do this trip YMMV:
Fly to Portland and rent your car. Visit the sites in Washington and Oregon including Crater Lake. You will only be able to come into Crater Lake NP through the south entrance.
Return the car to Portland and then take the Amtrak Coast Starlight as far as Sacramento (arriving 6:30AM). Either rent the California car at 9AM downtown or take the Yolo Bus out to the airport to rent earlier.
See Yosemite and then see how much time you have left.
I'm thinking you don't have enough days. Skip Tahoe for sure.
If you return the car to Sacramento, you can easily take a Capitol Corridor train to Emeryville with a bus over to San Francisco if that is where you have to fly home from.
Riding the Coast Starlight through the afternoon and all night saves you many miles of driving and a drop off fee.
Sacramento is a good jumping off point to go to Yosemite IMO.

Thanks All for your inputs, as always…still trying to catch up on all the comments and will plan accordingly.

As part of the first steps, I have booked my reservation at Yosemite, Curry Village for 5/30 and 5/31. Can you please let me know what all I should cover in these 2.5 days – 5/30, 5/31 and 6/1…considering my return flight from SFO will be on 6/1 late evening/night

For scenic drives without running yourself ragged, I would stick to Yosemite, as much of Highway 1 as you can manage, and Point Reyes National Seashore. You might also enjoy the opportunities for photographs you would have if you include Historic Highway 49 in your routing: http://www.historichwy49.com/mainmap.html

HTtY

Does this revised trip look more "insanely" reasonable ?

FRI Day 0 – Land SEA at Night
SAT Day 1 – Olympic NP
SUN Day 2 – Olympic NP
MON Day 3 – Oregon Coast, Cannon Beach
TUE Day 4 – Crater Lake
WED Day 5 – Gold Bluffs Beach, Redwoods
THU Day 6 – Lake Tahoe, Yosemite
FRI Day 7 – Yosemite
SAT Day 8 – Yosemite
SUN Day 9 - Yosemite, Return flight from SFO at late night

Thanks.

No.

Despite advice on many boards including Fodors, Tripadvisor and others, you keep trying to squeeze Crater Lake into this trip. The zigzag from the coast is VERY long, and the rim road around the lake - which in many people's view (not all, but most) is the biggest draw - will be <i>closed</i> from snow when you're traveling.

From Olympic NP return to I-5 at Olympia, and aim for the Columbia Gorge east of Portland, for at least half a day. Then blast down I-5 to SR 38 and head out to the coast at Reedsport, and stay on 101 all the way to Calif. SR 20, then across the central valley, and approach Yosemite via SR 49 through the Gold Country. Skip Tahoe this trip so that you'll have more time in the redwoods.

You really REALLY need to get a good map . . . Orick (where Prairie Creek/Gold Bluffs are) to South Lake Tahoe is an 8 hour drive w/o any stops. And Crater Lake to Orick is about a 4.5 hour drive. So in two days you would spend at least 14 hours in the car (including stops/rest breaks) and not actually being anywhere . . .

You still have two trips in your plan... Wa- Or and then Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and San Francisco.

If you would pick one, you would get reasonable suggestions for travel routes, hotels and loved restaurants. It seems at this rate, you won't have time to eat or sight see.

I agree . . . either of the two trips is good for about 9 days, all together you have nearly 3 weeks worth.

You are not clear in my mind where you are spending the nights.
Drop a day in Olympia NP and drive the entire Oregon Coast through Brookings to Crescent City, CA. Spend a night there and then take US 199 north to Grants Pass to I-5 south to the Gold Hill exit. Take Rt. 234 over to get on Rt. 62 to get to the south entrance of Crater Lake. You will not be able to get all the way around the lake.
Gold Bluffs Beach is a campground. Were you planning on camping?
Have you figured out the drop off fee renting in Seattle and dropping off at SFO?
Another thought about the Redwoods: Make a stop for a couple hours at "The Trees of Mystery". The gondola ride to the top is nice.

You don't have time for most of tom's suggestions . . .

We did Mt. Rainier, the Oregon Coast, Redwoods National Forest, Jedediah Smith State Park, and Yosemite last summer. All were spectacular, but if I had to choose between the Lady Bird Johnson Grove in Redwoods National Forest or Stout Grove Jedediah Smith State Park, hands down the Stout Grove in Jedediah was far better.

http://discoverthewest.blogspot.com/...tate-park.html

You said you booked two nights/three days in Yosemite and asked what you could do in that time. I just posted a report about my three day trip to Yosemite, it should give you a sense of what you might be able to see in that time. Keep in mind I was there in March and it was not terribly crowded, I would think Memorial Day would be much more crowded, thus allowing you to see less (traffic jams, etc.)

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...-the-coast.cfm - just scroll past the SF part. Link to my photos - http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/cali..._national_park