Am I crazy
 

to even think about a drive through visit of Yosemite with an itinerary that has us leaving Los Angeles (by car) early in the morning with reservations in San Francisco that same night? Never seen Yosemite before, except from the air. What do you think?

That's not completely crazy if this is your only opportunity. Getting out of LA early may be a challenge if you have to deal with commute traffic. But go up 99 to 41 and into the park via the south entrance. If you are going during the summer it will be light until about 9 pm. You could take the tram tour of the Mariposa Grove and then drive to the valley to see the valley sights. Then drive out via 120 to SF. It will take about 4 hours to SF from the valley so decide how late you can stay.

Better to drive through then not to see at all. But... you said "us" - are there, by any chance, any children? This would be difficult for them.

Oh beachbum, try, try to stay one night at least in or near Yosemite. Once you get there, you won't want to drive right through.

In any case, don't miss Glacier Point.

Thanks for the quick replies. This probably won't be our only chance, but I don't know when the next opportunity might come. So..... And yes, our kids and an extra will be with us: two 20 year olds and a 15 year old.

beachbum,

I recently took a detour through Sequoia NP on my way home to LA from Fresno. It added over 3 hours to a normally-4-hour drive, but I think it was worth it.

Try to leave LA by about 6 am. I agree with both Suzie and Barbara. Enter from the south, hit Mariposa Grove first, maybe lunch at Wawona, then up to Glacier Point. You can finish up in the Valley before heading for SF. Both trams tour (Mariposa Grove and Yosemite Valley) are wonderful.

It will make for a long day, but you have lots of drivers that can share the burden. :) Trust me, you are not missing anything by avoiding the 5 freeway.

Thanks again for the helpful and encouraging replies. I think we'll give it a go. Barbara, I'll ask the kids, but doubt they'll want to sacrifice any LA area plans for a night around Yosemite.

<i>Trust me, you are not missing anything by avoiding the 5 freeway.</i>

Don't I know that! ;-) We used to do annual dads and kids roadtrips from Portland to Six Flags, Disney, and Universal when my two were much younger.

Bribery?!

Here's a link to give you a taste of Yosemite.

http://yosemite.org/index.html