We are planning a trip to the Napa Valley, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, Monterey Peninsula area in 7-day time frame. We are planning this trip around the end of January. Any suggestions on points of interest and how our time could be most utilized. Also, what kind of weather conditions might we encounter?

<<what kind of weather conditions might we encounter?>>

Light rain, heavy rain, wind, gale, frost, black ice, snow, blizzards, morning fog, tule fog, sun, clouds, cold temps, mild temps, warm temps.

You're going to spend a lot of time driving and not a lot of time seeing sights if you try to hit all of those places in 7 days. I would cut back to 2-3 spots, based on your interests. Snow will make some of the passes near Tahoe and Yosemite impossible (I think, locals can confirm), so it may be slow going on more roundabout routes.

It is nearly impossible to see all of these places in only 7 days. I would pick 2 or 3 of your top choices instead.

Weather can be pretty unpredictable that time of year. Sometimes there will be weeks of dry, sunny weather, other times it will be a sequence of storms moving through from Alaska (usually with a break of a day or so between). If the storms are coming through, there will be snow on the roads around Tahoe and Yosemite; chains probably required during and for a day after the storm. Avoid Tahoe on the weekend (especially going there on friday or return on sunday. I would plan to adjust the trip based on the weather. Some of the Sierra passes close for the winter; for the rest, the higher they are, the more likely they will have storm closings or require chains. Unless you want to ski (or the weather is predicted to stay clear), I might leave Tahoe off the trip and stick to the others for less driving hassles.

Unfortunately, Northern Cal weather is NOT like Southern Cal's weather (darn it!). During January we will likely have cool temps, chance of sprinkles etc. Bring jackets and sweaters for the evenings and you may need them in the daytime as well. Many people come to Northern Cal in January or February with things like swim suits, shorts or things and are disappointed in the cool climate. California is a huge state with lots of different weather conditions. Just make sure when you check weather before coming that you're checking for Northern and not Southern Cal.Enjoy!

Doesn't sound like much of a vacation to me! Do get out a good map and plot the distances between all these places, and take into account the roads that may be closed or require chains -- which makes for very slow going. You won't see much of anything except out your car window!