Thanks for all the great ideas. We are now firming up on the rest of our accommodation and wondered whether it is advisable to book ahead for nice places to stay in Carmel, Cambria and Santa Barbera or whether in September there will be plenty of good accommodation available without booking ahead?
PS We have booked for San Francisco and Yosemite so far

It's less crowded after Labor Day, however I probably would still book the weekends. A lot of locals like to travel the coast when the children are back in school.

Could anyone recommend the best route to take from Santa Barbara to Yosemite and how long that would take and best place for an overnight stop if that is necessary

Sure. The most direct route is to head back north on US 101 to Atascadero and then take CA 41 north through Fresno to Yosemite. Google shows this route as about 6 hours 20 minutes in length.

But the quickest way may be taking CA 126 east from Ventura over to I-5 and then taking CA 99 up to Fresno and CA 41. Google shows 6 hours for this route.

Maybe someone from Santa Barbara who has driven these routes can answer this question.

Holy Bats, Robin!

Ain’t been here in ages, was reading this spicy meat-a-ball of a thread and saw me name on it, me one and only.

Two options: From Santa Barbara take the San Marcos exit on 154. It’s two lane, it’s slow, you still save 20 minutes, so what. I commute this often and always take this route. http://www.beachcalifornia.com/sanmarco.html

From Santa Barbara to Yosemite: think a big “L”. Take 101 North to Paso Robles and from there take the Fresno-Bakersfield exit, hiway 46 East.

Sorry Supercilious, CA 41 out of Atascadero will take you to the wrong bat cave unless its spring and you’re flower huntin’. It’s a back winding road to Shandon, slow and well just not the right road.

On CA46 just past a little dust bowl called Cholame, you will turn east on CA 41 towards Fresno. You can stop nearby and read about James Dean, or just read it here: http://members.aol.com/jaydeebee1/memorial.html

CA 41 glides right through Fresno and up into Oakhurst and Bass Lake. If you can’t make it to Yosemite, those would be my picks for the night.

CA 126 through Santa Paula only works if you’re staying south of Santa Barbara. You will have to back-track. Not my pick either way. I-5 to 99? ::: shutters:::

Never rub another man's rhubarb. - Joker

I don't know when you're going to be in Carmel/Monterey in September and I think you'll miss it, but BEWARE the California State Bar (for us lawyers) annual meeting takes place the last week of September in Monterey and the entire place is scary-booked.

I might go up that weekend and do some bottom fishing.

Hi we had a great vacation in CA. I think this is a big help www.mapjack.com try using this. It's a big help to me and the rest of the family.

Thanks for the tips guys. We are thinking of taking a couple of days to drive from Santa Barbara to Yosemite stopping overnight at Three Rivers so we can have a quick peek at Sequoia Park on the way up to Yosemite. Does this make sense?