The drive from Mendocino to Yosemite National Park is at least six and a half hours.
Do you know of any beautiful places between those places we can stop for a quick hike in nature or eat a meal somewhere quaint and nice ? Not fast food.
I know Sonoma is on our way, but we don't drink. So wineries don't interest us.
Any nice stops along our drive to stretch our legs and take in beauty would help. Knowing in advance about trailheads , cute towns, places to refill our water bottles with potable water, etc. would really help us plan our journey.
Thanks in advance.

Welcome to Fodors. We moved your thread to the US forum and tagged it for California.

I'm afraid the drive will take longer than 6.5 hours from Mendocino to Yosemite Valley. If you go via Santa Rosa and the East Bay you will have miles in heavy Bay Area traffic. If you go via Sonoma and Fairfield you have a long way on Hwy 12 which is a nasty drive because of too much traffic on an inadequate road. And if you go via Williams, I-5 and Sacramento the first third is on a slow winding road then heavy traffic through Sacramento/Stockton. There just isn't an easy route and in each case, closer to 8 hours wouldn't be at all unusual. Not really an option for hikes, much sightseeing, cute towns when there is an 8 hour drive involved.

Me - I'd stock up on snacks/beverages in Mendocino and then just stop at which ever freeway chain you see when you want to stop for lunch, and press on to YNP.

Oh - meant to add -- when is the trip? Different times of year and day of the week will definitely impact some routes more than others.

Thanks , I think we will break up our trip and drive from Sacramento to YNP , stay there a week, and then stay close to ( but out of) Sacramento for a night before driving to Mendocino.
So I guess my question now is, in early October, during the week, which way would you drive from Sacramento to Mendocino ? And are there any places that are pleasant to take a break on the drive from Sacramento to Mendocino ? Also staying on the Mendocino coast for a week.
Thanks.

Driving from Sacramento to Mendocino . . . There is no reason to break the drive anywhere.

If you are leaving from say SMF take I-5 north to Williams, then Hwy 20 all the way to the coast at the south side of Ft Bragg then south on hwy1 to Mendocino. About 4 hours total. I'd just get to the coast as quickly as possible.

Meant to add - where are you staying in Yosemite? Hopefully in the Valley - or at least no farther out than El Portal. Be careful when booking accommodations in and around Yosemite. "near the park" usually means a loooong drive in to the Valley. Even some places 'in the park' and/or close to the south entrance like Fish Camp and Wawona are still an hour to 90 minutes away.

The only locations outside the Valley that are convenient (30-ish minute drive) would be El Portal, Yosemite West, and Foresta.