Driving Tahoe to LA - how long?
 

Hi all,

In a couple of weeks I'll be driving from Lake Tahoe to LA. I was thinking of taking 395 then 14. Is this the best route, and does anyone know how long I can expect this to take me?

Also, rather than spending my last night in an unnecessarily expensive hotel at the Tahoe ski resorts, I was thinking of coming off the slopes at the end of the day and driving an hour or two South before stopping up for the night, then doing the bulk of the journey the next day. Can anyone recommend a decent overnight stopping point just to the South of Tahoe - my map looks pretty blank apart from a couple of tiny looking places called Topaz and Coleville! Any ideas?

Many thanks.
Cheers,
Dave

"my map looks pretty blank apart from a couple of tiny looking places called Topaz and Coleville!"

That is because it is a pretty remote area - no real towns to speak of. Your best bets would be a bit farther south at Bridgeport or Lee Vining.

If you were taking more time I'd suggest Bridgeport because it is the closest place to Bodie. But it seems you really are just looking for a stopping off point. So I'd choose Lee Vining - it is larger w/ more motels etc and it is on the shore of Mono Lake which is beautiful and really fascinating.

Or if you are making good time - Bishop would be good . . . . .

The drive on the eastern sierra side is longer than driving I5 or 99 to Sacramento and then 50 to Lake Tahoe.

With no traffic via 395 will be almost 10 hours. In Bishop and other small towns there are stop lights along 395 so it gets slower there.

On I5 or 99 you should expect to take at least 8 hours. Suggest getting through stockton and Sacto outside commute hours as that will slow you down significantly.

If you do the 395 way you can stay in Gardnerville.

If you drive via I5 you can stay anwhere along 50 like Placerville or even off 50 near Sacto. Lots of new places at the Zinfandel exit.

Our family has gone up and down 395 countless times. We like staying in Bishop, either coming or going to Tahoe.
I know it is longer, but if you get a good start in the afternoon, it will make the next day drive easier. A straight drive always took us 10 hours with gas and food stops.
8-)

We, too, enjoy 395. The Eastern Sierra vistas are beautiful on this drive. However, a few warnings:

There has been lots of snow this year in the Sierra, so a good-size storm in April is not unheard of. If that's the case, there may be areas of 395 where snow chains are required, and only one lane is plowed in each direction. In this case, the 5 will be much faster.

The 395 and 14 narrow to 2 lanes in a few areas (usually when you're stuck behind a big, slow hay truck :) )

When 395 is wide open, it is very easy to go way too fast (I have the speeding tickets to prove this).

Interesting sites/stops along the way:
Bodie Ghost Town, near Lee Vining
Mono Lake
Manzanar Interpretive Center, near Independence (former site of Japanese Internment Camp).
Mount Whitney, highest point in continental U.S.
Alabama Hills (where lots of western movies were filmed)
Airplane "graveyard" near Mojave.