I posted a question last year re seeing redwoods in January, and had some most helpful replies. However, we had to postpone the trip, and now plan to come over to L.A. in June [from Australia]. I've been warned about "June gloom" in L.A., and am wondering whether that extends far up the coast. What are the nicest places in California in the first half of June, typically? We're after beautiful scenery, coastal or inland, short walks and interesting small towns. We will probably have 7-9 days to drive, and would consider departing from San Francisco, or doing a loop back to L.A. Many thanks.

Actually all of coastal CA is gloomy (by our standards) in June.

If you fly into SF, do a trip thru Napa Valley then head to an 'inland' destination like Yosemite. It will be beautiful then! There are lots of small towns to/from the park and the park itself is wonderful!

Drive back to LA/SF and it's traffic and fly home!

The entire coastline of CA is subject to morning fog in late spring. Some days it does not burn off. With that limited time, I'd urge you to not do a loop. You can do the coast all the way and have some wonderful tons and scenery even if it's not sunny a lot. By June there is no more rain, so you won't have that to deal with. There is so much to see just going from L.A. to San Francisco. Going north, there is Santa Barbara. Then, if you take 101 to San Luis Obispo, then rte 1, you can see the charming little town of Cambria, wineries nearby, and drive Big Sur Highway (one of the most spectacular drives in the world) to Carmel, a quaint town with many shops, galleries, restaurants all clustered in a walkable area, as well as the beautiful town beach. We have been to Carmel when we didn't see the sun for 3-4 days at a time, and it didn't matter--it's that lovely. The Monterey Peninsula is incredibly scenic, with the 17 mile drive on the ocean, the Aquarium. Then San Francisco with all its' interests. You'll need all that time.

I would second xkenx's suggestion and do not do a loop back to LA. The further north you get the less the June Gloom seems to linger, but the whole coast can be impacted. If you stay near the coast in the time you have and don't mind a couple of long days in the car, consider going North of San Francisco into the Redwood Country and places such as Mendicono, Fort Bragg, maybe all the way to Eureka.
I love Yosemite, but in the time you have I'd stay closer to the Coast. You can get into the Sonoma and Mendocino wine country and skip Napa. Check out Healdsburg as you roll down the 101 from Eureka and swing into Sonoma en route to SFO.
Have fun!

Suelynne,

While the coast of California is beautiful, I have found many coastal drives in Australia equally as gorgeous. Once over the coastal mountains, the sky is usually clear.
I agree with sdfamily that yosemite is fabulous at that time of year. The waterfalls will certainly be full this year.

Where you visit depends on what you want to see and the type of weather you are willing to experience.

I would keep to a northern loop myself - SF to the redwoods (actually at their best in misty weather) then up to the southern Oregon coast, which may or may not suffer from the overcast that you see in June Gloom precincts farther south.

Then cut over to Interstate 5, maybe stop at Ashland (OR) for a night of the Bard (www.orshakes.org) then back down the freeway toward the Napa/Sonoma valleys and SF. Or, if time permits, you could cut east to Lake Tahoe, or down I-5 to I-80 and over to Calif. Hwy 49 through the (beautiful at that time of year) Gold Rush country, then back to SF.

Inland there won't be any gloom; in fact places like Ashland and the Gold Country will be wonderfully warm and sunny.

Many thanks for all these replies.
Yosemite and the redwoods north of SF are the real drawcards. I agree with BarbAnn about our Australin coastline, and, like Gardyloo, I think mist enhances nature.
Also, we don't need to spend too much time, if any, in wine country -we spent five days in the Hunter Valley [NSW] in January.
In my OP I didn't mention that LA is a given because our daughter is working there, and how far we can go depends on how many days she can have off. However, we'll be hiring a car - she has a California license but not a car - so we could depart from SF.
Would it be better to take an inland, faster route to Yosemite and then head for SF and the Redwood Coast, or would the State Parks in Big Sur be a substitute for the coast and redwoods north of SF? How do Muir Woods or Big Basin SP compare? [I've read Magellan_5's excellent post on California Redwoods.]
Thanks again for all your help!

ttt

North coast or Big Sur? Difficult choice, but I don't think you can go wrong with either.

The redwoods north of SF, if you are looking to see the large stands of old-growth forest, are pretty far north. I think it is about a 4-5 hour drive from SF. Basically far enough North that protections were put in place before the loggers got that far and cut the trees down to build SF and surrounding areas.

Closer to SF are some really neat coastal areas though. And some nice redwood forests with some small stands of old growth trees.

Big Sur is really about the coastline - and although there are some neat forests, including redwoods, I don't know of any old growth stands down that way. Limekiln is probably my favorite park down there - it is relatively small, but has a neat accessible beach and some nice short hiking trails along a couple creeks.

Muir Woods versus Big Basin - I would pick Big Basin over Muir Woods, but Muir Woods is good too. Muir Woods just tends to be more crowded because of its proximity to SF. Big Basin is a little more out of the way, so the crowds are less. Big Basin is also larger, so it is easier to get away from the crowds.

I'll throw out another idea - Sequoia national park. We saw some giant trees, two bears, and enjoyed a couple of great nature hikes - including a paved trail around a lovely meadow with one of the aforementioned bears watching us from her quiet spot under a tree in the meadow.

After a day or two in L.A., I'd drive to Sequoia for some big trees (stay at Wuksachi lodge), then on to Yosemite for more big trees and waterfalls, and then a few days in San Francisco. We were in Yosemite last June and it was gorgeous. The drive from LA to Sequoia is very manageable. I think there is a current thread that discusses drive times, routes.

So I would probably recommend the following for 7 nights:
Los Angeles - two nights, leave in the morning for Sequoia
Sequoia - one night
Yosemite - two nights
San Francisco - two nights (you could still do Muir Woods or Big Basin and see a little of the city, or maybe head over to Sausilito).

Thank you for these recent suggestions. P_Olsen, I'll have about five days in LA before my husband, hopefully, joins us, so I don't have to factor in LA and jetlag.

Would it be too much to drive to Yosemite, spend two nights, drive to Sacramento for one night, then on to Ferndale for two, down to SF for two, and then down Highway 1 to LA, breaking it for one [or two?] nights?

Am I right in thinking that Muir Woods has some small stands of old growth redwoods? If so, which trails take these in?

Would it be better to have the first night at Sequoia, then go to Yosemite for two, and then base ourselves in or near SF for several days, rather than going all the way up to Ferndale? [I'm interested in Sacramento, but was thinking more of it as a stop on the way to Ferndale.]
Would we be able to get one night's accommodation in Sequoia if it were a Saturday?

Reading other threads, I see that booking accommodation is going to be a big problem, especially at weekends, and especially as we won't know whether my husband is going to be able to join us until April or May! What do we book? Should we try to book family rooms/cabins to cover either scenario? Is the second week of June school vacation time - I don't think it is, but need reassurance.

Thank you once again for your patience. Unlike my daughter and husband, this will be my first trip to USA, and I'm trying to come to imagine the distances, windy roads and traffic.

It looks like most of your trip you are planning to drive about 200 miles per day, until you leave Sacramento and go to Ferndale, which would be about 300 miles that day. With the type of roads you are probably looking at a good 5-6 hour drive.

The one part that might be a problem is going the back way into Yosemite. Tioga Pass is closed during the winter due to snow. In 2007 it opened the middle of May, but in 2006 it didn't open until Jun 17. In 2005 it was June 24.

You can go back to the 99 and go through the front entrance if it is still closed, but you will be adding a little more travel time.

After reading my post I should clarify, the 300 miles would be 5-6 hours.

My husband had some more thoughts to add to my earlier post:


The great draw of Sequoia is the big sequoia trees, which are spectacular in a different way than coastal redwoods (more girth, slightly less height). I should clarify that using Sequoia as a one-night stopover on the way from LA to Yosemite would involve a lot more driving than simply heading straight to Yosemite from LA. Looking at all of your posts again, I would guess that you'd be better served, driving-wise, heading straight to Yosemite from LA. Yosemite also has some sequoia groves, so if your goal with Sequoia Park would be to see big trees, you may wish to skip Sequoia and hit one of the Yosemite groves (plan ahead for a tour). This might make more sense also if you plan to drive all the way north to Ferndale during your vacation.

If you had two days in Yosemite, that would be far better than one day: there is a lot to see and travel through the park can be very slow in June. I would look at detailed information in advance, but other than lodging I wouldn't worry too much about booking tours as late as May. However, if you wanted to eat at the Awhanee Hotel in the heart of the valley (booking rooms would be nearly impossible for June), you should try to reserve a table as soon as possible.

Lodging would be very tough inside Yosemite park in June, but we managed to secure a spot at Tenaya Lodge (more a big hotel than a lodge) and were very comfortable. (That hotel is outside the south gate, which would be convenient for driving from LA. As you would be heading north on your departure day, you'd need to pack up but can tour the park a little more on your last day because the shortest route north would be down through the valley.)

I don't know if you'd have a problem with a one-night stay on a Saturday in either national park (we haven’t done it), but in our experience in California that has been more of an issue with beds and breakfasts than with hotels.

The SF area has several redwood groves, but it would be hard to advise against seeing the redwood forests up north. If you choose a base in SF, I also think that Muir Woods would be more crowded and I also prefer Big Basin, near Santa Cruz, for its redwoods and hiking.

As for driving, the best route from LA to Yosemite would be 5 to 99 to Hwy 41 out of Fresno to the southern entrance of Yosemite. Plan about 5-6 hours for the drive. (If you included Sequoia in the trip, I would plan on spending the night in Sequoia. It would take about 5 hours to drive from LA, and you can head north out of Sequoia for Yosemite; plan on 3-4 hours between the parks.) That route would avoid the potential that Tioga Pass would still be closed in June, as you would stay on the west side of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

It took us about 6 hours, with kids, from Tenaya Lodge in Yosemite to Napa Valley on our driving trip in June last year, and you can count on about 2-3 hours more for Ferndale, so I would definitely plan on staying somewhere midway. Sacramento is not a bad spot. Old Sacramento and the capitol building are mildly interesting for relatively short diversions, but if I were driving all the way to Ferndale I'd probably not spend more than the night in any stopover place. I’d ask for more advice about driving to Ferndale from Yosemite. I think if it were me I’d drive north via Hwy 99 to Sacramento, then on I-5 to Redding, then Hwy. 299 west to the coast (it ends near Ferndale), and then drive 101 south to SF.

Driving south, plan on a full day or more if you take Hwy 1 between SF and LA. The highway through Big Sur (which is beautiful coastline) can go very slow during summer. You could plan on two days, however, and plan a side-trip to Hearst Castle in San Simeon (plan 3 hours or more for guided tour), which is interesting in a gaudy sort of way. Good stopovers on that route would be Cambria (about 30 minutes south of San Simeon, lots of mid-priced motels, some kitch, some nice eateries), San Luis Obispo, or (best of these) Pismo Beach a short distance south of SLO. Driving Hwy 1 from SF to SLO would take anywhere from 4-6 hours, and from SLO to LA another 4 (depending on traffic, which can bog down south of Santa Barbara and into LA).

Thank you POlson for your incredibly helpful advice. If my husband joins us, Sacramento is definitely a stopover, as he's crazy about trams [street cars?]
Otherwise, he thinks it's a doable itinerary, and the finer details you've given us are going to help us firm things up with our daughter.

Definately go from 5 to 99 to 41 to Yosemite. If possible stay in the park, as it is an hours drive from the entrance into the park. If possible...I would include Lake Tahoe, as June is a great time of the year to go there. It would be cool, but usually sunny or cloudy. It is really breathtaking.

I also wouldn't loop back. It is a long drive, about 7 hours solid driving from LA to Sacramento where I live. I would try and see everything on the way, even if you have to traverse back and forth some. From Sacramento to the redwoods is about 5 hours.

If you want nice coastlines, then go to Santa Barbara, Carmel, Monterey. But, if you only have a week, I would include Yosemite...perfect time of the year to see the waterfalls and they are magnificent in June, go from there up to the redwoods then drive down to SF. If you want to go down to Monterey, you can do that from SF. Or, you can head over there from Yosemite, then go north to the redwoods, but you will have alot more traffic that way rather than going up 5 and cutting over.

Thank you marilee12 - we'll take your advice into consideration. Getting worried about accommodation though, as I gather school's are out then.