We are taking a family vacation to California this summer and as part of the trip we will be visiting Hearst Castle and plan on spending the night in either San Simeon, or in San Luis Obispo (if it would make the next day's drive any easier)and the next day heading to Sequoia National Park/Wuksachi Village. Can someone please give me some help with this drive? What is the best route? We want to get there fairly quickly, that is, unless you can suggest something interesting on the way! We have reservations at Wuksachi for the night after we leave the San Simeon/San Luis Obispo area. We are staying in the park for 2 days and then heading back to San Francisco. I would also like route information for heading back. Thanks! Susan.

I can't be much help with the route from SLO to Sequoia since I've never done it, but I can tell you that you will be crossing the central valley which is pretty much just farmland without much interesting along the way. It will most likely be hot, temperatures may be above 100yF. I would recommend leaving SLO as early as possible that morning so you can get across the valley before it really heats up.

San Simeon really isn't very far from San Luis Obispo, so I don't think that is much of a factor in where you stay. There isn't a lot to San Simeon though, so you might consider staying in Morro Bay instead. There are a lot of motels pretty close to the waterfront, and there are some shops and casual restaurants right on the water.

The central valley might be a big bore to Californians, but to this east-coaster, it was pretty interesting to see where all our produce comes from! I was also interested in noting the difference irrigation makes. Not boring at all, at least once or twice.

The southern route into Sequoia is slow depending on the number of RV's and trailers on the road. Also, the road has many curves and is uphill. The NPS website indicates it will take an hour for the 23 miles from the entrance to the park. They have a pretty good map on their website.

Good point elberko - when you've seen the central valley all of your life, it isn't anything special, but if you aren't familiar with it, then it's probably kind of interesting. As a kid we had endless car trips through the valley. We used to drive from just north of LA, all the way up the central valley to an area north of Sacramento at least 3 times a year when I was a kid. "Are we there yet?" In the summer it was so hot that we would drive at night.

I need to figure out the best route to take. We will be in San Simeon, should I head to Sequoia from there, or is it better to go to San Luis Obispo and head to Sequoia from there? Or maybe this does not make a difference! It matters to me only becuase I need to make our hotel reservations for the night before we drive to Sequoia and I an't decide between staying in San Simeon or heading farther south. Any roads to be avoided? Any help is welcome!

After looking at the map, I would take Hwy 46 (good road) from south of Cambria over to Hwy 101/46. Go north 3 miles to Paso Robles and turn right again (still Hwy 46) for 20 miles to pick up Hwy 41 towards Kettlemen City... Lemoore.
In Lemoore, Hwy 198 to Sequoia.

Hotel reservations could be made at Cambria - or Paso Robles. Paso Robles will be about 45 minutes closer to your destination.

This is the route I would take as well.

Thank you so much! One more question, about how long should this drive take?

Mapquest states from Paso Robles to Sequoia National Park, is 158 miles and takes about 4 1/4 hours. I would plan 5-6 hours because the highway is two lanes through the Central Valley - and then from Three Rivers to the Village it depends on traffic. As I stated earlier, RVs and trailers will slow you down going uphill on the winding road.