brooklynguy

Is it feasable to drive from LA (start early) to sequoia N.P. and back in the same day and get to see something ?

spirobulldog

In my opinion, it would be a waste of time not to spend at least one full day in Sequoia and preferably 2 or 3. I think you will see a lot of asphalt.

The trees are awesome. There are some really great hikes to be done there. What time of year are you considering going? We were there 3 weeks ago. Wuksachi Lodge is OK for lodging. The restaurant in Wuksachi had really good food.

janisj

First of all - "LA" is a VERY large place and where you are starting from could add an hour or more to the drive each direction.

But for one example, using Santa Monica as a starting point you are talking about nearly 200 miles and more than 3 hours if you don't hit traffic (hardly likely)

Sequoia is not a day trip from LA

PaulRabe

The short answer to your question is "No."

The long answer is "Technically FEASIBLE but not worthwhile." Mapquest shows 240 miles betweeen "Los Angeles" and "Sequoia National Park." It assumes 4.5 hours of travel EACH WAY, and that presumes NO traffic in Los Angeles (which is like presuming you won't see a 7-11 store). I've driven fourteen hours in a day, so it's not like I don't think it can be done. I just don't recommend it, even for a place as wonderful as Sequoia NP.

janisj

oops - my time calculation was waaay short. I figured to Visalia and then neglected to add the drive up into Sequoia. I agree it would take 4-5 hours each way IF you are lucky w/ traffic.

brooklynguy

We are going in July. We will be leaving from Beverly Hills.
What about leaving in the morning, say on thursday, staying overnight and returning the next morning.

POlson

We did it as a two day trip. We left in the late afternoon and drove to Visalia, stayed the night at a non-descript hotel, left early next morning, drove to Sequoia making stops in the park along the way until we arrived at Wuksachi in the late afternoon. We had a nice dinner at the lodge, stayed the night at Wuksachi. We explored some of the area the next day and then made the long drive home. The drive seemed really long and the trip really short. But, we were able to see the highlights including take several hikes, enjoy a nice meal and we saw two bears (one right outside our lodge window!)

PaulRabe

> What about leaving in the morning,
> staying overnight
> and returning the next morning.

Now you're getting closer. *IF* you can reserve lodging within the Park, then you can drive up to there by early afternoon. You can spend a few hours seeing the major trees before dusk, then collapse for the night. The next morning you can see some of the other sights of Sequoia and Kings Canyon, and drive back the next afternoon.

I notice you say "we," from which I conclude you'll have more than one driver. This will make the drive much safer, as it'll be less likely that you'll have someone driving in a zombie-like state in Los Angeles freeways.

MUCH more feasible, but still not recommended. The Sierras are a trip unto themselves; to glance at them while visiting Los Angeles is just not the way to properly visit them.

WuksachiStaff

I agree with the other posts. Making a 2 day trip would be about the shortest time I would recommend. There really is a lot to see and do in Sequoia, especially if it's your first time going. If you have never been to Sequoia before, you aren't going to want to rush the experience, and even with a 2 day window you're not going to have a whole lot of downtime. With traffic taken into consideration, plus the fact that July is peak tourism season, I would say you would be lucky to make it to Sequoia in 5 hours.

I would suggest taking one day to make the drive and maybe see a few sights, then just take it easy and unwind a bit. The next day you can spend all day exploring the park. There is a lot to see in Sequoia, but Kings Canyon is only a short drive away too, and your entrance pass is good for both parks so you might want to check that out as well. Since you will likely be doing at least some hiking, your body will thank you for not jumping right into the car and driving for 5 more hours. The final day, sleep in a couple of hours, check out, then tackle the drive back. That's just my suggestion, but I think you'll enjoy making more of a vacation out of it, rather than rushing up and back again.

spirobulldog

Brooklynguy Now I think that would be worth doing. You just don't get a sense of the trees size until you see them. The tree in front of the museum, makes the building look tiny. Hike Congress Trail and see General Sherman Tree. Wuksachi is good place to eat. We had 5 meals there and all of them were outstanding. Get gas before entering the park. There is nowhere close to get gas. It looks like you will get to spend 1 1/2 days there. That really isn't enough, but I would still do it. You can see the trees. Maybe hike Moro Rock, or see the cave.