My husband and I will be driving from Oklahoma to California in the first part of November. We have two weeks or a little more to see all we can in California. We were planning to visit Los Angeles, then make the drive up the coast to San Francisco, seeing all the coastal areas on the way. After several days in Los Angels, We were then going to round out the trip with a stop in both Lake Tahoe and Yosemite for a couple of days each. We are worried about the weather and the driving conditions in the Lake Tahoe/Yosemite areas. I've noticed that other posts to this board have mentioned that the weather is usually okay until the middle of November. So, would it be better to do Yosemite first? Or should we plan to come back another time in Spring or Summer to visit those areas and spend more time in Southern California this trip? Also wondering if the crowds will have thinned out by November or if we still need to get lodging reservations soon.

Oops! I meant to say after spending a few days in San Francisco, we will be heading to Lake Taho and Yosemite.

The weather that time of year is difficult to predict. Either place could be dry or snowy. Though Tioga pass closes in winter after the snow starts, the Park stays open, which would mean you'd be driving in from the northwest if you came from Tahoe. This is a tedious drive as compared with directly from SF. Yosemite is pretty that time of year. If you're not accustomed to driving in the snow you may want to postpone a trip to the mountains for a less risky time, weather-wise. BTW travel in November is very good, few tourists.

Just a note about S CA: One Thanksgiving recently our entire family gathered in our hometown (near Ventura) Our kids swam at the pool and we drank Margaritas in the bright sunshine. My husband, who grew up in the northern CA mountains is always amazed at the weather in S CA during November and December.
Good Luck with your travel plans.

Suzie gave you good info. November is real iffy in the mountains. Everything from 50° and clear to heavy snow closing the roads temporarily. Most likely is light snow but you never know. If the roads are open (Tioga Pass will likely be closed for the winter by then) you will need to carry tire chains (If you are renting the car in So Cal they may not have chains to rent). When there is heavy snow in the Sierra you either need snow tires and a 4WD or chains. And the Hwy patrol checks to make sure you have them.

So even if the weather looks good, you might want to rent or buy chains once you get to No Cal. It would be a shame if you were turned back just because of chains.

If I were doing the SF-Yosemite-Tahoe loop in Fall/winter, I would go into Yosemite from the west on hwy 147 (low altitude and more direct from SF) and then come back out the same way and take hwy 49 north to Placerville and Hwy 50 to south Lake Tahoe. This route will miss the highest passes around Yosemite.

Adding my two cents---Janis, don't you mean Rt. 140 through El Portal? Your advice to take 49 to 50 to get to Tahoe is a fun trip. Along the way are the little towns of the gold rush days. Now many antique shops and wineries. If you wanted to see sequoias you could stop at Calaveras Big Tree St. Park. However, I'm not really sure I would want to try the Tahoe part. As others have said, the Yosemite Valley is always open and is gorgeous if there's snow on the higher peaks. Tioga Pass closes traditionally in November but you can still enjoy the park. Plan to have a candlelit dinner at the Ahwanhee Hotel. You might even be able to get reservations to stay if you call right now. I must admit I don't know Tahoe well and the altitude bothers me so we don't go, but many friends go up to ski. If it snows, the traffic going up is terrible on a weekend. You can rent chains along the way with a $100 deposit so you'll be sure to return them. Also, don't plan to drive Big Sur if it's raining. It becomes quite tedious and you won't see anything. If you look at a map of the state, just north of Santa Barbara is Pt. Conception--that's usually the dividing line between the drier southern weather and the wetter northern winters. That said, I recall a Thanksgiving day about 5 years ago when we sat on our deck in Palo Alto and ate crab while the kids were in the hot tub. Never can tell, I guess. I'm thinking you should spend most of your time in Southern California, with maybe 4 days or so in SF.

kam: Gee, thanks for catching that. My head must have been somewhere else when I was typing. And I actually meant Hwy 120 (where the heck 147 came from I have no idea)

Anyway, Hwy 140 gets you there to but that entails going south to Merced and 120 cuts over from Manteca.

I know you didn't ask for this advice, and please ignore me if you want, but I think your itinerary is a bit ambitious. Unless you plan on driving straight thru and not stopping overnight, you need to subtract 3 days at either end of your trip to get to and from California. That leaves you only 8 days. You'll need two or three days in LA, minimum, depending on what you want to do, two days, minimum, to drive to SF, three days in SF (and that won't give you any time in Napa, etc.) a day to drive to Tahoe and see it. That leaves you no days for Yosemite.

I think you need to consider flying to LA and then renting a car for your trip.

I offer this for what it's worth. Ignore if you want.

Actually, Linda, I appreciate your thoughts on this subject. I've been worried about this issue myself. One positive thing is that we will only take 2 days getting to CA and 2 days getting back. I'm hoping to extend our in state time anyway, so we have a full 2 weeks in California plus the driving time. My husband is not thrilled with the idea of L.A. so I had considered skipping it until I got the bad news about the weather. Luckily he is great at driving in the snow, so we may risk it. But I appreciate all the info. At least we know what to expect now. Thanks everyone, for your responses.

Tracie, If you don't want to spend a lot of time in LA at least spend a day in Santa Monica and go up to the new Getty museum--both for the art and the view back of LA. Also see Venice Beach and walk out on the pier. Would suggest spending time in Santa Barbara (or the Santa Ynez Valley just north), Cambria (Hearst Castle and Moonstone Beach), Carmel/Monterey then into SF over to Tahoe then down as Janis suggested on Rt. 50 to Rt. 49 to Yosemite and then blow on down to southern CA. Coming from Oklahoma will you arrive on interstate 10 or 8? If 8 then you should plan some time in San Diego and maybe a day at a beach town like Laguna Beach or Newport. I think two full weeks will be good and chances are it won't snow but it's good to know he can drive well in the snow if it does. Having lived in Los Angeles, I think you'll really be pleasantly surprised. Why it takes such a beating here I really don't know. Traffic is no worse than a lot of other big cities (the freeways are actually pretty easy) and the people are laid back and helpful for the most part. Have a great trip.