Road trip with a 4 and 7 year-old from San Francisco on a budget?
 

Hello,
We just ditched our plans to travel back East for the summer and are looking for an economical 10-day road trip to take with our two boys, aged 4 and 7. We are considering many options, including San Diego for Disney, Legoland, and Sea World, but we are also interested in something like Yosemite and Mono Lake. Unfortunately, availability is quite limited in the high season, so something like Curry Village is out. Help! Any ideas are welcome!
Esther

I would suggest the following; drive to Mariposa;you'll find several nice motels there.Then after spending several days in Yosemite(close by) cross the TIOGA PASS visit Mono lake and drive to Mammoth lakes(there's a Motel 6).Return trip via Lake Tahoe.Paul

If you want to economize even further (San Diego) you could go to Santa Cruz and then Monterey. You could stop at Roaring Camp and ride the steam train instead of Disneys Fake train, and see the redwoods at Big Basin. Bosrdwalk for rides and Beach, Monterey for the Aquarium.

You could spend all your time in San Diego and the kids would love it - and it would probably be the most economical choice. See other posts in here (under California) for more info on lodging, etc.

What - with the Zoo, Safari Park ( http://www.sdzsafaripark.org/ formerly Wild Animal Park), Sea World, taking the ferry to Coronado, or a boat trip on the bay, going to the Museum of Natural History - or other places in Balboa Park, spending time at the beach - which is easier to get to here v. LA, visiting Lego Land 30 miles north in Carlsbad, and on and on, time would fly by.

If you wanted to see some of the Coast - here in San Deigo drive up to La Jolla and Del Mar - or if you want to go further - drive up Hi way 1/PCH as far as Laguna - and then over to the freeway (or take the freeway all the way) and up to Santa Monica - and back over 10 to the coast - through Malibu - and on to 45 minutes above Santa Barbara - where the kids would love the Danish pastry at Solvang as they would the windmills, and so forth. http://www.solvangusa.com/

That's about 4 hours (longer if you enjoy the Coast drive) - whereas driving to Yosemite is about 7 or more hours from San Diego, although if you kept trying - you might get a reservation at Curry Village as there are cancellations all the time.

You and the kids might also like to visit the Living Desert Zoo at Palm Desert ( http://www.livingdesert.org/ 2 hours from SD) - and also take the Palm Springs tram up to the top of Mt. San Jacinto - http://www.pstramway.com/ where you go through 7 different ecological zones on the way up. :)

Oh my gosh: Forgot - you can commute to Disneyland from San Diego (little over an hour - if you avoid rush hour) - or even stay around there for a night if you choose.

If you are interested in mountains and national parks, check out Sequoia and Kings Canyon instead of Yosemite - this is a great area with a lot to see that would be perfect for little kids.

Monterey/Santa Cruz would be a great choice - being from SF, this is your back yard though, so this might not be far enough away for you for a road trip. If you wanted to do a road trip down the coast, they would make a nice first stop though.

Have you thought about the north coast? Lots of redwoods and great coastline up there.

Check out Lake Tahoe area - North or South.

Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions, and sorry for dropping the ball! In thinking matters over, I think we'd like to venture further than our beloved San Diego route for this summer's road trip. I'm thinking now of saving San Diego for September and heading towards Tahoe, and introducing the kids to a little more wilderness. Unfortunately, I haven't had any luck with Curry Village in Yosemite, so I'm thinking of peicing something together from San Fran to South Lake Tahoe and maybe Mono Lake. I'm a little nervous about heading up to Yosemite with 2 young kids without a rez, and did manage to find a few nights at Fallen Leaf campground. Paul, what do you think about heading towards Mono via Tahoe? Too much?
Thanks again to everyone for all your thoughtful suggestions. Now I get to add Carsland to my list of San Diego fun in the fall!

If you drive from San Francisco to South Lake Tahoe, consider a stop at the Jelly Belly factory. Your kids would love it.

http://www.jellybelly.com/visit_jell...ory_tours.aspx

Some of the cabins in Curry Village will either be moved or torn down because of the danger of rocks falling on them from the cliffs. There are places to stay outside Yosemite and take the car into the park on daytrips if you can't afford or can't get a reservation inside the park.
You could also go over the Tioga Pass to see Mammoth Lakes and maybe even Death Valley if the kids want to see them.

You might try Wuksachi Lodge in Sequoia National Park. It wouldn't be as crowded either.

Personally, I would save Death Valley for the winter.

Hi again,
So, here is my thinking so far:
1. Drive to south lake Tahoe area and stay at Fallen Leaf campground (have pieced together two nights there so far!)
2. Head towards Mono Lake, stay overnight
3. Head towards Yosemite (keep checking cancellations everyday), stay 2-3 nights.
4. Head back to SF

We have 10 days for the entire trip available, so I would be grateful for any suggestions of spots that would be relaxing and fun for two young boys. They love to swim, play in the sand, pick flowers, and generally run around.

I guess my main concern is whether anyone has experience with young kids on road trips like this. I'm hoping that they are old enough to handle the travel, but young enough not to need to text their freinds every few minutes and complain about the scenery!

Thanks again to everyone for all of your input.
Montrealer

In the area you are considering - Topaz Lake is very pretty, http://www.topazlake.com/ and a little ways past/south of the turnoff to Tioga Pass/Yosemite - is the June Lake area - with Mammoth a bit further south. http://junelakeloop.org/

We used to drive it all the time in about half a day from Lake Tahoe when we went skiing there.

Do you have camping gear? You could camp anywhere along that route - and also in Yosemite Valley I believe - as I think they usually have campsites available along the river.

Or, and I have never done this - and some people cringe at it - rent a SUV/Camper and find various campsites. Never saw so many rental SUVs/Campers as on our trip last month from here to Zion and Bryce Canyon - Monument Valley - the Grand Canyon, etc.

The Big 5 Sporting Good stores of this world have great sales on camping gear, sleeping bags, all of it.

BTW - unless the kids get carsick easily - they will probably be zonked out in the back seat for a good bit of the journey. :)

From lake Tahoe you can easily drive to Yosemite via Mono lake.A one hour visit of the lake (State park) is enough.Paul

Perhaps you could borrow some camping gear? There are many many camping sites, not near the most popular ones like Yosemite, but norh of Lake Tahoe, in the Plumas National Forest on Hwy 89. There is the Lakes Basin there that has 5 lakes of various sizes, wonderful uncrowded areas with views to die for. The kids would never forget that experience. Access to small town grocery shopping and gas stations in Graeagle, about 10 miles away. Fabulous weather but chillier at night.
Swimming, fishing, pollywogging, little hikes, dinner at a restaurant if you need it. Most sites have water and toilet facilities, some have grills.
Very economical

Here's a link to my camping idea, above
http://plumascounty.org/Map/map.htm

Topza Lake is a mudhole. The euphemistic descriptor "Topaz" implies it is clear. It is not.

The kids would probably love Bodie State Park. It is an official ghost town that has been preserved. It is south of Brideport, before the Conway Summit descent into Mono Lake.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=509