jul4

in june we will fly into san francisco and wnat to go to see yosemite/kc and seq.
Thinking two spend two full days in Yosemite-which hikes are must dos? we are in good shape so any day hike is acceptable. Especially want to see some waterfalls.
In KC abd Seq really want to do crystal cave. what else is a must see?
we will hav e about half a day on the day we arrive and leave to do other things. any must see things in area close by?
recommendations on what city to stay in? (I am assuming to late to book in the park)
Thanks

StuDudley

I have no idea abut how many days you have allocated to visit these places. It is too late in the year to reserve & stay inside the park - unless you get lucky. To get 2 full days inside Yosemite and starting day 1 in San Francisco (possibly) - you really have to stay there (outside the park) for 3 or more nights. For a half day in the other parks, you need about 2 nights in each. And in a half day you are not going to be able to take many hikes. Traffic & access is difficult in June.

Stu Dudley

janisj

The ONLY places I'd stay (assuming you can't get into Yosemite Valley) would be Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal, or a condo/cabin either in Yosemite West or in Foresta. ANYPLACE else will be more than an hour from the Valley - and much longer in summer traffic.

jul4

Sorry I feel like I was not clear enough.
Day one fly in and drive to kings/ Canyon (see something in the way or nearby)
day 2 and 3 stay and hike kc and sequoia
drive to Yosemite in evening
day 4 and 5 Yosemite
day six leave and drive to Vegas (see/do something in the way )

So far booked first two nights in three rivers
thanks for advice about where to stay in Yosemite will do that today.

Still would love ideas about what are must do in each park. We are in good shape.
I want to see waterfalls also crystal cave sounds cool.

PaulRabe

> which hikes are must dos?
> we are in good shape so any day hike is acceptable.
> Especially want to see some waterfalls

The hike from Glacier Point down to the Valley is a half-day hike, during which you'll get right next to Vernal Falls & Nevada Falls.


What you'll see on the hike.

You'll have to either (1) take the shuttle up to Glacier Point
https://www.travelyosemite.com/thing...#collapse-5152
or (2) have someone drive down to the Valley instead of taking the hike.

Patty

If you can find availability inside SEKI, that would be better than staying in Three Rivers. Check Wuksachi, John Muir Lodge/Grant Grove or even Stony Creek. There are construction delays this season if entering from Three Rivers https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvis...nstruction.htm and it would be a really long drive to the bottom of Kings Canyon from Three Rivers. Highlights of SEKI are the sequoia groves and the drive down into the canyon.

jul4

ill check again about seki
for yosemite is oakhurst too far? its had too tell on a map (says its 12-16 miles??

janisj

>>for yosemite is oakhurst too far?>its had too tell on a map (says its 12-16 miles??

MichelleY

Janis gives great advice.

jul4

i saw tour previous post thats why i was checking..when i put in yosemote valley one websight stuck in places in oakhurst

janisj

Not quite sure what you mean - what website? Oakhurst is not at all near Yosemite Valley but is close to the park boundary.

tomfuller

Oakhurst only makes sense if you are coming from the south. A few years ago my wife and I caught a bus from Barstow to Bakersfield and got on the San Joaquin train to Fresno. We got a taxi from the train station to the Fresno airport to rent a car. We spent the night in Oakhurst before going in the south entrance. After entering we took the right and drove out to see Mariposa Grove. After the Grove, we headed for the valley. Immediately after going through the tunnel is a viewpoint that is one of the most spectacular anywhere with a view of the Yosemite Valley including Half Dome.
If you wanted to go to Sequoia first, you might want to take the San Joaquin south from San Francisco (via Oakland) to Fresno and renting a car there (at FAT).
There are flights from Fresno to Las Vegas on Allegiant Airlines. You really don't want to drive from Fresno to Las Vegas at any time of the year.

Gardyloo

New to this thread and have some comments...

If you're landing in SF and then going to SEKI, then Yosemite, and THEN Las Vegas, you're sort of doing things a bit backward IMO. If you could start north and head south, you'd have fewer driving hours.

I don't have any words of wisdom on the Yosemite lodging/access issue. Staying outside the park and commuting in over two or three days is a recipe for frustration in my mind, but if I had to do it I'd probably look at some possible substitutions for your itinerary. For example, if you skipped SEKI you could swap the Calaveras Big Trees State Park, located on CA 4 a few miles east of the cool gold rush town of Murphys. The gold rush country and towns along CA 49 are terrific at that time of year. You could (traffic will still be lousy) stay in Mariposa and do a long day trip into Yosemite Valley. Yes, you'll spend more time on the road than you'd like, but you could see the waterfalls and vista points and still make it back by night; daylight hours will be really long in late June.

What's the overall plan? We see you flying into SF and traveling to Vegas, but what happens after that? You might do the math on just returning to SF after Yosemite and flying to Las Vegas; you might save a lot by not having a one-way rental car, and flights from SF to LV are quite cheap - around $60 one way.

janisj

Oh -- jeeze. I totally missed the order you laid things out. SF > Sequoia > Yosemite > Vegas makes absolutely no sense. None . . . Unless you drop the car in Fresno and fly to LV. But that still is a schlepp SF > S/KC > YNP > Fresno.

Patty

I had assumed the OP wanted to drive across Tioga Pass to head toward Vegas hence the south/north/south routing but after re-reading it sounds like s/he is trying to reach Vegas on Day 6?

janisj

The first post listed them SF, YNP, Sequoia, KC

But in the 'clarification' post the order was reversed - so I'm not really sure now . . .

Jean

Just a point about driving times.... The speed limit inside the mentioned parks is only 30 mph, and it's enforced. Also, in June, just getting through the entrances and into the parks can take some time, especially on weekends.

janisj

>>Also, in June, just getting through the entrances and into the parks can take some time, especially on weekends.>Each year, Yosemite National Park welcomes over five million visitors. If you are planning to visit Yosemite, plan ahead and arrive early. In summer, expect extended traffic delays and extremely limited parking. Expect delays of an hour or more at entrance stations and two to three hours in Yosemite Valley.

jul4

I actually got a real map and see why this is a bad idea. Now thinking of flying into lax. Going to Yosemite for 2 days. (3 nights) ( staying either in park or where Janis recommended) then going to mammoth lake for one day /night then just going to kings canyon for a day/night ( mostly to see Canyon )Then go back to lax. ( we need to fly from somewhere southwest goes)
does that make more sense ?


also so if you get to Yosemite early are we still gonna have a long line getting in?

jul4

Also going to look into big tree state park
To see how that could fit in.
Open to all advice thanks