SanFran and Yosemite or Pt Reyes?
 

Am I crazy? I'm trying to put together a trip for my husband's 30th bday. It will be our first trip sans baby, and he doesn't have much vacation so I'm looking at a Wed/Thur to Sun/Mon trip in mid to late June.

He's a big baseball and outdoors fan, and has never spent any time in California. So...I loved San Francisco and hear that the bball stadium is great. I'd like to fly into SanFran, catch a game, maybe stay the night (depending on game time), and then head to either Pt Reyes or Yosemite. I know Pt Reyes is closer, but that's about all I know about it.

Should we camp/hike at Pt Reyes or would it be worth it to make the drive to Yosemite for 3 or 4 nights?

There are several camping areas at each - where should we camp at either park? We like backpacking, so wouldn't mind changing sites and doing some backcountry hikes.

Thanks for any suggestions!

My vote is for Yosemite in the spring. At that time the "backcountry" will still be snowed in . The waterfalls will be going off. Getting there ftom SF through the foothills will be nice.

Have fun
GP

Snowed in?? Yikes - guess I should check the weather - will it be too cold to camp in mid-June?

Definitely Yosemite ! been there twice,93 and 03, and the place is incredible. In spring full waterfalls make it even better. Sleep in the park, a must. Enjoy !

Point Reyes is very nice and certainly worth a visit, but it can't compare with Yosemite, one of our nation's great treasures. You'll do fine in mid-June, one of the best times of the year to go there.

I would definitely make the drive to Yosemite. Three or four nights there is plenty to see the valley and possibly make a drive up into the high country if the snow has melted up there. Hands down, I would choose Yosemite over Pt Reyes any day of the week. If you want to be on the coast, I would choose Big Sur rather than Pt Reyes. Big Sur is south of Carmel and has some of the most beautiful coastline anywhere in the world. Pt Reyes is nice to be sure, but if I was going to be in SF and wanted an outdoors coastal experience, I would choose Big Sur.

Weather in mid-June in Yosemite Valley should be great for camping. We have camped the last 2 years in mid May and it was terrific. Chilly mornings and warm days and warm enough in the evenning to comfortably sit out by the campfire until late. I wore shorts most of the trip this past year. The valley is at about 4000 ft elevation, so the snow melts early in the year. There will likely still be snow in the high country in June - much higher elevation than the valley, so spring comes later for that area - and the snow melt in the high country is responsible for the magnificent waterfalls in the valley.

If you choose the coast, the weather should be mild - chilly mornings, probably with coastal fog, warm days with the fog burning off late morning, and then cool nights.

Either place you choose, just pack layers and you will be able to adjust for whatever the temperature is.

Oh, and the baseball park in SF is terrific. I've been there 3 times and I love it - and I'm not even really a baseball fan. Last time we sat above 1st base, way up on the top level. We still had a decent view of the game and a magnificent view of the bay. I have to admit, I spent more time watching the boats and enjoying the scenery than I did actually watching the game - LOL!

I'm another vote for Yosemite. The most popular campgrounds in Yosemite are in the valley. There is one walk-in campground that doesn't take reservations but I'm sure you have to be there very early to get a campsite. You will need reservations at the other three campgrounds in the valley. The crowds start coming in June so the earlier in the month the better. Many schools don't get out until mid-June here in California.

Yosemite Valley won't have snow on the ground, but the high country might. Tioga Pass may or may not be open, depending on this winters snowfall.

Utahtea

In mid-June, some of the trails in the backcountry of Yosemite are likely to be still closed due to snow. Tioga Pass road is usually, but not always, open. That said, there is more than enough open in Yosemite valley and surrounding areas to fill your time. Even if you are backpacking, you will want to spend at least a day in Yosemite valley. Choices for backpacking in June are a bit dependent on trail/snow conditions. Do a bit of research on the NPS Yosemite web site (or a backpacking site) to understand some of the permit quotas and limits. You would almost certainly need reservations for the campgrounds in Yosemite valley, though some of the others a few miles away may not be full.

Point Reyes is a big reserve of coastal California. It is not as spectacular as Yosemite, but it is a lot quieter and beautiful in it's own way. Because it is low elevation, the backpacking is easier, but it is through old (or current) ranchland.

I would choose Yosemite if you have several days. Whether you backpack, camp at one of the drive-up sites, or find lodging in the valley or surrounding area, would depend on your priorities and availability. Backpacking has it's complications; you have to hope your gear survives the airline baggage handlers, deal with stove issues (can't carry fuel in baggage), and food storage; the store in Camp Curry at Yosemite sells backpacking supplies and rents bear cannisters for food storage.

Thanks, everyone. I was kind of leaning toward Yosemite, but I didn't know if it would be too long of a drive. I'm thinking it's about 5 hours? Is that accurate?

Can anyone recommend particular trails or campsites in Yosemite? From what I've seen so far, they all look like they'd be good. Are there loop trails that would allow us to camp in the valley for a night or two and in the backcountry (assuming it's not frozen!) for a couple nights?

I'm used to planning backpacking trips in Shenandoah, so any resources about Yosemite would be great!

SF to Yosemite should be about a 4-4.5 hour drive as long as you don't hit traffic. If you leave SF after 3 on a weekday afternoon, esspecially on a Friday or on a Saturday morning, you will hit traffic. Otherwise, you should be ok.

In June, I would focus on the Valley and areas close to it. The high country is a serious walk from the valley because the change in elevation is huge so I don't think it is really practical to do a loop through the valley and the high country unless you are a serious backpacker. I believe that there are some backpacking campgrounds outside the valley, but not in the high country, along the John Muir trail. I haven't backpacked in years, so I can't really help you with the details. I don't think there are many backpackers on this board in general. I would check out some guidebooks to get some advice from some experts. I'm sure there are plenty of people who have written about backpacking around Yosemite.

Hmm - it sounds like we might be trying to accomplish too much to do backcountry as well as see the major highlights in the valley. I've read a lot that many of the valley campgrounds get REALLY crowded in the summer. I'd prefer something a little quieter - any recommendations? (BTW, I'm one of those anal retentive types who likes to have plans and reservations, so I've already got the first date reservations are accepted penciled into my calendar!)

I think I may be the first Pt. Reyes advocate here...my fiance & I went to Yosemite last year & Pt. Reyes this year. And while they're both wonderful, I'm actually a huge fan of Pt. Reyes. You can do back country camping within the part itself or stay at the nearby state park to car camp. We chose to car camp & do different day hikes each day. Just to give you an idea of the variety of hiking available, on one particular hike we went from cow pasture thru woods & up on a cliff over the ocean. We saw cows, pheasants, dear, crabs, herons, shark & seals all on one 4-hour hike. I'd happy to give you more info if you'd like

If you go to Yosemite, you will need to have your reservations set well in advance. The campgrounds in the valley are full from about mid May through mid September. In 1997 there was a flood that wiped out some campgrounds which the forest service decided not to rebuild. This means that there are fewer campsites in the valley and so there are fewer overnight campers. The crowds aren't nearly as bad as they once were, but Yosemite is still a popular destination and not a place where you go for solitude.

The good news is that Yosemite isn't the only place to go. If you are interested in the sierras - Sequoia and Kings Canyon are national parks which don't get nearly as many visitors as Yosemite. The northern Sierra is probably the least crowded, but it's also more remote, so you would have some more driving. Up along hwy 49 north of Downieville and Sierra City is an area called the Lakes Basin. It's also called the Sierra Buttes recreational area or something along those lines. The Yuba River runs through there and this is an excellent area for solitude and great mountain scenery.

If you want coastal camping, Big Sur is great as are the Santa Cruz mountains.

There is a park called Butano State park between SF and Santa Cruz that doesn't get a lot of people and has camping. For backpacking, you could take a couple days and do the "Skyline to the Sea" trail. This starts at the summit near Big Basin State Park and goes down to the ocean. Very cool. This is a well known route with lots of information published about it. Big Basin itself has some great trail camps. In Big Sur there are plenty of car camping and backpacking campgrounds.

There are just so many places to see in this state. Yosemite is spectacular, but if you are looking for solitude, that isn't the place for you. The best thing to go is get a couple guidebooks and read through them. There are just so many options here that it's hard to give advice.

The two most densely packed Yosemite valley campgrounds have been removed by the park service. The remaining ones are quite a bit better. The valley gets *much* noisier when schools are out and all the families with kids show up; the difference between late May and late June is dramatic.

There are campgrounds away from the valley (Bridalveil, White Wolf, Tuolomne Meadows) which make for good bases to a backpacking loop. The Hetch-Hetchy valley area is good for early season backpacking, as the elevation is lower so the snow is gone much earlier.

There is a popular backpacking campground at Little Yosemite Valley, past Nevada Falls on the trail to Half-dome. It's a very pretty hike, but there may easily be 50 people camped there on a weekend (and lots more doing the day trip up half-dome. They have food storage boxes and composting toilets there to try to manage the impact. Mid-June wouldn't be a problem for this area.

I love Yosemite. But honestly, I think if you've never been to California and you only have four nights, you might be better off staying closer to S.F. There are so many beautiful coastal places, and they are much closer than Yosemite. The drive between S.F. and Yosemite is about 4.5 hours, I believe, and it's a rather unremarkable drive. Don't get me wrong, Yosemite is spectacular, but you might make better use of your limited time by taking a shorter drive to one of the beautiful coastal sights north or south of S.F. Big Sur is especially amazing. Maybe better luck for camping weather, also, if you stay at ocean level. Bottom-line question: do you want ocean or inland?

Thanks for all the replies. I appreciate your solitude advice and you have some great recommendations for other parks. We're already planning a longer trip to SanFran with my inlaws to stay in a time share; since they're not into long drives and hiking, we'd like to do Yosemite now. I'm thinking we could probably talk them into visiting Pt Reyes with us, since it's relatively convenient.

Curmudgeon - thanks for the specific suggestions. I'll definitely look into those. I'm about to go buy a hiking Yosemite book so I can more specifically plan the trip. I'm still looking for suggestions for backpacking forums or specific reading, if anyone has any!

Thanks!