Spring California Trip
 

I have been thinking of taking a trip to California next spring in late April. I'm thinking that I might fly into Reno, then drive to Lake Tahoe where I will have the rest of the day before staying the night there. The next day, I will drive to Yosemite, where I will spend the next two nights. From there, it will be onto Carmel for a couple of nights before spending the last three nights in San Francisco, flying home from there. Does this plan sound alright or am I trying to crowd too much in? I thought that this seemed like a good variety. I have been to San Francisco before, it is one of my favorite cities, so I was trying to plan some things that I haven't done before with a trip there. Any thoughts?

It sounds like a good itinerary, but remember April can still be pretty cold and rainy. At Tahoe you could still see snow, at Yosemite you might still have pretty cold weather and snow at higher elevations and in SF you could (?)still have rain. April is our very unsettled month where nobody can predicet. Late April is better, but if you could wait till May it would sound perfect to me.

April can be a beautiful time in Yosemite. <BR><BR>I hope you realize that Tioga Pass into Yosemite from Hwy 395 will NOT be open by April. You will have to come down Hwy 88 or Hwy 50 and pick up Hwy 49 (the Gold Rush Hwy) and come in the Big Oak Flat Entrance to Yosemite. <BR><BR>Other wise your plan sounds good. <BR><BR>Utahtea

Hey utahtea, will he have to rent a four-wheel drive vehicle or is a regular rental car sufficient? <BR><BR>I'd say the itinerary is fine except you'd want one more day in Tahoe.

Sounds like a good itinerary. If you have been to SF before, I would consider instead spending more time along the Monterey Bay Area(Monterey anbd Carmel). That is without a doubt the most scenic part of the California coast. When was the last time you were in SF? From my previous trip there, I have noticed that it has been getting very rough around the edges(ie: trash in the streets/drug addicts on many streetcorners). Have you considered flying out of San Jose instead? You can often get better fares out of SJC www.sjc.org that SF airport without worry about fog delays.

To jbj:<BR><BR>Are you asking about four wheel drive because of snow? Snow in April is pretty rare but it does happen. I even think they had to close some of the main mountain passes last spring for a nite. <BR><BR>In Yosemite from Oct. through April Yosemite requries that you carry chains at all times even with a four wheel drive vehicle, yet most rental cars don't allow chains. You are kind of between a rock and a hard place on that one. <BR><BR>http://www.nps.gov/yose/trip/when.htm<BR><BR>http://www.4yosemite.com/parkinfo.htm<BR><BR>I don't think 4 wheel is necessary unless you are watching the weather forcast just before you leave and they are predicting snow! Even if it does snow it won't be on the roads for long.<BR><BR>Utahtea

if i could, i'd add on 1 more night in tahoe and switch it to may, if possible.

OK<BR><BR>From Yosemite to Carmel: Take the county roads from Coursegold to Chowchilla. 41 out of Fishcamp gets you to Coursegold. Get a good county map. It took me 2.5 hours.

<BR>Just be prepared for the amount of driving time you are talking about. A lot of those drives will take up half a day. You could run into snow in Tahoe, but since it is late April you may be in the clear. Sounds like you may be the outdoorsy type (Tahoe, Yosemite), so you might want to add a day to Tahoe instead of Carmel. Also, I recommend Monterey over Carmel. I went to Carmel once and was done checking the place out within about 15 minutes. Monterey has more to offer. Also, again on the driving time - are you flying home from Reno as well or from SF? That is also a long drive (5 to 6 hours). SF does have plenty of homeless, but still has all the vibrance, culture and charm it always had. You will have a great time!

Check out the town of Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula. It is located on the most scenic part and close to Carmel and Monterey. Go to www.pacificgrove.org to see what I mean.<BR><BR>San Jose Airport is a good suggestion. Easier to use and less likely to have delays than SF Airport. Even Oakland is better than SFO.

Tammy, in rereading this why do you want to fly into Reno? You just want to get to Tahoe? It's just as easy to get to Tahoe from SFO or Oakland and that way you could go round trip. Don't let the naysayers discourage you from SF. It's still a wonderful city. Yes, we need to make some changes, but it's not third world yet! Monterey has more activities, Carmel has more shops and little restaurants, and Pacific Grove has beautiful old Victorian B&Bs. You can pretty much take your pick depending on your preferences. The aquarium really is a wonderful experience in Monterey if you are at all interested in the Pacific coastal waters. We'll hope the rains stop before you arrive---most likely they will, but don't hold me to it.:~)

Kam, flying into Reno has nothing to do with the way I feel about San Francisco. I stated in my original comments that it is one of my favorite cities. I just figured that by flying into Reno that it would cut 2 to 3 extra hours of travel time (giving me a little more tim in Lake Tahoe). I have found in the past that flying into one city and out of another doesn't cost any more and can keep you from having to backtrack. I have stayed in Monterey before, but this time I was looking to be closer to the ocean and have found a pretty good deal at the Highland Inn in Carmel (my understanding that this hotel is near the ocean). I am planning on visiting the week after Easter, which will be the last week in April? Is the rainy season usually over by then? I wnet to San Francisco the last time in March and we lucked out with really great weather.

You will probably have dry weather in April. Sometimes we get a good storm or 2 during April or May, but not usually.

The Highlands Inn is about 10 minutes outside of Carmel on the road to Big Sur. Some of the rooms have ocean views, but the hotel is on a cliff on the other side of the road from the ocean. There is no beach.

10 minutes outside of Carmel? Is that good or bad? What kind of an area is the Highland Inn in? Remote? Scenic? Commercialized?

I would charactarize the Highlands Inn as scenic and remote. It is across from Pt. Lobos State Park. You would have to drive into Carmel village. The charm of Carmel is in the village itself -- especially at night or early in the morning when all the tourists have gone home. It is fun to walk all the little streets and visit the art galleries. There is also a nice walk along the beach, but there are no hotels on the beach. If you really want something on the beach you might have more luck in Pacific Grove or Monterey.

No, Tammy, you misunderstood me. I didn't think you didn't want to visit SF, I just thought the fares might be less if you round trip from SFO or Oakland.