Time line questions for first trip to California
 

I'm in the very early stages of planning a driving trip in California, and I'm not sure how much time we need to do what we want. We have 2 weeks, but could possibly add couple of days. We are doing this trip in September.

We are planning on flying into San Francisco and spending a day or two there.

The other areas that are top priority are Death Valley and driving down the coast, perhaps to Cambria.

So we're planning on doing a big circle.

Do we have time to include Yosemite?

Which way to do the circle?
What is the best route getting from the coast over to Death Valley and then back to SF?

Please help me get started on this itinerary.

Since you haven't mentioned LA in your plans (a choice for which I applaud you), there is plenty of time. I would go clockwise from San Francisco:

Over to Yosemite, then over Tioga Pass and down Highway 395 to Death Valley. From there, back out to 395b and a bit south to pick up Highway 178 over Walker Pass to Bakersfield. From there, Highway 58 will take you straight to Morro Bay, where you can pick up the coastal route (Highway 1) back to San Francisco.

This will allow you 2 or 3 days each for Yosemite (3 for sure there), Death Valley, and the coastal trip, with a couple of days devoted to connecting them.

Enzian, thank you so much.
Now I know that what we want to do is reasonable. I am leaving out LA simply because we don't have the time and I don't want to spoil the rest of the trip by rushing too much.

Now I can get into the planning, knowing, we can include the places that are important to us.
Clockwise sounds good.

September is one of my favorite times in Yosemite.

Once you know your trip dates, you should make your Yosemite reservations, so you can stay right in Yosemite Valley. Yosemite Lodge is usually the most practical choice; it's nothing fancy but the location is great. (Or if you are up for a lovely historic lodge, there is the Ahwahnee, but it is expensive).

And if you would consider staying in a tent cabin, spend a night in the high country at Tuolumne Lodge on your way to Tioga Pass. I believe they are planning to stay open until mid-September. It will be cold at night---the elevation there is around 8000 feet. But the scenery is spectacular, and there are some nice meadow walks (or hikes if you are interested in that).

Be sure to use the official website for booking Yosemite:

http://www.yosemitepark.com/Reservations.aspx

It will show availability, so you can check and see when things are getting booked up for September. After you have our Yosemite reservations, you can book the rest.

We haven't been to Death Valley yet, but we saw a friend's photos last weekend and it looks beautiful. I believe most people choose to stay at Furnace Creek---either the ranch or the inn (which may not be open in September). This you can book at Xanterra (www.xanterra.com). But ask for more recommendations before you do--maybe there is someplace better to stay.

We visit Death Valley a lot but never consider going in until the latter part of October. September will be blazing hot.

In the old days, there were advisories to avoid driving through DV in the summer but with the modern, reliable vehicles it can be done, but you wont spend much time out of your air conditioned car.

How hot is "blazing hot" and does it matter if it is late September?

Normal High on Sept. 1st: 110 deg.
Normal High on Sept. 30th: 105 degrees

Remember though, it's a dry heat ;)

Which will help a LOT (wink wink) if it hits the <i>record</i> highs on those days of 121 and 121 degrees F!

But will it make me sweat off the extra pounds??? Might be a good thing.

My friend and I agree that the hottest we've ever been was one summer in NYC. Horrible hot pavement hot. I thought we'd die, and it sure wasn't a dry heat. We were never without a water bottle.
( oh and my friend slipped on a slimey dead rat on the street!!.. ahh memories).

We hope to make more wonderful memories in California.

Thanks for all the advice.

Kodi, I don't think you have extra pounds to sweat off! :-)

The loop Enzian posted sounds great. Be sure to spend a couple of days in Yosemite.

We loved the Monterey Bay Aquarium - we'd planned to spend half a day there and ended up staying almost all day.

Lee Ann

Thanks Elen.
By the sounds of it, I'm not too early to start my planning. It seems I need to get cracking on my reservations for Yosemite and Death Valley. We'll allow lots of time on the coast , so we will have the time to stop at the Aquarium.

Yes---several days for the coast. Check on the driving time from Death Valley to Morro Bay; you may want to spend a night there or continue up to Cambria. (I don't think there's anything to stop for in between!)

Allow time for stops as you drive up Hwy 1, especially Pt. Lobos---we have seen sea otters in a protected cove there. And 2 nights at Monterey (or Carmel) so you have plenty of time for the aquarium.

If you enjoy cycling, it is fun to rent bikes and ride part or all of the 17-Mile DRive.

Thanks Enzian. Renting bikes sounds like fun.
And we'd be so happy if we saw the sea otters.

I've got my calendar out now, trying to set an itinerary. Once we know when we are flying in, we will book our Yosemite accommodations.

Hi, Kodi!

I like enzian route - except in reverse.

You want to drive along the coast on the ocean side because that's the best view and also when you do the turnouts you don't have to cross the road.

The other reason is that, with a few exceptions, the parks and other places that you want to go to are all right-hand turns if you are headed south.

Hi kodi, I too was thinking if you drive south you will be able to utilize the turns off's. But some people prefer going north as they feel more comfortable not being along the ocean side. I hope you have enough time while in SF that Toeds and I can see you!

Ah, yes, I'd like the thrill of driving on the ocean side. And I like the idea of right hand turns into the turnoffs.

Love, I've already emailed Toedtoes about dates. I'm assuming any date will be ok with you... since you don't work. I know Toed is away the first part of Sept, so I wanted to make sure. I'll let you know the dates for sure.

Good idea on the southbound coast drive. The only reason I suggested going clockwise was to put Yosemite earlier in the trip (just in case Tioga Pass closed early) and Death Valley later, hoping to avoid the heat.

But it sounds like the heat will be there whenever you go, and the chance of Tioga Pass closing early enough to cause you problems is minimal.

LI - We will definitely, absolutely, positively get together while Kodi's in SF.

Kodi - It sounds like your plans are coming in nicely. There's a company in Monterey that rents roadsters out by the hour. It would be great to drive one of those down 17 Mile Drive. http://tinyurl.com/yuo7tg

Toed, can you just picture me in one of those beautiful old cars? I'd love it. Or a Mustang like I had in New Mexico would be great too.

We will definately go southbound down the coast.

If we are going as far as Cambria area before heading inland to Death Valley, how many days should we allow?
I was thinking 2 days in SF and 3 days down the coast.
Would 3 days in SF and 2 days down the coast be better?