Trip to Calif/Nevada
 

We are planning a trip to Calif/Nevada late Sept/early Oct.
I have a couple of queries.
How long in hours will it take to drive from Palm Springs to Las Vegas - what kind of road it it via Blythe & Needles?
How long in hours is it to drive from Las Vegas to Death Valley?
How long in hours is it to drive from Death Valley to Yosemite via the Tioga Pass?
Do you have to drive all the way through the park and back into it to get to the valley floor (hope that makes sense)?
How long is it in hours to drive from Yosemite to SF?
and finally
Is it possible to drive from Monterey to San Luis Obispo via Big Sur and Hearst Castle in one day?
I'm sure there will be more questions to ask, but I need to assure my husband he won't be spending his whole time driving.

I've been on most of these roads but the time I'm quoting is from my Microsoft Streets and Trips Program which is usually pretty close.

From Palm Springs to Las Vegas it's 328 miles and 6 1/4 hours driving time. Hwy 95 is a decent two lane road. The farther north you get, its scenic.

There are several routes into Death Valley and it's been years since we've been there. The shortest way is takes longer. Figure about 3 1/2 to 4 hours depending on the route. I used Furnace Creek as the destination point in Death Valley.

Furnace Creek to Yosemite Valley, via Tioga Pass is 300 miles and will take 7 3/4 hours of just driving.

Hwy 395 is a good road and depending on the weather you could see some Aspens turning colors.

You have to drive most of the way thought the park on Hwy 120 before you reach the intersection of Hwy 120 and Hwy 41. You will have to drive 15 miles on Hwy 41 to reach the Valley. If you exit the park on Hwy 120, then you will only have to double back 15 miles.

Yosemite Valley to San Francisco will be about 4 hours depending on the traffic in the Bay Area. If you are driving in on a Sunday evening plan for a lot longer. You will run into traffic on most evenings but Sunday will be the worse.

Monterey, Big Sir, Hearst Castle to San Luis Obispo is about 140 miles and will take about 3 hours of driving time. If you want to see Hearst Castle I think you will need to make reservations for a tour....it's been years so I really can't tell you much about that.

How long do you have for your vacation?

Utahtea

i think it only took us 2 1/2 or 3 hours to drive from furnace creek to death valley. if you enter in the furnace creek way it's about another 45 minutes to scotty's castle (which in my opinion is worth the tour - it's only 50 minutes and very interesting).
monterey to slo is a very pleasant day drive. you will need reservations for hearst castle.

You may want to play with your dates...Las Vegas books several conventions in Sept & October. Getting there on the wrong day could triple your room rates.

We have done the 'back way' to Las Vegas from PS a number of times and the drive is about 4-1/2 to 5 hours. This would be I-10W to Hwy 62 up through Yucca Valley, then Old Woman Springs Road/Hwy 247 to Barstow, then I15E.

Whatever your route, enjoy.

Thanks you all so much for your responses. We have just over 4 weeks to complete our trip, so we won't be travelling every day. I don't think a couple of long drives will be a problem.

marthagrif,

Four weeks is plenty of time and there's nothing wrong with a long days drive once in a while. Have a great trip. Late Sept. - early Oct. should be great weatherwise!

Utahtea