western us road trip- is this doable?
Jul 2nd, 2006, 06:25 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 63
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
western us road trip- is this doable?
a friend and i are planning to fly into san diego from nyc on monday evening. we'll spend some time exploring and then go to joshua tree on wednesday to camp overnight. thursday we want to drive to the grand canyon, spend the night and hike around the next day. on friday evening, we plan to drive to las vegas to spend a night. saturday, we want to drive to yosemite and spend 2 nights camping there. our flight leaves oakland on monday at 10pm. my question is: is this itinerary doable in the time frame we've set up? any suggestions on things to drop or add?
Jul 2nd, 2006, 07:15 PM
#2
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 246
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Skip Grand Canyon and Joshua Tree. It will be in the 100s and miserable, no fun to hike or camp.
Spend more time in Yosemite. You could do San Diego on Tuesday, drive to Vegas on Wednesday and live it up that night. It takes about 6 hours to drive from San Diego to Vegas, so depending on when you leave, you could be there early afternoonish. Then go to Yosemite via Tioga pass. The route from Vegas through the desert is traffic-free and takes 6-7 hours. Going into Yosemite through the Tioga Pass (near Lee Vining) would make the most sense and the mountain views driving in on that road are awesome.
I'd advise you to spend time in the Toulomne Meadows area, the first camping area you will see upon entering the park via Tioga pass. The camping there is awesome and 1/2 of the sites at Toulomne Meadows Family camp are non-reservation, whereas all the sites in the valley are reservation only and are sure to be booked up by now. TM area has many, many awesome day hikes - check out the NPS.GOV website for details. You can drive to the valley in 2 hours (just for the day if you want to) or move your camp into the valley after a day or two. I like to go for the day only because the valley is noisy, hot, and dusty - but that is just my opinion. You should have no trouble getting on a Monday 10 pm flight out of Oakland if you leave the valley before noon, but check mapquest and add time for traffic and unforeseen accidents as you might come across them near Oakland.
Spend more time in Yosemite. You could do San Diego on Tuesday, drive to Vegas on Wednesday and live it up that night. It takes about 6 hours to drive from San Diego to Vegas, so depending on when you leave, you could be there early afternoonish. Then go to Yosemite via Tioga pass. The route from Vegas through the desert is traffic-free and takes 6-7 hours. Going into Yosemite through the Tioga Pass (near Lee Vining) would make the most sense and the mountain views driving in on that road are awesome.
I'd advise you to spend time in the Toulomne Meadows area, the first camping area you will see upon entering the park via Tioga pass. The camping there is awesome and 1/2 of the sites at Toulomne Meadows Family camp are non-reservation, whereas all the sites in the valley are reservation only and are sure to be booked up by now. TM area has many, many awesome day hikes - check out the NPS.GOV website for details. You can drive to the valley in 2 hours (just for the day if you want to) or move your camp into the valley after a day or two. I like to go for the day only because the valley is noisy, hot, and dusty - but that is just my opinion. You should have no trouble getting on a Monday 10 pm flight out of Oakland if you leave the valley before noon, but check mapquest and add time for traffic and unforeseen accidents as you might come across them near Oakland.
Jul 2nd, 2006, 07:33 PM
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
First, unless you have reservations at Yosemite you'll almost certainly have to go to one of the first-come, first-served campgrounds. You'd need to be there fairly early to get a site, probably by noon, so it's pretty doubtful you can leave Las Vegas in the morning and actually get a campsite that evening (unless you have a reservation in or outside the park).
You may have better luck reversing your itinerary and staying somewhere within a few hours of Yosemite the night before going there in order to get a campsite.
I don't see any need to drop the Grand Canyon, especially if you've never been there. You'll have the same situation there though with camping, although you can camp "at large" in the Kaibab National Forest outside GC. The current forecast for next week has highs from 80-85 and lows around 55-60 for the S. Rim, with a chance of thunderstorms each day. That is pretty comparable to the average high/low for this time of year, so it's certainly not too hot, and definitely won't be in the 100s there. If you hike into the canyon, the temps will rise, but that just means you should get up early and get started by sunrise to beat the heat. You can save the rim hikes/viewing for the afternoon when the inner canyon gets really hot.
You may have better luck reversing your itinerary and staying somewhere within a few hours of Yosemite the night before going there in order to get a campsite.
I don't see any need to drop the Grand Canyon, especially if you've never been there. You'll have the same situation there though with camping, although you can camp "at large" in the Kaibab National Forest outside GC. The current forecast for next week has highs from 80-85 and lows around 55-60 for the S. Rim, with a chance of thunderstorms each day. That is pretty comparable to the average high/low for this time of year, so it's certainly not too hot, and definitely won't be in the 100s there. If you hike into the canyon, the temps will rise, but that just means you should get up early and get started by sunrise to beat the heat. You can save the rim hikes/viewing for the afternoon when the inner canyon gets really hot.
Jul 2nd, 2006, 08:12 PM
#4
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 246
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Grand Canyon is nice but just make sure you check your driving times to be sure you want to invest the time to get to the Grand Canyon. Mapquest shows it is 11 hours from Grand Canyon to Yosemite (5 hours from Vegas to Grand Canyon). That is accurate unless you go anywhere near LA or OC; then you have to factor in traffic. Only you can decide if you want to spend the time in the car to get there or if you would rather have more time to spend in Yosemite or Vegas.
Jul 2nd, 2006, 10:28 PM
#5
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,189
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
San Diego to Joshua Trees (depending on where you decide to camp) will be between 190 and 235 miles and between 3 to 4 1/4 hours driving
Joshua Trees to Grand Canyon will be about at least 370 miles and about 5 1/2 hours of driving. If you want to camp in the Grand Canyon at Mather Campground make reservations online NOW! You will probably be arriving to late to get a campsite at the National Forest Campgrounds outside the park.
Grand Canyon to Las Vegas is 280 miles and about a 5 hour drive. Saturday is going to be a LONG day if you plan on seeing the Grand Canyon and driving all the way to Las Vegas.
The shortest and fastest route to Yosemite from Las Vegas to Yosemite will be taking Hwy 95 north to Tonopah, then Hwy 6 to Benson, CA and then Hwy 120 into Yosemite. This route is 415 miles to Yosemite Valley and about 9 1/2 hour drive.
The next shortest route would be to take I-15 to Barstow and then take Hwy 395 up to Lee Vining and then take Hwy 120 into Yosemite. This route is 509 miles and about 10 hour drive.
Either way, unless you have reservations in Yosemite Valley for camping, you will not want to try and make the first come first serve walk in camp ground. NOW, there is National Forest camping not far from Lee Vining on Hwy 120. We've come in late in the evening and found camping here. You could camp here for the first night and then go into Yosemite valley on Sunday. I can tell you that camping in Yosemite valley was filled up MONTHS ago, but I'd still try every day to see if you can get in on a cancellation.
As dbaker pointed out, you WILL be spending a lot of time in a car driving!
Joshua Trees will probably be very hot, but the Grand Canyon isn't that hot even in the summer because it's a higher elevation.
Utahtea
Joshua Trees to Grand Canyon will be about at least 370 miles and about 5 1/2 hours of driving. If you want to camp in the Grand Canyon at Mather Campground make reservations online NOW! You will probably be arriving to late to get a campsite at the National Forest Campgrounds outside the park.
Grand Canyon to Las Vegas is 280 miles and about a 5 hour drive. Saturday is going to be a LONG day if you plan on seeing the Grand Canyon and driving all the way to Las Vegas.
The shortest and fastest route to Yosemite from Las Vegas to Yosemite will be taking Hwy 95 north to Tonopah, then Hwy 6 to Benson, CA and then Hwy 120 into Yosemite. This route is 415 miles to Yosemite Valley and about 9 1/2 hour drive.
The next shortest route would be to take I-15 to Barstow and then take Hwy 395 up to Lee Vining and then take Hwy 120 into Yosemite. This route is 509 miles and about 10 hour drive.
Either way, unless you have reservations in Yosemite Valley for camping, you will not want to try and make the first come first serve walk in camp ground. NOW, there is National Forest camping not far from Lee Vining on Hwy 120. We've come in late in the evening and found camping here. You could camp here for the first night and then go into Yosemite valley on Sunday. I can tell you that camping in Yosemite valley was filled up MONTHS ago, but I'd still try every day to see if you can get in on a cancellation.
As dbaker pointed out, you WILL be spending a lot of time in a car driving!
Joshua Trees will probably be very hot, but the Grand Canyon isn't that hot even in the summer because it's a higher elevation.
Utahtea
Jul 3rd, 2006, 06:58 AM
#6
Guest
Posts: n/a
" If you want to camp in the Grand Canyon at Mather Campground make reservations online NOW! You will probably be arriving to late to get a campsite at the National Forest Campgrounds outside the park."
I don't know about that. According to the nps.gov website, the Ten-X is first-come, first-served and rarely fills. I also mentioned the "at-large" camping in the national forest, which basically means you camp anywhere you can find a spot, at least 1/4 mile from the highway. It's not in the campground, so there aren't any concerns with filling up, although you would have to carry your stuff a little ways. However, obviously it would be best to try to get a reservation at the S. Rim itself.
I don't know about that. According to the nps.gov website, the Ten-X is first-come, first-served and rarely fills. I also mentioned the "at-large" camping in the national forest, which basically means you camp anywhere you can find a spot, at least 1/4 mile from the highway. It's not in the campground, so there aren't any concerns with filling up, although you would have to carry your stuff a little ways. However, obviously it would be best to try to get a reservation at the S. Rim itself.
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
jodmaree
United States
15
Sep 28th, 2016 11:02 PM
Jennymarie
United States
10
May 6th, 2003 09:50 PM
