Cilla2

Hi, need some advice on the best time to visit California.
We have not yet set our travel dates and would like some advice on which period might have fewer visitors.
Our options are 18/6-2/7 , or 9/7- 23/7 or the last option 23/7-6/8.
Will the number of visitors differ or is it just as crowded all summer long?
In Europe most people take their vacation from mid July and 4 weeks onwards so that is the peak period, but I donīt know if there is such a peak period in the US?
We will be travelling around California by car for approximately 2 weeks. The route still to be decided, but it will include San Fransisco and the Big Sur.

nanabee

I can speak to San Diego's weather (and maybe it will apply to LA as well). Our worst month is June - it is cold, grey and gloomy (hence it is officially known as "June Gloom" month). The best months for sunny, warm weather are August, September, October.

The weather is very different between Northern California and Southern California. I have been in San Francisco in August and it was windy and extremely cold which can be par for the course.

BigRuss

San Francisco. And the saying “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco" has some truth to it (even though Mark Twain didn't say it).

In the US, people take vacation whenever the heck they can. If they have kids, that means June, July, August and usually some point in the latter two from July 1- August 15.

Dayle

California is just crowded period. Traffic is a nightmare. Number of visitors is irrelevant.
People take vacations all tbroughout the year. US is nothing like Europe.

Crowds at specific places can vary. If you tell us where you intend to go we can tell you which times might be more crowded than usual. Also be aware that traffic patterns have a major impact on life in California.

november_moon

Some areas of CA are crowded, and some are not. Depends where you go. But it is true that we don't necessarily have a "peak" vacation season like Europe where you can't find anybody in the cities because everybody is on vacation at the beach. Summer is more popular for vacations because kids are out of school, but tourism is year round here.

Cilla2

We have not yet decided on the exact itinerary but it's likely to be around 3 days in San Fransisco. We have thought of 2 nights in Yosemite but are a bit hesitant as we have read that it gets very crowded that time of year. Me and my husband have been ages ago, before kids, and loved it but that time we visited in Sept and not in summer. Is it worth it anyway and how crowded is "crowded"?
Then the trip possibly includes travelling south towards Monterey, Carmel and other nice stops. Happy to receive advice.
If time allows, and maybe depending on if we include Yosemite or not, we thought of either San Diego or Los Angeles.

janisj

If Yosemite is in your plans -- then the earlier in June the better crowd wise. Unfortunately, the July 4 Independence holiday period will be very crowded just about anywhere. Since 4 July is on a wed. this year the entire period from 29 June-8 July will be really crowded. Avoid Yosemite during that period for sure and also just about any seaside area and theme park. I personally would NOT visit Yosemite in July/August. Too crowded, too hot, no parking, decent accommodations will have already been booked up. And don't fall for ads saying some property is 'near the park'. Most will be 1.5 to 2 hours drive from Yosemite Valley - especially in the summer traffic.

Actually - being in San Francisco over the holiday is not too bad since it really isn't a huge 4th of July destination -- Busy but not crazy busy. But it may be too cold and foggy to see he fireworks.

jamie99

I'd try and come in September after Labor Day (first weekend of Sep) if possible, summer is busy and crowded.

Cilla2

Unfortunately, due to the kids being at school in Sept, we need to travel during the summer months ( school holiday from 12th June-16th August)
I understand from everyones replies that there will be a lot of people in most places.
But how bad is it? We are not very interested in the big theme parks( Universal or Disney) but more into exploring the towns i.e San Fransisco and San Diego or do outdoor activities such as biking or hiking. Maybe travel along the coast to visit Monterey, Carmel etc. Will we feel that it is crowded here too ? And what about places like San Diego zoo or Sea World or Monteray Aquarium?
Will the roads be very busy?
We are trying to figure out whether we should stick to our California plan or choose other states such as Arizona and Utah?

janisj

I posted earlier but it doesn't display . . .

Just quick -- not Arizona or most of the Utah national parks. It will be VERY hot plus places like the Grand Canyon will be just as crowded as the parks in California.

You can get away from the crowds in CA -- especially if you don't want to visit the theme parks and can omit Yosemite. You will need to book coastal accommodations well in advance.

nanabee

I think San Diego would be a fun place for teens like I mentioned because there is so much for them to physically do outdoors.
San Diego is a major metro city but it is not overly crowded in my opinion like Los Angeles is. Freeways are pretty easy to maneuver and depending on which freeways and which areas (and time of day) you won't have serious problems at all.

Check out the links to San Diego and you can get a good feel for the popular beach and tourist communities. La Jolla, Coronado, Pacific Beach and many other beach towns are pretty small population wise (Coronado is only about 30,000 people).

nanabee

https://www.lajollakayak.com/


Home Coronado Visitor Center

https://lajollabythesea.com/


Discover Pacific Beach

https://lajollamom.com/things-to-do-in-la-jolla/

https://www.balboapark.org/

San Diego Zoo

https://www.midway.org/visit/plan-your-adventure/

november_moon

I would still come to CA. Yeah, there's a lot of people, but other than Yosemite, things probably aren't as crowded as you are picturing,

nanabee

The family is from Sweden and not to say they are from Stockholm but just to compare with lets say San Diego - Stockholm has approximately 1.5 million in the urban area, and 2.3 million in the metropolitan area, which is similar to San Diego (although San Diego is slightly smaller population wise). Our freeways are excellent and I don't think it will be a problem. Unless they come from some very tiny Swedish village

Cilla2

I think we will stick with our plan and visit California- despite crowds in certain areas.
We are not totally unused to crowds, and yes we are visiting from Sweden, but we do have larger cities here as well even if they are not quite as enormous as Los Angeles !
We visited Yellowstone at the end of July two years ago and it was very crowded, to say the least, in certain areas( Old Faithful in particular) but then it was easy to get away from the crowds by setting out on different hikes.
Our trip is most likely to be from 9th July-23rd July. We probably stay clear of Yosemite this time and leave that for another trip.
We will most likely focus one part of the trip in and around San Fransisco and the next half in and around San Diego. I will definately check out all the links provided. Great-thanks nanabee !!

Christina

I think you're making too much of this. These are major cities, they aren't tourist resort towns that exist solely for tourists. Sure, there may be more tourists in the summer as kids are out of school than in February, but I have never even thought of not visiting a city in California because the entire city would be too crowded with tourists. As you said, some specific attractions, sure, those can get busy on holidays or specific vcacation days, but not all of San Francisco.

The only places I think of as being out of bounds during peak vacation periods are resort towns. Now I live in Wash DC and it is true that it is some apparent US custom for school children to get trips to DC in May and I would not recommend coming there in May. Or around the Cherry Blossom Festival around Easter. Otherwise, sure there are more tourists in summer as kids are out of school, compared to February, but I wouldn't tell someone not to come due to that.

janisj

>>I think you're making too much of this. These are major cities, they aren't tourist resort towns that exist solely for tourists. Sure, there may be more tourists in the summer as kids are out of school than in February, but I have never even thought of not visiting a city in California because the entire city would be too crowded with tourists. "

None of us said the cities would be too crowded to visit. We warned about the theme parks (which they hadn't planned on visiting anyway) and especially Yosemite. They apparently understood and now doing SD and SF -- which is a good idea IMO.

tenthumbs

"These are major cities, they aren't tourist resort towns that exist solely for tourists."

Perhaps not, but many large cities are impacted by festivals or special events held there, such as the Cherry Blossom Festival in DC, the Boston Marathon, NFR in Las Vegas, and Gay Pride in San Francisco. Perhaps the "entire city" won't be "too crowded with tourists," but it may affect the availability and cost of lodging and may clog public transportation.

Cilla2, many people in the US base the timing for their family vacations on the school system, just as you are doing, and most schools in the US are on summer vacation in June, July and August. Many kid-oriented places are more crowded during those months. Don't rule anything out because it *might* be crowded; just prepare yourself for that probability and bring lots of patience.

"You can get away from the crowds in CA -- especially if you don't want to visit the theme parks and can omit Yosemite. You will need to book coastal accommodations well in advance."

Excellent advice. San Diego is a great location with a lot to offer. Check out the links nanabee provided.

november_moon

Your experience with Yellowstone - main areas being crowded, but places a short hike away were not crowded will apply to most places - even in a place like Yosemite.

StuDudley

Here are some places to visit in the San Francisco Bay Area. My Danish cousin & his daughter visited is 2 year ago - and loved the region. They wanted to return during the Scandinavian school break a couple of weeks ago - but had to cancel at the last minute because of a family health problem.

https://www.fodors.com/community/uni...ations-356478/

Stu Dudley