For 9 of the last ten years, I have flown to Vegas after a convention my husband attends and we have traveled in relatively nearby AZ and Utah, and once to Death Valley, for a few days. At this point, we have pretty well exhausted reasonable driving destinations (10 hrs. or less) except Arches/Capital Reef and environs, the Lake Tahoe area, and Yosemite/Sequoia. Although I usually make the destination decisions and arrangements because my husband doesn’t want to, this year I pressured him to select from the 3 mentioned trips. Although I told him the Utah trip was probably going to have the best weather, he seems to be set on Yosemite even though I have told him only the valley would be accessible that time of year and probably we’d have road problems in Kings Canyon and Sequoia. (I’m wondering if he figures if the weather is lousy, we miss nearly everything because we can get there, and have a terrible time, I won’t ever bother him about picking again.) Although I like shoulder seasons, the shoulder I had in mind for Yosemite was a month later (or maybe Sept.). But I’m biting the bullet.

We will leave Vegas on Fri. morning, April 20 and will return to Vegas early evening Sun., April 29 to catch a Cirque show that night. Fri. will be mostly serious driving, which leaves us with 8+ days for sightseeing and getting from place to place. Two caveats right up front: 1) we can handle cold and we can handle wet, but we can’t handle cold AND wet and 2) although we have violated many rental car agreements in the past (usually unpaved roads), I don’t think chains are a “rental car thing to do”. Not willing to spring for an SUV with 4-wheel drive for two weeks and furthermore, don’t want to drive on anything slippery anyway. (We have been in FL for the last 30 years and are no longer like the rest of you that actually live in the US.)

My first itinerary looks like this:

Sat. – Sequoia (maybe half a day, depending on how far we get Fri., may just get to Bakersfield)
Sun. – Sequoia, then to Kings Canyon
Mon. – Kings Canyon, then drive to Yosemite, maybe stay in Three Rivers since we can’t get Lodge rooms, can’t afford Ahwahnee, and don’t want to stay in Curry Village
Tues. – Yosemite, Three Rivers
Wed. – Yosemite, spend the night in Mariposa
Thurs. – Yosemite, Mariposa
Fri. – open (if there’s desert rain at the right time, we’d head to Mojave)
Sat. – drive to Barstow
Sun. – drive to Mojave Preserve, back to Vegas late afternoon

I’m wondering if this doesn’t give us too much time in Yosemite at that time of year. Might be too muddy to get to Bodie, pretty muddy or even cold and rainy for much hiking around. (Have been at Grand Canyon around this time when it was cold but lovely and also when it was so bitter cold, wet and windy that we could barely stand to get out of the car or bus.) Maybe we need another day for Sequoia/Kings Canyon in case Generals Highway is closed or two snowy for us and we have to find a lower elevation route from 198 to 80. Am afraid to stay inside the park in case of weather problems.

Any comments or suggestions?

Bodie will be a very long backtrack from Yosemite at that time of year. Highway 120 E over Tioga Pass is closed until probably late May, so you would need to go back west out of Yosemite and over one of the other Sierra passes. I don't know if Sonora Pass will be open then. Just forget about Bodie for this trip.

Thanks for the info about Bodie. The problem with planning a trip like this is that a road map isn't sufficient. Need to know altitudes to even guess if roads will be passable or need to know from experience. Otherwise, it can take forever to check out the certain or potential closed roads.

If memory serves, Three Rivers is south of Sequoia rather than near Yosemite. Double check the map to be sure.

The elevation at Yosemite Valley is about 4000 ft, so you shouldn't have snow that time of year. We have friends who camp in Yosemite valley every year in April. Occasionally they get rain, but most of the time the weather is good. And the waterfalls are great. And don't worry about the high country being closed - with the time you have, there is plenty to do. In fact, I've been to Yosemite 3 times and never been to the high country (always closed when we go).

I would stay either in El Portal, Mariposa, or Fish Camp (Tenaya Lodge) if I couldn't stay in the valley. Another choice - Yosemite West.

You could still probably go up Highway 395, through Death Valley, past Mammoth, Mono Lake and visit Bodie. Then continue up 395 to Lake Tahoe. Take either Highway 50 or I-80 west over the Sierras, come down I-5 or Highway 99 to Yosemite, Bakersfield, Sequoia. That would make a loop of the trip, rather than a backtrack.

Right, J Correa, I was thinking of El Portal, Yosemite View to be specific. When I started planning a couple of days ago, I realized I'd left my CA map with a friend in SF last Oct., so I've ordered another, plus Sequoia & Yosemite maps, from AAA. But I'm currently somewhat disadvantaged having to use minimal maps in guide books and a bad memory. Have seen Yosemite View recommended here. Does anyone know anything about other hotels in El Portal? Three Rivers is one of the places I was thinking about for Sequoia. Hotels in those parks seem to be 4,000-6,000 feet, so I was concerned about possible snow. But you say Yosemite Valley is 4,000 and won't have snow toward the end of April, so maybe whichever one in Sequoia or Kings Canyon is at 4,000 ft. would be okay. (Assuming I could even get a room in the park.)

Ag3046, I did consider a loop but was afraid that we'd really be pushing it to see much of Tahoe, Yosemite, Sequoia, and Mojave in a little over 9 days, with using most of the first day getting to the probable first stopping point. Have you done that loop? Did it give you enough time to stop and enjoy?

I found a link to a map of the park roads for you - it shows some elevations:

http://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisi.../parkRoads.pdf

The elevation at the Lodgepole visitor's center is 6720 ft, and the General's Highway goes right past there as you go through the park. The Grant Grove visitor's center is at 6580 ft. Kings Canyon itself is much lower, but you've got to go through the Grant Grove area to get there. The roads are shown as open year round, but I think at that elevation, snow in April is a possibility. Most likely though, it wont be cold enough for any new snow if a storm comes through.

We have traveled to and from Death Valley quite a bit. The fastest route to get to Yosemite is definitely going through Bakersfield, then North. Highway 395 is a spectacular drive and we always go that way if weather permits. If we don't go to Lake Tahoe, we go over Highway 88 (Carson Pass) - it is an excellent road, less windy that the others. When you come out of Death Valley (can't think of the hwy) there will be a ranger station/rest stop area at the intersection of hwy 395. It's good to check on weather and road conditions there.

Thanks, J Correa, for the altitude link. I feel like a real dunce because I printed that map out the other day but didn't notice that it had the altitudes marked along the roads. I just checked elsewhere on the nps site and found the altitudes for the park hotels. Yeah, I figured there was no point in looking for a room at Kings Canyon Lodge since I might have to plow through snow to get there. (Wish my AAA maps would hurry and get here! Shouldn't have been lazy and ordered by mail.)

elnap, I don't think I can use 395 to get to Yosemite because that will put me on Tioga Pass Rd., which is closed in Apr. Am I correct about that? When I get the AAA Yosemite and Kings Canyon maps, hopefully I'll have a better idea of what alternative routes there are, though not necessarily whether they might be closed because of snow.

Yes, Tioga Pass will be closed, but Carson Pass will be open (Hwy 88). You can take hwy 4 through Gold Country to get to 108/132 which takes you into Yosemite. Otherwise, go from Death Valley to Bakersfield and up 99 to whichever entrance you want .

Now that I have a CA map and elnap says Carson Pass will be open, I'm thinking maybe we could do a loop up the west side to visit Sequoia/Kings Canyon, and Yosemite from 99, then take Carson Pass to 395 and loop as Ag 3046 suggested. How long would it take, approximately, from the east end of Carson Pass to Death Valley?