LA-Vegas-San Fran-LA

[savala]

Hello everyone!
My friend and myself (two Australian girls) are coming to America near the end of the year and I was hoping to get some advice on driving through California/Nevada in Winter.

What we were thinking of doing is:
Start of December: Spending 1 day driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas
2 nights in Vegas (yes, we are over 21 :))
Next, take 2 days/1 night to drive to San Francisco
2 nights in San Fran
Then 2 days, 1 night to drive back to LA

I wanted to know whether I've taken enough time to drive in between each city and although we won't be stopping to look at every little town along the way, we'd like to at least sightsee a little bit in between the cities.

Also, with the time we have to drive, will we be able to perhaps drive along some more scenic routes, like down the coast from San Fran to LA, or will we only have time for direct highway routes?

And, on the night between Vegas/San Fran, and the night between San Fran/LA, what are your suggestions for nice, in between towns to stay overnight at?

Lastly, will the weather in early December have any effect on these routes? Or shall it be fine that early on?

Thank you so much in advance for any help you can give!!

Laura

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

You're looking to be in ok shape for your basic outline. 2 days will give you enough time to take the coastal route from SF to LA. The one area where you will have to make some choices is going from Vegas to SF. You can make the drive direct in one day, but if you wanted to stop at someplace like Death Valley, Yosemite, or maybe Lake Tahoe, you'd need 2 days. Since Tioga Pass will be closed at this point of year, you probably have to pick one of those things, if you have just two days. If you wanted to see both Death Valley and Yosemite, you'd be very rushed to do it all with just one overnight.

This is an incredably popular topic, so I'd suggest simply looking around and searching this forum for lots more ideas.

[RoKDoG]

So when does the Tioga Pass generally close? Late October/Early November? Or is it just weather dependent?

[Southwest Dave]

So when does the Tioga Pass generally close? Late October/Early November? Or is it just weather dependent?

Weather dependant.

It will often close and re open due to ice and first snows but then it will close right through to May or June when the snow settles in. You can see recent opening and closing dates here.

On this thread you can have a go at guessing the correct opening date for this Spring.