SAN FRAN-LAS VEGAS via yoesmite and death valley in April

[jirmc]

. I have read alot of threads on this topic (some great advice) but i am hoping for some more info.
Basically 10 active girls from around the world are meeting in San Fran in April for a road trip ending in Vegas. We intend to spend 2 days in San Fran-day 3 drive to Yosemite-which route would be advised and best area to stay. day 4 weather dependant we would either like to spend day skiing or hiking-any recommendations of where to stay. day 5 drive to Death valley-read that Tioga pass will be closed so which route would you recommend and how long will this drive take-recommendations of where about to stay and any points of interests to stop off and see. Day 6 drive on to Vegas-best route to take?
thanks so much!

[glc]

Welcome!

Best way to Yosemite from SF, assuming you will be downtown, is take the Bay Bridge, then I-580 to I-205 to I-5 to CA-120. This is about a 4 hour drive. The most economical place to stay in Yosemite is in Curry Village in the tent cabins.

To get to DV from Yosemite, exit the park south on CA-41 to Fresno, then take CA-99 to Bakersfield. From there, there are 2 ways to go - CA-178 to CA-14 to US-395, or CA-58 to CA-14 to CA-395. From 395, you go in via CA-136 and CA-190. This is a full day's drive - at least 8 to 9 hours. Here are the DV lodging choices. CA-178 is a lot more scenic than CA-58, but it's also a lot slower, 58 is a freeway and 178 is a winding single track road.

From DV, take CA-190 out the east entrance to CA-127, turn right, then an immediate left on Stateline Road. Take that into Pahrump and take NV-160 to LV. This is about a 2.5 hour drive from the east entrance.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Then you'll need to go north and use either US-50 or I-80 to reach the ski areas around Lake Tahoe or further south at Mammoth Lakes. And then down to Las Vegas. Some of the best skiing in the world can be found at Mammoth Lakes.

10 active girls... How many cars?

Mark

[jirmc]

Thanks for your replies-very helpful
The trip is around 18th april so not sure how the snow will be for skiing at that time of year? Would you recommend wee forget yosemite as it does seem with the TIoga pass closed that it adds a huge chunk of driving onto the trip.
10 girls -thinking 3 cars..
cheers

[Southwest Dave]

Mammoth lakes has one of the longest ski seasons and typically open for winter activity into June. Take a look here.

Would you recommend wee forget yosemite as it does seem with the TIoga pass closed that it adds a huge chunk of driving onto the trip

Not at all ! Yosemite valley will be wonderful this time of year and the waterfalls will be starting to flow. It will of course depend on how much time you have for the whole trip and how long you want to spend skiing and in Vegas etc.

10 girls -thinking 3 cars..

The rental sites normally show how many people and what luggage each type of rental can carry, so you should be able to work out what works best, 3 cars, 2 larger cars, a van and 1 car etc.

[glc]

What you can do from Yosemite to get to Mammoth Lakes is this:

Head back out on CA-120 through Groveland and go north on CA-49. Use the Caltrans website to check on road conditions and chain restrictions. It's possible, but not likely that CA-108 (Sonora Pass) will be open - if it is, take it to US-395. The next pass north is CA-4 (Ebbetts Pass) but that one is very narrow, steep, and winding. The next one is CA-88 (Carson Pass) which is maintained year-round and would be an excellent choice unless it's closed or has chain restrictions by a late spring snowstorm. If you take that, check on CA-89 (Monitor Pass) to see if it's open yet - and take that to 395. If it's closed, stay on 88 into Nevada and cut across to 395 on NV-756. The next option north of 88 is US-50 into South Lake Tahoe, and take that through town into Nevada and take NV-207 (Kingsbury Grade) down to 395. Plan on an 8 hour drive worst case, and then it's about 3.5 hours to DV.