Grand Canyon to San Fran in early October

[nmalley]

First day here on the Road Trip America! I am going from The Grand Canyon to San Fran starting the 1st full week in October. We are driving and looking for the best route to see the beauty of the southwest into California. Time is not a restraint. Some things of interests are the beauty of the desert and the redwoods of a national forest. Not sure how far Death valley is but not closed to traveling up into Nevada then over to California. Look forward to hearing back!

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to RTA !

Death Valley is certainly an option and one that could be considered as 'on the way'. I would suggest you get a good map and do a little research to see what you find most appealing, as there is no single 'best' route.

A more direct approach would be GC to Vegas to Death Valley and then north on395 to Mono Lake and into Yosemite NP on CA120 [Tioga pass].

However, there are many options ,and given the time I would look at first heading east to Monument valley and north into Southern Utah to Bryce canyon and Zion NP and back to Vegas on I15 and continue as above. You could head to Sequoia NP or the coastal Redwoods north of SF such as Muir woods. Once again, there are many options to explore and you will find a lot of info digging around the forums.

Once you have some dots on the map we can help more to 'fine tune' your trip.

[nmalley]

thanks for the tips! whats the weather usually like?

[Southwest Dave]

As we know nothing is certain where the weather is concerned, but I love to travel this time of year and particularly in this area. It can be a lovely month where it's not to hot in the desert and not to cold in the mountains, the main crowds have gone, Fall colours come to life and the skies are blue, well hopefully [see above]. You can get an idea by searching for climate data, but you should pack layered clothing and prepare for extremes. In late October, we have experienced night time temps at high elevation at Bryce canyon at well below freezing and a few days later in the 90's through Death valley.