West Coast to Vegas for a wedding!

[dirksteele]

Hi all

First time post, great place you have here! :)

Basically I'm looking for advice planning my first ever USA road trip which I'm taking in Sep/Oct. I don't really know where to start! I'm going out to Vegas in October to give away my friend at her wedding, but the week before that a buddy of mine and I are wanting to take a road trip through California, taking in the sights. We're looking to fly out on September 24th, then I have to be in Vegas by the following Tuesday, 30th October a couple of nights before the wedding.

Like I said we want to take in as many scenic sights as we can and hopefully do a park along the way, but I realise time is kind of short. Does anyone have any suggestions please? I took a look at the RTA map planner thing but was a little bamboozled, I managed to draw a custom route but am not sure which places would be good to stop off at (I've been to San Francisco before).

Thanks in advance from the UK!

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forms !

It's a great time of the year to be visiting these parts !

Heading to California would make a nice loop from Vegas, by heading across Death Valley on 190, north on 395 to Mono Lake and then cross the mountains on the spectacular Tioga Pass [CA120] into Yosemite NP, a true natural wonder ! From Yosemite you could hit the coast, perhaps starting from SF, or Monterey as you have been to SF before. Head South along the coast road around Big Sur to Cambria and then head inland and back to Vegas. If the coast wasn't a priority you could head south from Yosemite and drive through the splendid Kings Canyon and Sequoia National park and see the giant trees.

Much will depend on your interests and how much driving you want to do so take a look at these threads which are some of our favourite in the area.

A complete alternative would be heading the 'other way' and visit the Grand canyon in a loop. Other places would possibly include Zion and Bryce Canyon, Antelope canyon, Monument Valley and Hoover Dam. Both are spectacular options !!

Do a little research and once you have a couple of dots on the map we can help fill in the blanks.

[dirksteele]

Hi Dave, thanks for your great advice! You've given me food for though already. I'll take a bit of a look around the other threads and get a few more 'dots on the map' for sure then come back to you.

Looks like there is so much do in such a beautiful part of the country. Personal highlights for me are Yosemite, some coast, Grand Canyon, Death Valley and ideally a couple of coastal cities. I have no idea if I can hit all of these in the time!

[glc]

Welcome!

Looks like you have 6 days to play with - this would allow for a loop trip from LV - Death Valley, Yosemite, Monterey, down the coast to Cambria, and back to LV. This gives you everything - desert, mountains, and coast! This is one of the most popular routes here.

EDIT: Dave and you posted while I was typing - I don't think you would have quite enough time to do what I suggested *AND* the Grand Canyon, unless you have a couple days after the wedding. It's not a day trip from LV, it would need an overnight.

[Southwest Dave]

I think that you will struggle to complete your wish list in only 6 days and have time to enjoy the places you visit. If you were to include Death Valley and Yosemite, I think then you would be better off deciding between the coast and GC. With either option you would be looking at close to 3 days dedicated to driving with a little sight seeing and 3 days to spend exploring. You would want at least one full day at Yosemite and the same should you decide to head to the GC.