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We are flying from NYC to Los Angeles, drive up to Seattle and flying back to NYC from Seattle in mid June for 7 days, being the first day already wasted in flight mean only have 6 days left. We want to cover Death Valley National Park and Lake Tahoe as well, any good suggestions?
Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !
As with all trips that have limited time, decisions and sacrifices have to be made. If you want to visit Death valley then it would be difficult to include the scenic cosat road around Big Sur. If you want to visit Lake Tahoe it would make Yosemite and San Francisco more difficult to visit with the time you have. North of Tahoe inland attractions would include Lassen Volcanic NP, McArthur-Burney Falls, Mt Shasta, Crater Lake, Columbia River Gorge, and Mt Ranier NP among others. North of SF and along the coast you have places like the Golden Gate National Rec area, Muir woods, Point Reyes, Humboltd National State park, Redwood NP and more along the Oregon coast. Of course you will not to be able to see it all but the fact is, they are all great choices and only you can decide which path to follow to see the places that excite and appeal to you the most.
Once you have decided what the "As well" part of your trip is we can certainly help to fine tune your trip and make suggestions but for now I would recommend you study a good map and think about what pace you want to travel at. Some folk prefer to drive through and grab a peak of many attractions, some like to spend more time in one place, some like to be on the road 12 hours a day, some prefer 5 or 6 hours or less. These are things that need consideration as you decide.
Thank you Southwest Dave for the advise, we like to cover as many places as we can being we do not have a lot of time, so every little thing count.
In that case I would recommend you do a little research by studying a map, checking out the places I mentioned that appeal and searching the forums. You can stroll down this page and find 'Similar threads' and repeat as many times as you wish. Once you have sorted the basics out I'm sure we can help you put your plan together.
Enjoy the planning, it's part of the joys of a Roadtrip !
One of the worst mistakes people can make is to try to 'cover' too many places in too little time in a misguided effort to make the 'most' of any vacation. Such freneticism leads to comedy (If this is Tuesday, it must be Belgium) at best and tragedy at worst. What it almost never leads to is a satisfying and relaxing vacation. While I'm sure you have visions of enjoying scenic, historic, cultural, and entertaining venues, the fact is that what you're more likely to end up doing in a headlong effort to 'cover' as much as possible is to just drive, drive, drive, and not really see much at all.
The better alternative is to limit the number of places you go to and actually spend some time at each of them - enjoying them. One way to do that is to limit yourself to no more than one significant stop each day and no more than a reasonable number of miles each day such that you actually have the time to explore and enjoy the places you'll be stopping at. With that in mind, here's one possible itinerary that will let you 'cover' a good bit.
Day 1: Unfortunately, much of your first day will be spent just escaping the L.A. basin and the Inland Empire. This is just a fact. So plan on sleeping in, getting over the last of your jet lag, and letting the morning rush hour traffic clear the freeways. My target for today would be Las Vegas, an easy day's drive from L.A. You should have time to visit Hoover Dam and take the tour there, and then enjoy driving or strolling the Strip. If you arrive in town soon enough before sundown, take in either Valley of Fire State Park or Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.
Day 2: Drive up through Pahrump and take the locals' route (Bell Vista Rd/Ash Meadows Rd/State Line Rd) to CA-190 through Death Valley National Park. Plan on several short hikes to experience the valley, but nothing too long or strenuous. And bring LOTS of water, sunscreen and proper clothing. Take the tour of Scotty's Castle, then depart via CA-190/CA-136 to Lone Pine and US-395 north. Spend the night in Lee Vining and explore Mono Lake at sunset.
Day 3: Cross Tioga Pass on CA-120 and drop down into Yosemite National Park. Spend as much time as you possibly can in this natural wonder of the world rather than just stopping at the gate and checking it off your list. If you spent several days there you'd only be scratching the surface, so the half day or so you can afford is little enough. Leave to the west and pick up CA-49 northbound to CA-88/CA-89 north to Lake Tahoe where you'll spend the night,
Day 4: You can start the day with a visit to nearby Virginia City, but today's major site is Lassen Volcanic National Park. Otherwise it's a day to just enjoy the forests and mountains of northern California. Take US-395 north to Johnstonville then CA-36 to CA-89, the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway, north through the national park to this night's stop at the town of Mt Shasta along I-5.
Day 5: A short way up I-5 split off on US-97 up through Klamath National Forest past Klamath Falls OR and take OR-62 to Crater Lake National Park. Circle the caldera and leave on OR-62 to OR-234 and I-5 again. At Sutherlin OR take OR-138 to Elkton and then OR-38 to Reedsport. Take US-101 north along the coast stopping at some of the many state parks and especially Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Spend the night somewhere between Florence and Newport.
Day 6: Continue up the coast on US-101. Plan to stop and see Fort Clatsop outside Astoria OR, as well as continue to make stops at some of the many great coastal parks en route. Rejoin I-5 at Olympia WA and take that the rest of the way into Seattle.
True, that's not everything or as much as you can possibly fit into your schedule, but its a number of sites and a pace that will leave you feeling both as though you've seen quite a bit and refreshed rather than exhausted.
AZBuck
Nice trip plan Buck!
I want to follow that one~!
Wow! What a trip. I travelled it as I read it. To create even more memories, take 20 or 30 mins each evening to write up your feelings about the experiences of that day. Encourage all of your group to do the same. Along with the photos and videos, it will not only reinforce the experience, but be wonderful to look back on.
AZBuck is so right. I recall well a friend who had been on a month long organized tour. They visited many countries and numerous places. When I asked her if she had visited a certain place, she said she would have to check the itinerary. She had no visual memory of having being there.
Lifey
Wow! That's really how I planned. I have exactly all the stops set up in my gps as what you mentioned. Was planning to put it here today to ask for opinion, look like you answer it all. Thank you so much!!!
Don't forget the paper maps. They are super important. GPS units and mapping programs are wonderful, but they have a lot of limitations that you wouldn't have with a paper map.
Donna