RV with baby - Realistic itinirary?

Hey folks,

I am really enjoying myself reading all these super-knowledgeable posts. So I decided to tap into the expertise. So thanks in advance for any advice!

We are planning a 4-week RV-trip with our infant son in mid-September to mid-October. The (most probable) itinirary is something like below. We know San Francisco well, so we don't plan to stay there long, and I am aware that we are "skipping" Lake Tahoe, Zion NP, Bryce Canyon, Flagstaff, Phoenix and LA (just to name a few). But we want to take our time to hike a bit and take photos and not necessarily cover every possible thing - even if it means missing out on some spectacular stuff.

So the question is: Is this itinirary realistic? Any concerns? Anything we missed along the route?

The one thing I am most concerned about is the really long haul from Oatman, AZ to Sequoia. We are 3 drivers, so no problem there, but with the baby we need to stop every two hours or so, to get him out of the child seat and feed him. So that will eat up a lot of time.

Day 1 - Arrival in San Francisco
Day 2 - Pick up supplies, RV, off to Napa Valley
Day 3 - Napa Valley
Day 4 - Drive from Napa to Yosemite NP (west entrance)
Day 5 - Yosemite valley
Day 6 - Drive via Tioga Pass to East entrance of Yosemite NP
Day 7 - Yosemite NP East
Day 8 - Drive to Mono Lake
Day 9 - Mono Lake
Day 10 - Drive to Death Valley National Park
Day 11 - Death Valley
Day 12 - Drive to Las Vegas
Day 13 - Las Vegas
Day 14 - Drive to Page
Day 15 - Page / Antelope Canyon
Day 16 - Drive to Grand Canyon NP
Day 17 - Grand Canyon
Day 18 - Drive from Grand Canyon to Oatman via Route 66
Day 19 - Drive from Oatman to Sequoia NP
Day 20 - Sequoia NP
Day 21 - Sequoia NP
Day 22 - Drive to Pacific coast (Paso Robles / Cambria)
Day 23 - Drive from Cambria to Monterey via Hwy 1
Day 24 - Drive Monterey to San Francisco via Hwy 1
Day 25 - San Francisco
Day 26 - San Francisco

Welcome to RTA!

Others will add their comments, but I see some good planning here, and nothing unusual jumps out at me except "Yosemite Park East". Most of the stuff is out of the Valley, the south end, and up on Tioga Pass/Tuolumne Meadows.

The other comment -- if you reverse your trip, starting with the Pacific Coast Highway southbound, you will have one thing going for you: the pullouts on the PCH will be on your side of the highway. If you drive the PCH northbound, you have to pull across oncoming traffic to pull into and out of the turnouts. In an RV, that can be very tricky and not always safe.

RV's are wonderful for babies, as baby doesn't have to get used to changing beds every few nights.


Donna

I think your plan looks pretty good. Oatman to Sequoia shouldn't be a problem, but if you are concerned, you could always plan to camp just outside the park, around Three Rivers, and then drive into Sequoia the following day.

While you note that you're skipping Zion, I don't think you need to - since the direct route from Vegas to Page would take you right past the park. You could pretty easily shave a day elsewhere to have some time to explore Zion. For example, you could drive from Mono Lake to Death Valley and still have time to see much of Death Valley the same day.

While going counter-clockwise, so you go down the coast first is often a solid idea, I think I like your current plan better because of the timing of this trip. If you reversed your plan, you wouldn't get to Tioga Pass until mid-October, so that would increase the possibility of the pass being closed due to weather.

Hi Donna, hi Michael,

thanks so much for your advice.

@ Donna: Doing the trip the other way round is not an option for two reasons - we have already fixed reservations for Yosemite and we were also concerned for the weather as mentioned by Michael.

@ Michael: Regarding Zion we're flexible - we'll see how things go. Just wanted to point out that I am awre that Zion NP exists along the route to avoid the "How come you're not going to Zion"-question.

But again, thanks to both of you for your replies. Makes me much more comfortable to get some feedback from some experienced "RoadTrip Gurus".

Cheers,
E

If want to take a break from the road for an hour or so between LV and Page then Pipe Springs NM is an interesting place to do just that. Another stop which would mean a slight detour would be Monument valley on the way to the Grand canyon. Also you will find the Cameron Trading post on US89 just before turning onto 64 towards the South rim's east entrance. It has interesting stores and a place to eat if you are hungry. After the Trading post you have some roadside stalls offering trinkets for sale and are better priced, just incase you get tempted to buy small souveniers.

Three rivers as suggested by Michael can be a great place to stopover before heading into Sequoia NP but with one caveat. The Generals Highway that enters the park is pretty twisty and narrow in places and has lenght advisories and restrictions. These can alter depending on if there are any roadworks etc happening at the time of travel so check out the NPS site before heading that way as it would mean doubling back from Three Rivers if not suited for your RV.