I know there's a million other posts like this but could really use some advice!

I'm planning a road trip from Seattle to LA but I have a really limited amount of time...realistically what's the quickest that this trip could be done? Also, definitely want to visit San Francisco but am thinking about adding Las Vegas to the route as well...how much more time would this add? Am grateful for any advice on what the best stops are, like I said am really time limited which is a shame but am currently looking at possibly as little as 10 days? Possible??

Thanks in advance for any replies.

I do the Seattle/ LA round trip about once a year. ( I actually do Bellingham WA to Orange County) It's very doable in 2 long days of driving each way. I typically spend the night somewhere between Yreaka and Redding. It is two longish days of driving -- figure 10 hours each day on the road with minimal stops (lunch, gas, bio breaks, etc.) but no real sightseeing.

Thanks for such a speedy reply post! Wow! Two days...really didn't think that would be possible! That's great news though! Now just have to decide what to do with the probable 10-11 days that I'll have! Wasn't expecting to have a lot of options! Any ideas for the best stops along the way?

Larrison is, of course, right -- 2 days is definitely doable.

As for what to see along the way, what exactly are you interests? Are you interested in seeing cities or more of the countryside? Do you have to get to LA and back in those 10 days, or is this a one-way trip? How much of the area near Seattle have you already seen (Ranier, Olympic, etc.)?

If you're only driving 1-way, 10 days is plenty of time to see a good amount, so I wouldn't worry about that. (I've driven coast-to-coast in 9 days before and saw plenty.) I haven't really done much exploring in Washington state before, so I couldn't speak for that, but if you're looking for nice scenery, I'd have to recommend spending some time driving along highway 101 in Oregon. Also, to see the bluest water in the world, you have to visit Crater Lake if you haven't already been there.

The redwoods are fascinating in northern California and the wine valleys are very pleasant as well, especially if you just take your time going through them. I loved Lake Tahoe on the Nevada-Cali border, and if you go south from there you can hit up Yosemite and a great ghost town called Bodie, nestled back in the mountains down a fun 15-mile or so dirt road near the east Yosemite entrance, if I recall correctly. From there you could hit up Las Vegas via Death Valley (just don't overheat!), and cut back down through Joshua Tree before hitting L.A.

Whether or not this is doable in 10 days all depends on how much time you want to spend in each of the places, especially Vegas and San Francisco.

None. Not if you want to make it in two days, anyway. If you want to explore along the way, you will want to add more time to make the drive.

And we would need to know what kind of things ring your bell. For example, I love Oregon Gardens. The gardens are lovely, of course, but I can't get enough of the Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian-style house there. If plants and architecture don't ring your bell, then this would not be a best stop for you.

So, what do you like to see and do?

You guys are being of SO much help! Can't believe I didn't find this site sooner!

Ok, well am not planning on doing this road trip until September so I'm just hoping that I'm not going to hit any monsoon/hurricane etc seasons! Great news to hear that it can be done, as for my interests...I'm a city girl at heart so that is factor but I'm a total sucker for awesome scenery too so a bit of both is probably what I'm looking for. I have been to San Francisco before but have seen nothing else of the west coast. Still undecided about Veags at the moment but if I exclude it for now it might make planning a bit easier. So there you go...I'm pretty open minded! It's only a one-way trip and probably a maximum of 10 days. My friend, who I'm travelling with wants to spend 2 nights in San Francisco but other than that I'm open to any other tit-bits of info you guys might have to offer.

Really appreicate all your help!

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Originally Posted by SoManyOptions

as for my interests...I'm a city girl at heart so that is factor but I'm a total sucker for awesome scenery too so a bit of .

Really appreicate all your help!

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hi there,if you want some awesome scenery then yosemite is well worth a detour either before or after san francisco. the valley floor and tioga pass are amazing but the view from glacier point is unbelievable!
have a great trip!!

Of course, the weather patterns seem to be so odd the last few years that it's anybody's guess, but September is typical one of the nicest/sunniest/driest months in the Pacific NW.

The previous suggestions are great. Any of them would be worth doing. With 10 days to go one way, I would really recommend that you do the coastal route down 101 and CA-1. With 10 days, you can veer inland to do Crater Lake and Yosemite as well.

I'm confused. Are you ending up in LA or San Francisco?

Planning on finishing in LA so the route is pretty much the west coast. Love the sound of Yosemite...hadn't thought about just going inland to see that, automatically associated it with going to Vegas. Great news on the weather front..although it is true that recent years cannot be relied upon...where have the seasons gone?!

Hey,

I know there seem to be heaps of posts about this but as much as I try I can't find answer to a couple of questions re this route so thought I'd post a quick thread to ask....

So SFO to Vegas via Death Valley...am planning on doing it in one day...if you have a map handy....driving South from SFO down the Big Sur (can't afford to miss this!) and then heading east when we hit Atascadero, through Bakersfield and then along the road that goes through Ridgecrest into Death Valley then following this road until we reach a point where we can head south towards Vegas (am thinking maybe crossing the border to Beatty and then heading south from there??) So yes...I know it's going to be a long day! I was wondering if anyone knew realistically how long this might take (obviously scheduling a few bathroom breaks along the way!) Also I was wondering what the road/driving conditions are like this way??

Am planning on doing this part of the trip mid September....am grateful for any opinions and insights!

Thanks!

Hello there.
Thats an awfull lot of driving. I would at a guess say, without any breaks, you are looking at 15 hours plus of driving, and you are not going to get to actually stop and see anything,therefor i would say it's a big NO NO!
sorry,but thats just my opinion:-)

You're really trying to cram 3 days worth of driving into one day. Just going the direct route SFO to LV is a solid 9-10 hours. The trip down through Big Sur (which could be a full day trip if you really want to see it) will add at least 4-5 hours to that trip, and adding Death Valley would add about another 3. I think you'd be pretty lucky just to cover the distance in 17 hours, and of course that's before you stop to look at anything.

To give you another way to look at this, you'd be looking at 750 miles of driving, even on a wide open western freeway you'd be looking at 13-14 hours of driving. More than half of this trip would be on 2 lane road, many of which are curvy roads with lots of traffic where you won't be able to go much faster than 45 mph.

All in all, I'd say this current plan is somewhere between incredibly foolish and flat out impossible. I'd go back to the drawing board and try again.

Ok....well thank goodness for webistes like this that help me to realise what can be done and what can't! How about if we don't go through Death Valley....so down the Big Sur, across to Bakersfield and then freeway to Vegas? What would be the mileage/time in that case?

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Originally Posted by SoManyOptions

Ok....well thank goodness for webistes like this that help me to realise what can be done and what can't! How about if we don't go through Death Valley....so down the Big Sur, across to Bakersfield and then freeway to Vegas? What would be the mileage/time in that case?

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I am afraid there is not a lot of point in trying to head for Big Sur and Vegas in the same day,there won't be any time to see anything.

If you re-read this part of Michaels post you will see that you are still looking at between 13 and 15 hours driving.

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Just going the direct route SFO to LV is a solid 9-10 hours. The trip down through Big Sur (which could be a full day trip if you really want to see it) will add at least 4-5 hours to that trip

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You really need to find an extra night if the Big Sur is a must for you, as you are going to have a very full day just getting from S/F to L/V.

I hope you can find that night if need be,good luck! :-)

As I said in my last post, I think going via Big Sur would add at least 4-5 hours to the 9-10 hours you'd already need for the direct route, and that's before you spend any time stopping to look at the views.

Generally, we recommend a full day just for the Sand Francisco to Big Sur trip alone because there is so much to see. You would only have time to drive, drive, and drive. Really why would you go via the Coast Highway if you weren't going to stop to look at places like this?

Great...well really appreicate your quick responses...will have a serious look at the itinery and try and figure something else out. I do have another question though and this is not related to the actual trip...where abouts is this thread located within the forum...it says that it's been moved from the 'Planning Summer Road Trips' but where is it now?!

Thnaks again!

Your new thread was merged with the original one you started, as it is related to the same trip. The location is the same. You should see it now at or near the top of the page.

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Originally Posted by SoManyOptions

where abouts is this thread located within the forum...it says that it's been moved from the 'Planning Summer Road Trips' but where is it now?!

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It's still in Planning Summer Road Trips -- look at the top of this page.

Mark

Great thanks! Will get back to you with any other questions that I can think of...want to be prepared after all!

Ok, have been able to budget an overnight stop between SFO and Vegas, would really like to do the original route I'd talked about so am wondering if anyone has any insight into where might be a good place to stay...bakersfield? death valley (could we get to death valley from SFO via the Big Sur in one day?)

Thanks!

I am glad you managed to get an extra night in as it was quite clear you wanted it to happen. Without trying to put a 'downer' on it, You will still have 2 long days but it is achievable.

Personally i would try and get an early start from San Fran to Big Sur which will make you feel less rushed and more relaxed and would be looking to stop in the Bakersfield area. A possibility would be to travel on HWY 178 from Bakersfield to Lake Isabella for the night,which would give you a good start the following day as you head for Ridgecrest and onto Death Valley

Sounds great! Thanks so much for the info!

If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask,if not be sure to look back in and let us know how your trip went,thanks.

Dave

Ok, so I'm about to embark on the previous mentioned road trip and as far as planning goes it's all looking ok, there's just one thing we are not sure of and I wondered if anyone could help....we are looking to do Bakersfield to Las Vegas in one day and we'd really love to drive through death valley...I know it would only take around 6 hours to do it via the highways but we wanted to try and make it to see at least part of Death Valley....I've looked at the map and seen that there are a few options...as always!

So....we could on the 178 from Bakersfield through Ridgecrest up and then right onto the 190 up to Beatty then onto the 95 down to Vegas (we could turn off before we hit Beatty but I thought that the 95 might be quicker and more direct??) OR we could take the 58 from Bakersfield and then the 15 to Baker, then instead of carrying on on the highway we could head north on the 127 to Shostone then the 178 and 160 across just to try and see a bit of the valley?? This way might be quicker but I don't know if we would get to see any of death valley???

I greatly appreciate all info and recommendations! Thanks.

Every route involves trade-offs, of course, and everybody's tastes are a little different, but for my money, the best combination of scenic and efficient drive is to take CA-14/US-395 north out of Mojave (staying west of Ridgecrest) and then use CA-190 through Death Valley. At Death Valley Junction turn north on CA-127/NV-373 to hook up with US-95 south into Las Vegas, At around 380 miles, all on good paved road, that should be doable in a day and still leave a few hours to explore Death Valley.

AZBuck

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Originally Posted by SoManyOptions

So....we could on the 178 from Bakersfield through Ridgecrest up and then right onto the 190 up to Beatty

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That route would be fine, but going all the way to Beatty is way out of your way, and given your time frame -- seems counter productive.

This is what I would recommend. Taking CA-178 past Lake Isabella is a pretty route, but since your intention is to see Death Valley, I would cut that part out. What I would suggest is taking CA-58 from Bakersfield to CA-14 at Mojave, (yes this takes you a little farther south --but it is a faster route -- even with all of the truck traffic). Then I head north on CA-14, joining US-395 (do not cut east to Ridgecrest) and follow US-395 all the way to Olancha and then turn east on CA-190.

Going through Ridgecrest is a great route -- but since this is your first time, I would heartily recommend that you use the approach from US-395 because that way you can drive through the Darwin hills as you approach the park -- it is very scenic and should not be missed. Stop at the bar at Panamint Springs for an ice tea/coke -- look at the photos on the wall and then proceed on east on CA-190 over Emigrant Pass into the main section of Death Valley.

Once in Death Valley, go to Furnace Creek, check in at the visitor center, get your pass and depending upon how much time you have (you can be in Las Vegas in an easy three hours -- here is the local's route) you can drive down to the Devil's Golf Course, or the Artist's palette or drive up to the top of Dante's View. You can drive to Las Vegas via Shoshone as AZBuck recommends (it is a nice route) but you can also just use the local's route shown above.

I would leave the route to Scotty's Castle and Beatty for another trip!

Mark