San Francisco to Las Vegas - Mid March - 3 days

[alvesricardo]

Hello all!

I'll be travelling in the USA next year, mid March.
I would like your opinions and suggestions to help me organize the route from San Francisco to Las Vegas.

Question 1

After visiting San Francisco, I'll go south to Las Vegas.
I would like to visit Yosemite, Sequoias and Death valley.

My kind of plan:

Leave San Francisco in the morning
Day 1 - Yosemite
Night 1 - ?
Day 2 - Sequoias
Night 2 - ?
Day 3 - Death Valley
Arrive to Las Vegas at mid/end of afternoon
Night 3 - Las Vegas

Because we are going in March, I heard that one of the most common/best routes will most likely be closed - Tioga road (I believe)
- Would there be any other good alternatives to the roads to take?
- Is this plan OK?
- Would it be easy to find accommodation for the 2 nights between our stops?


Question 2
When in Las Vegas, I would spend one full day there, the second day I would go to Grand Cannyon, the last day would be in Las Vegas again (my flight would be at 9pm)
DAY 1 - LV
DAY 2 - LV / Grand Canyon
DAY 3 - LV - till 6pm (flight at 9pm)

do you think it is enough? Should I stay an extra day in Vegas?


Many thanks for your help!
Cheers

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to RTA !

Night 1, I would stay as close to Yosemite as possible, or if possible in the park. It's a magnificent place and you haven't time to do it justice in few hours. Unless you leave SF very early you won't get there until at least lunchtime. The Kings canyon area will be closed in March so you could Drive through Sequoia NP and stay to the south, Three rivers is the nearest small town with lodgings then there is Exeter and Porterville. What I would be tempted to do is then go direct to the Grand canyon, or as far as Williams AZ and then back to Vegas with a possible day trip to Death valley. If you are planning to visit Grand canyon as a day trip, forget it it is too far and you may as well spend more time in Yosemite. You need an overnight stay to see the NP, almost all day trips from Vegas go the west rim which is on Indian lands and nothing like the Grand canyon NP.

So you could go SF>Yosemite stay Yosemite. Day 2 through Sequoia and overnight. Day 3. Drive to Williams. Day 4 Grand canyon back to Vegas. Day 5 and 6. Vegas and Death valley. This is still going to be quite hectic and not really give you enough time in any of the parks but it would give you an overview. I personally would spend less time in Vegas and overnight at the canyon but that's a personal decision for you to make.

[DonnaR57]

Grand Canyon is a 5 hour drive (one way) from Las Vegas, so it's not a day trip. The tours that take you from Las Vegas to "the Grand Canyon" are taking you to the Native-American owned West Rim, which is not nearly as spectacular as the US National Park, *and* it's sooooo expensive. Same with the helicopter or air tours from LV to the "Grand Canyon" -- west rim.


Donna

[alvesricardo]

Thank you both for the tips!
:/ too bad Grand Canyon is almost 5 hours away from LV....
Really need to decide what to do about it.

Still, about Yosemite /Sequoias/Death Valley, the more I look and read, the less optimistic I became...

Forgetting Grand Canyon, what would be a nice scenery trip?
Even if it is by train or car....

Would I be able to go and see Yosemite Valley? Would I require tire chains? Would Big Oak Flat Road be ok to drive?

would this 3 day routes be doable?
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thank you :)

[Southwest Dave]

If you are not going to the Grand canyon I would recommend you just use that day getting from SF to Las Vegas and enjoying the places you are visiting rather than just driving through.

You should have no problem seeing Yosemite Valley, but there are no certainty's when it comes to the weather, especially in the mountains and that includes Sequoia NP. I presume you realise that your second map does not take you to Sequoia NP, you have to take 180 from Fresno to 198 through Sequoia.