Las Vegas to San Francisco in an RV

[Benitomaz]

Dear All,

My family of five (myself, my wife and three kids aged 9, 7 and 4) are planning an RV trip in August, starting in Las Vegas and finishing up in San Francisco. We have an idea of the route we would like to take, but we are from the UK and new to this so would greatly appreciate some feedback on whether we are trying to do too much, if we will be spending too much time on the road between destinations, if we are missing out any amazing sights or indeed if we should just completely discount something. Any tips really!

We have the RV for 12 days. At present the itinerary is something like this (the rental company will not let us go through Death Valley):

Day 1: Las Vegas to Red Rock Canyon or Mojave (Hole in the Wall)
Day 2: One of the above to Sequoia/Kings Canyon (I'm worried this will be too long a drive)
Day 3: Sequoia/Kings
Day 4: To Yosemite
Day 5: Yosemite
Day 6: To June or Silver Lake
Day 7: June/Silver Lake
Day 8: To Lake Tahoe via Mono Lake and Bodie
Day 9: Lake Tahoe (we are prepared to skip this and stay somewhere en route to Lassen)
Day 10: To Lassen Volcanic Park
Day 11: Lassen
Day 12: To San Francisco

All comments would be gratefully received. Thank you in advance.

Ben.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

I think you will also find that the rental company will not let you drive to Bodie as the last section is on unmade road but you have a lovely trip to look forward to. It's normal for the RV to be returned quite early in the day so if day 12 is the day you hand it back you will need to be much closer to SF than Lassen. I would spend most of day 6 in Yosemite and then stay in Lee Vining/ Mono Lake area from where you could visit June lake etc on day 7 and still get to Lake Tahoe that evening, spend a day there and arrive to Lassen on day 9 and then you can get closer to SF before returning the RV.

Have you been out west before ? Your trip will be wonderful but you do have options, Vegas to Grand canyon south rim, through Page to Zion NP [Possibly Monument valley and Bryce canyon] and then to Yosemite and SF would also be a great option with a little more diverse scenery.

Make sure you book your NP campgrounds asap as they get booked up well in advance and RV sites are limited.

[Benitomaz]

Thanks for your input Southwest Dave.
We will have to find somewhere to stop closer to SF on the penultimate day.
We actually have an earlier section of our trip, with no RV, when we will be passing through Utah and Arizona.
Do you know if the Sherman Pass in Sequoia is a manageable road with an RV?

[Midwest Michael]

Sherman Pass could be done in an RV, but you should be aware that Sherman Pass does not take you to Sequoia National Park - instead it is a slow going route through the Sequoia National Forest. Despite the similar names, they are not the same place, and even if you go over Sherman Pass, you'd have to head out to the Central Valley before going back up in the mountains again for Sequoia National Park. Going via Bakersfield and/or Lake Isabella might make a better choice.

If there is another portion of your trip, it would be helpful if you shared that as well, so we can have the complete picture of your entire trip. Why are you only using an RV for part of it?

[Southwest Dave]

I would have thought Sherman Pass would be a heck of a work out in an RV and as mentioned, very slow. If you wanted a nice drive through Sequoia National forest then you could go through Kernville (just north of Lake Isabella) and take the Kern river Highway [MR99] through Johnsondale and then M90 up through Camp Nelson to Porterville. Not far along M90 you will come to the 'Trail of 100 Giants', a lovely secluded giant Sequoia grove. Once again it's slow going and a bit of a work out and would take a good chunk of the day up just getting from Lake Isabella to Three rivers near the southern entrance to Sequoia NP, but I drove it in a 30ft RV and loved the drive.

You should also check the status for RV travel on the Generals Highway in Sequoia NP webpage as the maximum recommended vehicle length can become compulsory if there are any road repairs in progress.

[davis76]

Hi Ben,

I am also from the UK and planning the same RV trip. May I ask if you achieved this and what route you ended up taking.

It would be amazing to get your tips and experience.

Thanks
Ian - Fleet, England

Dear All,

My family of five (myself, my wife and three kids aged 9, 7 and 4) are planning an RV trip in August, starting in Las Vegas and finishing up in San Francisco. We have an idea of the route we would like to take, but we are from the UK and new to this so would greatly appreciate some feedback on whether we are trying to do too much, if we will be spending too much time on the road between destinations, if we are missing out any amazing sights or indeed if we should just completely discount something. Any tips really!

We have the RV for 12 days. At present the itinerary is something like this (the rental company will not let us go through Death Valley):

Day 1: Las Vegas to Red Rock Canyon or Mojave (Hole in the Wall)
Day 2: One of the above to Sequoia/Kings Canyon (I'm worried this will be too long a drive)
Day 3: Sequoia/Kings
Day 4: To Yosemite
Day 5: Yosemite
Day 6: To June or Silver Lake
Day 7: June/Silver Lake
Day 8: To Lake Tahoe via Mono Lake and Bodie
Day 9: Lake Tahoe (we are prepared to skip this and stay somewhere en route to Lassen)
Day 10: To Lassen Volcanic Park
Day 11: Lassen
Day 12: To San Francisco

All comments would be gratefully received. Thank you in advance.

Ben.

[Southwest Dave]

Hi Ben,

I am also from the UK and planning the same RV trip. May I ask if you achieved this and what route you ended up taking.

It would be amazing to get your tips and experience.

Thanks
Ian - Fleet, England

Hi Ian, Welcome to the RTA forums!

This thread is almost 9 years old and Ben hasn't been active since, so it's very likely you won't get a personal reply from him. I would suggest you start your own thread in the relevant forum and post as much trip info as possible, including an outline of what your trip plan looks like. This way you will get the best possible advice, and answers to your specific questions.

Dave