Las Vegas to San Simeon via Death Valley & Sequoia NP

[Hacksaw]

I'm putting the finishing touches on plans for a PA to CA loop roadtrip for mid-April to May. Here's the rough route:

Philadelphia -> St. Louis -> Colorado Springs -> Santa Fe -> Grand Canyon -> Las Vegas -> ???? -> San Francisco -> Yellowstone -> Mt. Rushmore/Badlands -> Chicago -> HOME

All that in 20 days. First: am I nuts?

Now, about those question marks: I'd like the Las Vegas to San Francisco segment to include driving through Death Valley, seeing the big trees in Sequoia NP, and visiting Hearst Castle in San Simeon. I have about 2.5 days to spare. Can this be done at a non-breakneck pace?

This section is giving me some headache trying to plan a route. There aren't any direct interstate routes and I have no idea what kind of time/speed to expect on smaller roads (like CA J41).

Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

[imported_julie]

i want to drive from san francisco to las vegas at the end of september and would like to go through death valley if possible if anyone knows a route i can take i would be very grateful

[Robert Schaller]

SR160 west out of Las Vegas to SR372 or SR190, one of those west into Death Valley. SR190 west out of the Park to US395 at Olancha. North on US395 to Lee Vining, west over Tioga Pass Rd (SR120) and on into Modesto -- from there choose your poison! Take a look at the CalTrans website for information on WHEN SR120 over Tioga Pass will close. I think it is possible for it to close that early depending on if there are any early storms -- but you may luck out. It's an awesomely beautiful road, as is US395.