SF to Las Vegas return west coast - Clockwise or Anti-Clockwise best?

[glc]

If you are taking Tioga Pass and 395 to get to SLT, I'd recommend you pick up CA-89 at Topaz. This will take you over Monitor Pass and Luther Pass and is a lot more scenic than the NV section of 395.

Why would you be going to Truckee? If you are heading for SF after Tahoe, I'd take US-50 to Sacramento to pick up I-80. However, time permitting I'd plan on driving all the way around the lake as a "day trip" while you are there - it only takes a few hours driving at a leisurely pace.

[Richard Knight]

Good advice, thanks. One of the problems us Brits have is understanding your distances and driving times. Looking at the map we would never think that you could drive around Lake Tahoe - approx 75 miles - in a "few hours". Over here in the UK whilst the mileage itself is not off-putting it would take most of a day and mostly in traffic jams!
R

[Lifemagician]

... and mostly in traffic jams!

In summer you might even see some of those.

It's a very scenic trip though, and worth getting out of the car at a few points.

Lifey

[Southwest Dave]

Over here in the UK whilst the mileage itself is not off-putting it would take most of a day and mostly in traffic jams!
R

Trust me Richard, driving in the USA is complete heaven [most of the time ]compared to here in the UK, and moreso for us that live in the rather congested southeast corner of England !

Dave.

[jcorb2d]

RE Lake Tahoe, From South Lake is it best to use the Eastern side (on the "50" or the West side (on the "89") to get to Truckee?

All the best

Richard

Either way works, but I like the Western side better to go by Emerald Bay.

Jon

[Mark Sedenquist]

As I understand it, the USA has a national speed limit of 55 MPH and I would reckon that on standard highways - like 1-15 and 66 - it would be difficult to average more than say 40 MPH whilst actually driving and with the inevitable stops to take photos, coffee and stop at attractions, I'm guessing that 150 - 200 miles a day is the maximum one should allow to make it a holiday rather than a chore. Would this be a good target to aim at.

First of all, there is NO national speed limit. Even on Federal highways, the speed limits imposed are set by the states. Some Federal highways have 75 mph for instance. As a general rule, one can expect to average 50 mph over the course of an 8-10 travel day east of the Mississippi River and about 57 mph over the course of 8-10 travel day west of the Mississippi River.

On RTA, we recommend a maximum of 500 miles per day -- which takes about 8-10 hours of travel. Obviously, if you could limit your drive to 200 miles per day -- it would be very leisurely!

As a pro -- it is possible to drive 800+ miles per day -- it's just not very wise....

Mark