Road trip May 2017 - Seattle to San Diego

[Snow]

Hi,

My husband and I are visiting in May 2017 for 4 weeks. We have already booked some of our accommodation so not all things can be changed but I have only just found this website and am hoping you will be able to provide advice and tips (particularly around weather and Yosemite travel-arounds) as we are relying on the Tioga pass being open by 19th May, which we have come to realise is a bit of a risk!
Any opinions would be gratefully received!

No of nights
4 Vancouver
3 Seattle (Wa)
2 Portland (Or)
1 Oakridge (Or)
Visit Crater Lake (Or)
1 Chiloquin
2 Redding (Ca)
3 San Francisco (Ca)
1 Sonora
Visit Yosemite (Ca)
1 Mammoth Lakes (Ca)
1 Death Valley (Ca)
2 Las Vegas (Nv)
4 Los Angeles / Santa Monica (Ca)
3 San Diego (Ca)

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to RTA !

There will be no way of knowing whether or not you will be able to travel over Tioga Pass pretty much up until the time the opening is announced. If it didn't open in time for you you would have to go south around the mountains via Bakersfield. I really think you are selling Yosemite short and especially considering the amount of time you plan to spend in City's. You really need a couple of nights in or close to the park to enjoy this beautiful place. Sonora to Mammoth Lakes will take you 4-5 hours with limited stops along Tioga Pass and you have the valley and Glacier point etc you could enjoy. I would leave the night after you leave Yosemite open to change so you can have your plan 'B'. You may find limited access at Crater Lake as well.

Your trip is heavily biased to the city life which is fine if that's your thing, but you are going straight past some beautiful parts of the world to get from one to another.

[Snow]

Thanks for your comments, I will certainly look at the Southern route from Yosemite.
The main reason we have booked more nights in the cities is to have longer stays at certain points as we are both not experienced in long distance driving and thought we could do with recovery periods!

[Southwest Dave]

It is a personal choice, but if I were needing recovery periods I would prefer to do it in more natural, peaceful surroundings rather than the hustle and bustle of a city. Plus if you spent less time in each city you would not have so much distance to cover in between. As long as you are happy with your choices that's all that matters, I'm simply putting it 'out there'.

If you have any specific questions regarding your trip then don't hesitate to ask.