California tour check-up

[Southwest Dave]

As you head across Death valley to Vegas the more direct route that will also take you past Furnace creek and close to Badwater [the lowest point in the USA] Zabriske point and the Armagosa opera house at Death valley junction is keeping on the 190 untill Death valley junction and then the locals route on the Ash meadows road to Pahrump and then 160 to Vegas. It's quite a spectacular journey.

[Fred-Montreal]

So it's road 190 all the way through DV, then Ash Meadow road to Pahrump, and 160 to Vegas, right Southwest Dave?
Thanks for the tip! and sorry for the long delay for my reply... I've been quite busy lately!

[Mark Sedenquist]

If you scroll down this page, you'll see a map for the route. Going through Shoshone is pretty cool too -- Interesting town -- only adds about 20 minutes to the trip. Or if you just want to see the map, you can click here.

Mark

[Fred-Montreal]

About this part of the trip (SF to Yosemite), I'm wondering what is the fastest path, and also, what would be the most scenic (and how long it would take)?

[Southwest Dave]

Hi Fred,

It will depend on if you are staying in the valley or where abouts outside the park. Leave SF on I-80 to I-580 E to I-205 and I-5 N for a couple of miles and then CA 120 Manteca. Continue on the 120 and the scenery and roads start to get real interesting around Priest grade as you near Groveland. If you were staying near to the South of the park you could head down CA 99 from Manteca to Merced and then towards Mariposa on CA 140. I would allow 4.5 to 5 hours from SF to Yosemite but it'll depend on traffic and getting out of the city.

[Fred-Montreal]

Hi Dave,
I still don't know where I'll be camping. We cannot make reservations for the park's campground sites for now and I was thinking to settle in a campground somewhere along Tioga pass road (seems there are a lot of them, and they don't take reservation)...
The path you described seems pretty straight forward... I guess I'll go with it! Thanks!

Now, I'm really wondering about the best road from Sequoia Park to Death Valley. I was thinking of making an overnight stop at Lake Isabella, but I'm wondering if Owens Lake would make a better stop? What would be the fastest route? The most scenic? Could Sherman's pass be an option? I need some help here...

[Midwest Michael]

While Sequoia National Park and Death Valley are quite close as the crow flies, there is no road that cross the Sierras to link them. That means the fastest way to get between them, and the fastest way to get from Sequoia to Owens Lake is a 6-7 hour drive.

You could take Sherman Pass, which is a nice scenic trip, but it is also pretty slow going and would make for a very full day drive from Sequoia National Park. Here's some more info about that route and your other options here.

Speaking of Mountains, I'm also a little confused that you are now talking about taking Tioga Pass, which again would put you on the wrong side of the the Sierra from Sequoia. Since your plan seems to be developing as you learn more, it would probably be helpful to repost your current trip outline.

[Fred-Montreal]

Thanks for the links Michael! I'll read them later at work.
About the Tioga road, unless there are available camping spots in Upper/Lower Pines in Yosemite, I think I'll have to camp along the Tioga road. I don't necessarily intend to drive from one end of the park to the other on that road. I could set camp around Yosemite creek for instance, and leaving for Sequoia/Kings from the west side. How does that sound?

But the way I look at it, it seems like goind to the Sequoia/Kings park will add LOTS of mileage in very few days. I'm starting to wonder if it's worthwhile. I'd get to the park mid-afternoon and would have to leave next morning... Lots of mileage, not a lot of time in the park. Maybe I could spend one more day around yosemite, and leave on the 14th, stopping somewhere en route to DV (on road 395), hence skipping the SQ/KC park. What do you guys think?

Here's what my itinirary looks like for now:

Aug 1: Arrival at Las Vegas.
Aug 2: Chilling in Las Vegas.
Aug 3: Pick up the car and go to Grand Canyon south rim.
Aug 4: Hiking in Grand Canyon.
Aug 5: Back on the road toward California. Stop around Barstow for the night.
Aug 6: Getting to San Simeon. Overnight there.
Aug 7: Driving on US-1 up to Monterey (Big Sur). Overnight there.
Aug 8: Going to San Fransisco (morning).
Aug 9: SF
Aug 10: SF
Aug 11: Going to Yosemite
Aug 12: Yosemite
Aug 13: Yosemite to Kings Canyon/Sequoia Park
Aug 14: Kings Canyon/Sequoia Park to Lake Isabella or Owens Lake.
Aug 15: Going to Death Valley and back to Vegas (late afternoon, early evening).

[Midwest Michael]

I could see that skipping Sequoia might make more sense with the route you've laid out, however there are a couple other options you could consider.

You might consider hitting Sequoia as you make your way west, between Barstow and the Coast. Or from San Francisco, you could go to Sequoia and then head back north to Yosemite.

There is a little north/south backtracking with both of those options, but it would let you see Sequoia, while making the trip from Yosemite to Death Valley direct via Death Valley.

[Southwest Dave]

I really enjoyed the drive through Sequoia and down the Generals highway, and as I mentioned earlier in the thread, the following day you could drive through the Sequoia NM to Lake Isabella. Yes, it's a lot of driving but the scenery is very entertaining and you get plenty of time to get out of the car and explore a little. Having said that if you opted for going over the Tioga pass you could get your big tree "fix" by visiting Mariposa grove on the Southern flank of Yosemite. Either way you might be better off splitting your two nights in Yosemite if possible, spending one night on Tioga and one near the Southern entrance to suit which way around you are going, ie; Tioga >Valley > South > Sequoia or, South > Valley > Tioga and over the pass. It would save some doubling back over the same ground.