Driving from Las Vegas to San Fran middle of March

[el toro]

Hi,

Whats the weather like driving from Las Vegas to San Fran middle in the middle of March?

I'm keen to take the scenic route going through death valley, mammoth lakes, Yosemete etc etc

Will there be snow, ice on the roads?

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

The most important thing to know is that most of the Sierra Passes will be closed at that time of year, so driving across Tioga Pass from Mammoth through Yosemite simply is not possible. You either have to go around to the south via Bakersfield or to the north via Lake Tahoe. You should also note that chain restrictions will apply in mountain areas, including Yosemite, where carrying chains will be mandatory.

Other than that, we simply can't tell you if you'll see snow or ice on the roads, because that depends on the weather, and there is no way of knowing what the exact weather will be in a given area anywhere when its still a month away.

[el toro]

thanks for the reply.

what way would you recommend to go? im from New Zealand so have no idea of the area and want to take the nicest route. its also the driving on the other side of the road for me... so the less snow or ice the better.

[AZBuck]

I think you'd be slightly better off going south around the Sierra Nevada and then up the east side of the Central Valley to Yosemite. Use CA-190 to leave Death Valley to US-395 south to near Ridgecrest where CA-14 will connect to CA-58 to Bakersfield. At that point you can either take CA-99 (a motorway) or CA-65/CA-198/CA-180 ('A' roads) north to Fresno, at which point CA-41/CA-49 will take you to Yosemite. While the 'A' routes are longer and slower, they would afford you possible access to Sequoia and Kings Canyon as well as have you generally driving closer to the scenic Sierra Nevada. The problem with going north around the Sierra through Lake Tahoe is that nowhere will you have any real possibility of getting into the mountain valleys or national parks, and you run a slightly higher chance of hitting snow and/or ice around Lake Tahoe and the passes over the mountains from there to Sacramento.

AZBuck

[el toro]

so taking the 140 east to yosemite village/valley will be do able without chains? and hopefully no snow?

[Midwest Michael]

No. There are winter chain restrictions into the Yosemite Valley no matter which way you approach it. The valley can and frequently does see snow, although there is no way of know if you'll see snow during the exact time you'll be there.

[el toro]

The average for the next 15 days is around 55

http://www.accuweather.com/forecast-...95389&metric=0

So surely the 1 month from now its a little bit warmer? And with these temps any snow over night would melt quickly during the day

[el toro]

Hi,

I will be in America and March and will have 2 days spare to do a road trip from Las Vegas. Could you tell me the best plan for this. I was thinking one of the below

Death Valley?
Sedona/Route 66?
Monument Valley? (Maybe two far?)
Grand Canyon (Although will do a heli tour from LV)

After the 2 days I will be going to San Fran. Not sure I will have time to drive all the way there and view things in 2 days and Yosemeti will be closed anyway. So don't mind coming back to LV or near to fly to SF

Please help (not from the States so interested to see the real America)

[Midwest Michael]

First of all, we do need to clear up one big error in your post - Yosemite is not closed in March only Tioga Pass is closed. In fact, March can be a great time to visit this magnificent place. Yes, as has been mentioned, there are chain restrictions, but the park is very much open, and waterfalls should be in full flow.

I'm not sure how that effects your two days, but if you are going to do Death Valley, you should work that into your trip to San Francisco, not backtrack to Vegas.

The Grand Canyon is about the perfect 2 day trip from Vegas, and you could see some of Route 66 if you'd like too. Helicopter tours are fine (although most of the ones from Vegas go over the West Rim, not Grand Canyon National Park) but there's nothing quite like standing on the edge of this wonder. Sedona would also be a possibility, but Monument Valley would really be a bit too far.