West Coast Road Trip

[DasDimi]

The flight tickets have been booked, so now i have the feeling i need to rush my NP overnight locations. It seems i am bit late with everything, and alot is already fully booked.
Do any of you have any experience with the HouseKeeping Camp of Yosemite? We go camping every year, so we definitly dont mind the camping part. How is the location to explore the Yosemite NP? Is it good on our route between San Fran & Death Valley? My mapping device is doin something tricky and it seems it wants to send me through Fresno & Bakersfield instead of Mono Lake, but that is adjustable.

Any comments on the Housekeeping Camp?

[Southwest Dave]

Your mapping program might be sending you through Fresno etc as the Tioga Pass is closed for the winter season, but Tioga Pass is the way to go !

Housekeeping camp is in the heart of the valley and a good base from where you can explore the park. I don't have first hand knowledge of staying there as we travel in an RV so can't help you with that, but it's a budget friendly option in a great location. Are you sure everything is getting booked up and it's not a case of the booking window not being open for October yet ? I know the campgrounds have booking windows and for early October you can't make a reservation until May 15th, but I'm not sure if that applies to other lodgings, maybe not.

[glc]

The Housekeeping Camp can be booked now, it's about $100 a night. There's nothing cheaper in the park without having your own camping gear - standard campgrounds, some require reservations, some are first come first served.

[DasDimi]

I couldn't book it y'day from 23rd to 25th. We booked the Camp Curry (love the name) instead. I assume its something similar :), we got it pretty cheap (€150 for 2 nights).

it's getting in shape, time to start making my map :D
Thanks alot for the efforts guys!

[DasDimi]

Hey Guys,

I read in another thread the good stops between LA & SF are SantaMaria, SanSimeon & Monterey. I have been checking them a bit, and Monterey looks perfect for us, but i am not realy convinced about the other ones. What's a good spot to spend half a day & sleep between LA & Monterey? I noticed Santa Maria is alot about Winery, but thats not realy our cup of tea. I guess San Simeon is better then, as we will have the biggest part of the read behind us.
Just a day at a nice beach would be an option aswell =). Driving directly from LA to Monterey will take about 6h i guess, so that could be our last option.

Any suggestions are welcome!

Regards,

Dimi

[Mark Sedenquist]

I read in another thread the good stops between LA & SF are SantaMaria, SanSimeon & Monterey.

Monterey is only two hours from San Francisco, and most of us wouldn't really consider it more than daytrip from SF. But it is a lovely city. But the mid-point choice for me would be Cayucos - good value, very nice beach town, nice people.

Another tip -- if you like seafood -- one of the very best "locals" places is Phil's Fish Market at Moss Landing!

Mark

[DasDimi]

Hey Guys,

I am breaking my brain over the last part of our trip. So far this is what i got:

planning.jpg

I can't really figure out the most optimal way to plan in the free days. Would you suggest an extra day in Yosemite? I realy think Zion is something we cannot miss, and we were wondering if it was possible to do Bryce only by car, without spending the night there.

My idea was to go straight from Death Valley to Zion, without stopping in Vegas, as this will be the end of our trip anyway. However i am not sure if this will give us enough time to enjoy Death Valley, as we will only spend the night there (in Beatty?) whilst driving both days (from Yosemite & to Zion). Or can you enjoy Death Valley best by car and by driving through?
Anyway, this would make us arrive in zion on the 26th, Giving us the chance of staying there 2 nights (found an amazing looking lodge :D), and then drive back to Vegas on the 29th, hopefully by seeing some of Bryce (possible?).

It somehows feel strange to spend 2 full days in Zion and only one in Yosemite :).
Any suggestions here?

My gf is hoping to pass through a Ghost Town, any suggestions what might be close on our route? I found something called "Bodies Ghost Town", is that worth the visit? Is it even that place above Mono Lake? (tried to find it on Google Maps). Then it's not that big of a detour :) whilst we are driving from Yosemite to Death Valley.

As always, thank you very much for your time & efforts!

Regards,

Dimitri

[DasDimi]

The trip between Monterey & San Fran: Would you suggest to continu taking the calif 1 coastal route, or the 101?

I noticed that going from Yosemite straight to Death Valley might be a bit ambitious. I read in some other threads that Bishop is a recommended stop in the middle. Any other suggestions? So far i have an idea every overnight place will be a remarkable location, and i don't know anything about the Bishop Area. Would u suggest to stay there, or go straight to Death Valley and suffer a day full of driving?

[Midwest Michael]

The section of ca-1 south of monterey goes through big sur and is one of the most scenic coasal highways in the world.

Driving to death valley isn't too bad in a day, but if you want to limit y
our driving days bishop is a good choice.

[DasDimi]

The section of ca-1 south of monterey goes through big sur and is one of the most scenic coasal highways in the world.

And norht of Monterey (towards San Francisco), still the ca-01 i assume, or would you suggest to go inlands?