san fran to vegas

[mtsran]

Hi

First time on a forum so please forgive any silly questions!!!


We are traveling from Australia to LA, we will be staying in San Fran for about 4 nights then traveling to Vegas by car,

Is there a place we can stay between San Fran and Vegas to break up the drive? how about Yosemite ?

We are leaving San Fran on the 24th and have to be in Vegas on the 26th May,

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated :)

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

Yosemite is an amazing place but if you want time to enjoy it you would be better off taking 2 overnight stops. At the moment the Tioga Pass that crosses the mountains from Yosemite to the east is closed. There is a chance that it will be open when you travel but you would need to check. If it's open you can also drive across the amazing landscape of Death valley. If the pass is closed and you only have one night, Yosemite would be a hard push. Have you allowed enough time to take the scenic coast road from LA to SF as it will require at least one overnight stop to travel this slow going, but beautiful drive. Normally we would recommend you head south down the coast so that the ocean side viewpoints are on your side of the road, but that would only work if you are not tied down to dates and you are actually starting and ending in LA.

[mtsran]

Thank you for your reply , we are actually doing route 66 when we have left Vegas to Chicago, what stop over would you recommend that we do on route to Vegas from San Fran if we do not make it to Yosemite?

[Lifemagician]

Hi and Welcome to the Great American Roadtrip Forum.

Do you HAVE to spend four days in SF? If Tioga Pass is open, which it could be or not by the end of May, going via Yosemite would be a great trip. But I would allow an extra day to be able to at least see something of Yosemite Valley. You could then also travel across Death Valley before getting to LV.

However, there is a good chance that Tioga Pass will not be open, so it would be worth having a plan B. Again, if possible, You will need an extra day. Travel down the Pacific Coast Highway - a spectacular drive - as far as the Cambria area and then head inland to LV via Bakersfield.

Lifey