7 days from Vegas to Sequoia National Park and retrun

[Alex&Anne]

Hi All,
I'm starting to plan next years southwestern road trip and discovered your forum. I'd appreciate any advice about a trip originating in Las Vegas and terminating in Sequoia National Park...or maybe Kings Canyon...or maybe Yosemite, and then returning to Las Vegas. I live in the East and fly out once a year to visit my brother in Vegas. We explore the national parks while I'm out there. in recent years we've seen Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Death Valley, Joshua Tree and the Mojave National Preserve. We wanted to venture further afield with our next trip.
I usually spend one night in Vegas, and then hit the road for 6 nights before returning for a last night in Las Vegas. So, is it doable to see these California Parks in that time frame? Where should we overnight? We like inexpensive roadside motels and save our money to spend staying in the parks when we get there.
One last question, is May too early to visit Sequoia?
Thanks in advance for any ideas.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

May is not to early to visit Sequoia however areas of Yosemite and Kings canyon can still be closed off due to winter snow accumulation on the high ground. The later in May you travel the better the chance of this not being the case. If the high ground was clear then an obvious routing choice would be to drive across Death valley and up to Lee Vining and into Yosemite over Tioga pass (CA120) and then down to Sequoia before heading back to Vegas, but it's a big 'IF', as Tioga Pass is till closed so far this year because of the amount of snowfall. There are still other options, going up to Lake Tahoe and back down the west side of the mountains, or simply head direct to Sequoia via Death valley and up to Yosemite and then double back are two of them.

[Alex&Anne]

Thanks for the good information. We'll keep our fingers crossed that Tioga Pass will be open early enough for us to use it next year.