Groveland to Las Vegas

[Stevieboy]

Hi there
I have been using the forums (and a big thanks to all) to plan my driving holiday when we come over from Scotland at the end of this week. However there is one final route I would like some more advice on.
We are staying at Groveland (to visit Yosemite) and we want to leave there and drive directly to Las Vegas. We are going to leave around 9am in the morning.
From the information on this site and other sites it would seem that the most direct route would be to drive to Fresno then Highway 99 to Bakersfield then Highway 58 and highway 15.
However if I go to Google Maps it lists this journey as some 509 miles taking 8 hours 23 mins
If I drive an alternative route and go via Tioga Pass, then onto 395 then CA 168, CA 266 then US 95 etc it says that the distance is 420 miles and will take7 hours 48 minutes.
Im a wee bit confused!
In a nutshell what would you recommend as the quickest way to go from Groveland directly to Las Vegas and how long approx would it take. We want to do this in one day (next Tuesday in fact)
Thank you very much

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

Despite what Google may say, I have a hard time believing that you could do Tioga Pass faster than using the Freeway route via Bakersfield. Tioga is a 2 lane mountain road with plenty of traffic and RVs, which makes for a pretty slow trip.

That said, it is a remarkably beautiful trip that I would highly recommend. Even though it takes a little more time, you could still make the trip to Vegas in one day

[Stevieboy]

Thanks for that Michael.
I suppose even though it is longer, the freeways are going to be much quicker???
Its a case of trying to balance the quickest with the scenic but I think this time we want to do the quickest

[Utahtea]

Hi there
I have been using the forums (and a big thanks to all) to plan my driving holiday when we come over from Scotland at the end of this week. However there is one final route I would like some more advice on.
We are staying at Groveland (to visit Yosemite) and we want to leave there and drive directly to Las Vegas. We are going to leave around 9am in the morning.
From the information on this site and other sites it would seem that the most direct route would be to drive to Fresno then Highway 99 to Bakersfield then Highway 58 and highway 15.
However if I go to Google Maps it lists this journey as some 509 miles taking 8 hours 23 mins
If I drive an alternative route and go via Tioga Pass, then onto 395 then CA 168, CA 266 then US 95 etc it says that the distance is 420 miles and will take7 hours 48 minutes.
Im a wee bit confused!
In a nutshell what would you recommend as the quickest way to go from Groveland directly to Las Vegas and how long approx would it take. We want to do this in one day (next Tuesday in fact)
Thank you very much

I've never done that route but it looks like it has some slow mountain passes. I came up with 425 miles and a little over 10 hours for that route. If you do decide to go over Tioga Pass, then I would suggest taking Hwy 120 all the way to Benton, CA, Hwy 6 to Tonopah, then Hwy 95 south to Las Vegas. This route is 432 miles and approx 10 hr drive, but very scenic and we've driven it in a motorhome.

The reason the other route is much faster is the majority of it is on freeway which you can drive 75 MPH.

[PNW Judy]

Its a case of trying to balance the quickest with the scenic but I think this time we want to do the quickest

Tioga Pass gets so many rave reviews for its beauty that I think this is a time to go for the scenic.

Unfortunately, there are times when we must miss scenic wonders due to time issues. If at all possible, I hope this doesn't have to be one of those times. At the end of a long driving day...and either day will be long, I think you'll be glad you took the scenic route.