2 days roadtrip : Vegas - San Fran

[mortendokkedal]

Hi!

Me, my girlfriend and our 6 months old son are planning a roadtrip from Las Vegas to San Francisco in February. I've understood this is quite a hot topic here in the forum, but I don't seem to find an answer that suits our wishes perfectly. Hopefully we can get some answers here!

As I understand there are 2 possible main routes. The first going to Bakersfield and doing the coastroute(which we know pretty well now), and the second going to Death Valley and through there getting to San Fran. We really wanna see the Death Valley surroundings, and maybe experience something else than the previous 2 weeks(San Diego and LA). That means we would prefer the second option.

The thing is, we are only supposed to spend 2 days(1 night) on this, because of some arrangements further on i San Fran. And also, we can't have to long drives each day because of our 6 months old son. Anyone who could help with advice on this ?

1. What is the quickest route going through Death Valley.
2. What other attractions to see on the way when we already are in the mountains?
3. Is the winter potentially a problem in these areas in February ? (closed roads and so on)

Prayers from Norway for positive answers:)

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the R.T.A. forums.

Well the good news is that your preferred choice is quite easily done.

From Vegas you head towards D/V on the 160 to Pahrump and then the State line road to Death valley junction and across on the 190. Although you could spend a week in D/V and only scratch the surface, this route can be done in a day with stops at various view points and it will give you a good overview of what the place is all about. It is a fascinating landscape that we don't see the like of in Europe. You could take a quick detour to Badwater, the Lowest point in the U.S.A. [and Western hemisphere I believe] and have lunch and a walk around Furnace creek.

A popular stopping place would be the Lake Isabella area. [Take the 395 South out of D/V and 178 West]. It will be a long day but with lots of short journey's with time to take in the landscape and stretch the legs. From there it is aprox 6 hours to S/F but you could stop sooner if you wanted to and add it to this day. Stovepipe Wells is popular in D/V and you could watch a sunset over the sand dunes but it would leave you with a 9 or10 hour drive to S/F.

Weather wise you should be O.K but keep up to date with the forecasts as it is possible you could see winter delays just about anywhere, but generally speaking you should be fine.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

You're options really aren't nearly as big of an either or situation as you've presented. The ideas you've laid out are just 2 of them.

1. What is the quickest route going through Death Valley.

If you want the quickest option that includes Death Valley. You'll head to Death Valley from Vegas (using the locals route), you'll take CA-190 across the Park, then South on US-395/CA-14 to Mojave, then across to the I-5 via Bakersfield on CA-58. This would be a pretty easy trip over 2 days

2. What other attractions to see on the way when we already are in the mountains?
3. Is the winter potentially a problem in these areas in February ? (closed roads and so on)

Other than going over Tehachapi Pass on CA-58, you really wouldn't be in the mountains at all for the fastest route at all. Your odds of seeing bad weather would be pretty small, although its not impossible for the road to be closed for a few hours during a heavy winter snowfall.

[mortendokkedal]

Thanks for your very quick and good answers! I see the route through DV and then on to Bakersfield is a quick route. But then maybe we will get more out of driving straight through towards Bakersfield, and then towards the coast where we ought to stay a night in Morro Bay or someplace like that. (Any good tips regarding that ?) And then drive Highway 1 to Carmel/Monterey, and maybe a stop at Gilroy Outlet before getting to San Fran.

This is actually our original plan, and I think we will love that trip. But I was maybe hoping we could spend almost the same time going through DV and then further north to maybe Yosemite or some other nice places in the mountains worth visiting(I know ALL places are worth the visit, it's just a matter of getting the timeschedule to fit in...). That was why I put in the original question in this thread. But that might be difficult ?

[Southwest Dave]

Your original question mentioned your young child and not wanting to be travelling too long. If the weather permits [unpredictable at this stage] then you could drive through Sequoia on the Generals highway or take to Yosemite Valley. Either option will make it a long day, to do both you would need an extra day.

[mortendokkedal]

OK. Yes our 6 months old baby don't allow us long drives, so more than 6 hours a day is a bit much. I was just hoping for a pass through the mountains that didn't take much more time than the route through fex Bakersfield.

But I understand that it means more than that. Thats why the coast route probably will be better for us. Going into DV and back towards the coast means at least 3 more hours, and then we might end up skipping the coast part. Leaving us with only DV as our sightseeing. And then I believe we'll see more if we drive straight to Highway 1.

Thanks again for giving good advice:)

[Southwest Dave]

I am not saying what you should choose but really it is a straight choice between Death Valley and the coast with the time you have. But saying;

Leaving us with only DV as our sightseeing. And then I believe we'll see more if we drive straight to Highway 1.

isn't giving D/V the credit it deserves as you could say "It will leave only highway 1 for sight seeing". Both offer wonderful scenery and you will either have to take your scenery on day 1 and see D/V and drive through the next day, or drive through to the coast and do some sight seeing on your second day, either way it balances itself out. No other choice could offer such contrasting landscapes as this one. Expect either option to take longer than 12 hours of travel but you will have time for plenty of stops.

Either way you will have a wonderful time !