Need somewhere to stop between Yosemite and Las Vegas!

[xx_donna_xx]

Hi!

Me and my boyfriend are coming to America in September, flying into San Francisco, on to Las Vegas and LA then back up the coast to San Francisco.

We have our first four nights booked in San Francisco and are planning to spend our fifth day at Yosemite Park. On our 5th night we would like to stay somewhere between Yosemite and Las Vegas to break the journey up.

My question is...which is the best route and where would be a good place to stay?

The British tour companies tend to stop at Selma and go that way around. But from reading the forums on this website it seems that going via death valley is the more scenic route. If this is true where would be a good place to stay overnight?

Thanks for your help in advance :-)

Donna

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

Death valley is a very popular and scenic drive through some amazing landscape, and to top it off, going that way means you leave Yosemite by way of the Tioga pass [CA120] which is a great drive and big part of the Yosemite experience.

The problem you have, if I am reading it correctly, is that you only have 1 night between SF and Las Vegas and to really enjoy the experience I would have recommended 2 nights. Yosemite is an amazing place with so much to see and you will only have a few hours at best. I would leave SF very early for Yosemite and take a look around the park before heading over Tioga and stop at Lee Vining or Bishop and then drive through Death valley into Vegas next day. If you can work an extra night in I would definitely do so.

One other thing, if your trip is still open to change, you could consider heading from SF to LA down the coast and then Vegas, Yosemite and back to SF. It's not a big deal, but by doing so the Ocean views and pull outs will be on your side of the road, making it easier to pull up without having to cross the traffic. To take the coastal route you need to plan for an overnight stop between the 2 City's.

[xx_donna_xx]

Hi,

Thanks for the help. Unfortunatley we have already booked the hotel in Vegas so we are restricted now! We never thought about being on the wrong side of the costal road! but nevermind. We have 3 nights to make our way up the coast but still unsure of where to stay, heard Carmel is a nice place and Pebble beach but we have plenty of time to get researching on that.

We will look into a nights stay in either Lee Vining or Bishop then. Cheers!

Donna

[glc]

If you have 3 days to go up the coast from LA to SF, I'd look at one night in San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, Cayucos, Cambria, or San Simeon - and one night in the Monterey area. I hear that Pacific Grove is a particularly good choice.

[Southwest Dave]

I would consider leaving SF half a day earlier and drive to Yosemite so that you start day 5 there, and with a good amount of notice you shouldn't have any problem cancelling your last night in SF. The City is quite compact and you should have plenty of time to get a good overview of the place, and you might want to consider booking a trip to Alcatraz Island in advance . It's an amazing experience but gets busy and can sell out or at least have large queues, this is the only official place to buy your tickets, all the others are tour operators who will only sell with other tours so they can make their profit. Anyway, the reason I mention SF is because I am not sure whether you realise just how big and spectacular Yosemite is, and with travel time you really won't have the time to appreciate it fully, it is of course your decision, I am merely putting the option "out there".
Try and head up to Glacier point and then into the valley before driving over the Tioga pass, wonderful !

[xx_donna_xx]

Thanks for that glc i will look into those places.

Dave - we are leaving San Fran very early day 5 and spending the full day in Yosemite. I know there is more to see than what we will cover in a day but for this trip we were just hoping to get a taste of everything and then hopefuly return in the next few years when we can afford it again!

Thanks for the Alcatraz website, will definatly want to visit there.

Donna

[Mark Sedenquist]

Thanks for the help. Unfortunatley we have already booked the hotel in Vegas so we are restricted now! We never thought about being on the wrong side of the costal road!

The views are equally amazing when you are going north -- in some cases maybe even more stunning, but Southwest Dave is also correct, when going southbound, it's easier to pull over on the turn-outs to see the views without crossing the busy highway. One of the don't miss viewpoints --- is this one.

(Photo by Alvin, aka "roadie" click here for more information about this spot)
The only place where a waterfall falls into the Pacific Ocean in the USA.