Advise on upcoming California tour

Hi,

I am looking for some advice on an upcoming trip to California next month, arrive on 6th in SF, drop of RV on 21st Sept in SF.
I have a rough route planned out but I am not sure if it's achievable, I covered roughly the same distance last year in Canada but I am a bit more worried about this one.

Here is a very rough idea of where I want to go, any advice on where to stay or where to avoid, best routes etc. would be appreciated.
San Francisco
Lake Tahoe
Yosemite
Death Valley
Las Vegas
Grand Canyon
Joshua Tree NP
LA
Back along the coastal road to SF.
I normally allow about 4hrs between each place but stop on route to see other things, I would normally drive most days but reserve 2 days in SF and 1 or 2 elsewhere.

Thanks
Gary

That's quite an ambitious plan Gary, although quite typical for folks who haven't been here before. There are numerous prior discussions on this Vistors to the USA message board dealing with all or parts of your plan. We also have articles in.our forum Library, including one on San Francisco by RV.

BTW several of the places you mentioned are not in California.

Thanks for the prompt response and the advice, I will check out the articles in the library.

I know it's ambitious, I found the Canadian trip quite easy but when you're up in their national parks there's not a lot of traffic and driving is easy, I just think I am going to find a lot more traffic on this trip.
We were going to park the RV on the outskirts of SF and travel into the city on public transport, we did a similar thing in Vancouver last year.

Sorry I wrapped it all up as a California Tour to keep the title short but I will be venturing into other states as you mentioned.

Personally, I prefer Reno to Las Vegas, and it's an easy drive from Tahoe. Not on the scale of LV, but enough casinos and shows to entertain, with a lot less driving. OTOH I don't care to spend much time in casinos.

Also, even though you are traveling in September, the desert areas: Death Valley, Joshua Tree and Las Vegas could still be a bit warm.

Marsha~

That's a very aggressive schedule for a two week trip.
Many of the roads that you're going to be taking are slow.  The national parks are going to be very slow with lots of traffic and parking issues (Yosemite in the summer time can be miserable just due to the parking issues). 

And.....while you can drive through Joshua Tree National Park loop and see much of it in a half day drive, Yosemite will take at least a day to see everything that's worth seeing. 

I've been to all the places you've listed many times and know them well and I am somebody that can spend ten or twelve hours a day on the road.  However, with these destinations I'd say that you're cheating yourself out of a lot that there is to see and do in each of these places.  I'd suggest consider doing just a Calif. loop and leave Vegas and Grand Canyon for another journey.

I'd also suggest doing your loop in reverse for several reasons but mainly Hwy 1 down the coast.  If you go south on 1, all the turn-outs and parking lots will be on your right and you'll not be having to deal with crossing on coming traffic.

Thanks for the advice, I have considered leaving out Vegas & the Grand Canyon for another trip, I am trying to book as little in advance as I can so I can change the route and leave things out if it gets a bit tough going.
Unfortunately I can't go the other way round as everybody was saying that I would need to book Yosemite way in advance, so I have already booked the campsite :0(

Just curious, what route will you be taking from Tahoe to Yosemite? One route is Hwy 395 from Reno and over Tioga Pass into Yosemite. If you choose this route, be aware that the pass is at an elevation of almost 10,000 feet (over 3,000 meters), and the RV will likely be gasping by the time you hit the summit.

Marsha/CA said:

Also, even though you are traveling in September, the desert areas: Death Valley, Joshua Tree and Las Vegas could still be a bit warm.

Marsha~

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The desert areas will be VERY hot in September. A run along the coast would be much nicer.

What do you want to see/do in Los Angeles?  The combined metropolitan area covers 4,850 square miles and between things being kind of spread out and LA's legendary traffic, you can spend the better part of two weeks just driving from one side to the other. <g>

Tom said:

Just curious, what route will you be taking from Tahoe to Yosemite? One route is Hwy 395 from Reno and over Tioga Pass into Yosemite. If you choose this route, be aware that the pass is at an elevation of almost 10,000 feet (over 3,000 meters), and the RV will likely be gasping by the time you hit the summit.

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This is the route I will be taking, the RV I'm hiring is 23ft, is this still going to struggle?

Lou Schneider said:

What do you want to see/do in Los Angeles?  The combined metropolitan area covers 4,850 square miles and between things being kind of spread out and LA's legendary traffic, you can spend the better part of two weeks just driving from one side to the other. <g>

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We will probably do Hollywood and studio tours, I'll find an RV park and use public transport to get around.

You'll make it over the hill OK, but it may be slow going. Hwy 395 and Tioga Pass/Hwy 120 is a nicer drive than the alternative.

If you have a couple of hours to spare, Bodie State Historic Park (a ghost town) is well worth a visit. From Hwy 395, you turn left on Hwy 270 approx 20 miles before reaching the turnoff to Tioga Pass. So, it's "on the way" and, as I said, worth a visit.

IMHO Hollywood Studios tours are overrated and somewhat corny. I'm not a fan of Mickey Mouse either  ;D

I'm not too fussed on Mickey either, we have done Florida and I would imagine its much the same, to be honest LA is just on route to the coast, I'm happy to miss it out if there's a better route.

There are a number of ways to get to the coast, but I assume you'd want to be fairly well south, say Santa Barbara, to enjoy that coast route. I'll let someone else give you the best route to the coast, but it looks like Hwy 101 might be the way to go, although it is a long detour south.

I still wouldn't waste time on the movie studios. There are a number of interesting places to visit coming up the coast, including Santa Barbara, Solvang (a neat Danish community where 101 veers inland), Morro Bay, San Simeon (Hearst Castle), Monterey, Santa Cruz (and its boardwalk), and Half Moon Bay, to name a few. Hwy 92 from Half Moon Bay will take you back to Hwy 101, south of San Francisco airport (SFO).

Just some random notes:

1. Even though the Tioga Pass road is normally open in September, many of the park facilities in Tuolomne Meadows (the high country at the Tioga Pass entrance to Yosemite) are usually closed starting in mid- to late-of September, depending on weather. I've had water jugs freeze over on Sept. 1 at Tuolomne. Winter comes early in the high country. Even though a lot of services are closed, Tuolomne is fabulous after the US Labor Day weekend -- gorgeous country and very few families with kids (check with the park to see when the campground is closing for the season if you plan to stay there). I'd take some time in Yosemite -- one of my favorite Ranger Naturalists used to say, "Tourists always ask me what I would do if I only had one day in Yosemite. My answer is that I would sit  on a rock and cry."

2. You couldn't pay me enough to go to Death Valley in September. The average daytime temperature is 42C (and can be 50 or more). It doesn't cool off much at night, either, that time of year.

3. I'll repeat what others have said -- you are covering lots of ground and aren't going to have much time to see anything. California is big.

If you only have two weeks, I'd make a big loop and stay in California: SF Bay Area, Napa Valley, Sierra Nevada (Yosemite, maybe a stop in the Gold Country, Sequoia National Park, LA/Orange County, Santa Barbara and the Central Coast, Monterey, back to SF). It's still a lot of ground, but it will cut your driving way back and you'll get to some some really wonderful places that weren't on your list, all of which are nicer that time of the year than Death Valley, and are ALWAYS nicer than Las Vegas.

Have fun!

I wouldn't recommend taking an RV to Las Vegas, unless it's just a stopover on the way to another destination.  Yes, there are RV parks available, but you'll wind up parking the RV there and using it as a hotel room while you take other transportation around town.

It'll take you a day to drive there from Los Angeles, longer from Yosemite.  And an equal amount of time to drive back.

If you have any extra time before or after you have the RV, airline flights from LA or San Francisco to Las Vegas are frequent and inexpensive, especially if you can book a couple of weeks in advance.  Check Southwest Airlines for some of the best bargains.

You can find some real bargains weekdays (Sunday night through Thursday night) at most resorts - often less than you'd pay for an RV site.  Friday and Saturday are when the crowds arrive and rates are much higher then.

Getting around Las Vegas by taxi or bus is convenient and relatively inexpensive -  the tourist parts of town (the Strip and Fremont St.) are relatively close together.  And taxis and buses pick you up and drop you off in front of the resorts - RV parking is hard to find and even if you rent a car you'll have to park in the garages at the rear of the properties.

Flights from either SF or LA to Las Vegas are frequent and inexpensive, especially if you can book a couple of weeks in advance.  Try Southwest Airlines for some of the best bargains.

Kwacka said:

We will probably do Hollywood and studio tours, I'll find an RV park and use public transport to get around.

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No offense meant here; but out of the country tourist don't realize just how big places here can be.  LA is massive and very spread out; has very little public transportation; with little to no RV campgrounds in and around the city.  It's hard to see LA from an RV, not to mention the heavy traffic.

I vote for just hanging out in California and doing the coast.  San Diego is another suggestion with several very nice campgrounds one being Chula Vista RV, where you can visit SeaWorld, SeaPort Village and the San Diego Zoo.  Others have mentioned other cities and places in California to visit. 

We also have the Giant Sequoias, the Coast Redwoods up near the northern part of California.  You might even have time to get into Southern Oregon along the Rogue River and the beautiful Oregon coast line with lighthouses and high bluffs.

BTW, your gas engine RV will do fine going over the pass, it will just be slow.  We used to have a gas truck with a slide in truck camper and went over that pass many times.  You'll be fine.

Enjoy your visit.

Masha~ (a Californian)