California loop

Hi all, from Australia.  We're newbies to RVing in the US.
A little history of Rving in the land of Aus.  Our parks are not set up as well as yours, full hook ups are rare (only in newer type parks) and sad to say, can only accommodate RV's up to 25/26 feet.  Even so, we do hire one on the odd occasion to run more miles up, family squeezed neatly together (4 of us). 

We're gearing up for a RV loop of CA in September 2017 in a hired 34 footer.  Sure, I agree it's early days for organizing, but we are determined to drive/live/enjoy your great state in pure bliss. So, to the route.
We're thinking Anaheim; Bishop; Yosemite; Lake Tahoe; SFO; LA.  Whew, this could be a lot ground to cover in 21 days.
Can I ask for your thoughts on this trip ?  Would you be able to advise me on actual travel time between the destinations listed above please.  I have found the net somewhat unreliable for information on travel times,
especially between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
But, one at a time is fine, any advice you can offer on Anaheim to Bishop (or other in between) will be greatly appreciated.     

Hi, welcome!  There has been a recent thread on travel times which if I remember correctly worked out at roughly 50 miles per hour. I'll  try to find the post and provide a link. That should help!

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,96116.msg866483.html#msg866483

Here it is...

Thanks so much, I'll get stuck into that after the kids come home from school.
8)

Anaheim to Bishop is just under 300 miles.  On a good day I figure I can average about 50 miles an hour so I would estimate about 6 hours.

However you are in the Los Angeles area and sometimes traffic is bad there which would slow you down a bit so if you plan on an 8 hour trip you'll probably be fine.

You do not want to go to Bishop on the way to Yosemite. The pass into Yosemite on 120 will most likely not be open in September and if it is you do not want to take a motorhome up that route. It is very steep and goes up to 10,000 feet. For your first stop I would suggest coming up the west side of the Sierras and make Sequoia/King Canyon National Parks your first visit. That is about 250 miles in five hours.

In Yosemite you will need reservations for any campground in the park way in advance. Be aware that nearly all reservations for the months of May through September and for some other weekends are filled the first day they become available, usually within seconds or minutes after 7 am! For your best chance of getting a reservation, be sure your clock is set accurately and start the first few steps of the reservation process at www.recreation.gov before 7 am Pacific time. You definitely want a campground on the valley floor. I recommend Upper Pines. Here is a link listing the day you must be online for your reservation:

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/camping.htm

From Sequoia to Yosemite is about 150 miles and that will take three or four hours. There are no direct routes between Yosemite and Lake Tahoe so it is best traveled on the western side of the Sierras and is about 150 miles or four hours.

Understand that in September you run the risk of snow. And when it snows in the Sierras it snows and chains are required. From Lake Tahoe to San Francisco is about 250 miles and takes six hours.

San Francisco to LA is an easy route and takes about 450 miles if you are smart enough to take the coast route. That takes about 8 hours in an RV. Not much to do in San Francisco in an RV. Most RVers won't go anywhere near SF. My advise would be to stay in Marin City at an RV park and take the ferry in SF.

http://goldengateferry.org/

Great advice from Tom above and those parks are fantastic to visit!

I've lived in California all my life and I have to ask, what's in Bishop?  In my humble opinion there are lots of places more interesting and fun than Bishop.  San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay (our favorite), Monterey, Pescadero, Bodega Bay..........

How much time do you have?

LOL, we've only lived in California 36 years, but I had the same question about Bishop  ;D  OTOH forum Staffer Masha lives just over the hill in Kernville, and might have a different perspective.

Well, there is Schat's Bakery.  That's good for an hour and a pound or two.  ;D  Also the route takes you by Mono Lake with its interesting tufa columns and brine shrimp habitat.  Sorry ... that's all I've got!    We're both multi-generational native Californians and we've been there .... once. 

If you call them Sea Monkeys they become much more interesting. 

???

I have been past Mono Lake dozens of times. The whole 395 drive is incredibly beautiful (my family used to live in Reno and I lived in Southern California for 20 years. But there is absolutely nothing to see in Bishop.

Hi to all,
Great advice from you guys !!. I am so glad I had the sense to join this fantastic forum !!
Special thanks to SeilerBird for his in depth reply.  I'm certainly taking all contributers advice on board to
re-address my routes and destinations.
I've had a quick look at it, and already I can see I was in for a rude awakening had I not asked the question.
Not only that, I have more choices of beautiful places to visit............. many thanks !!
I am looking closely at Sequoia and Yosemite, and yes I see that bookings are only 5 months in advance.
So I will be setting the alarm to allow for the time difference, SeilerBird !!.

8muddypaws, I only have 21 days. You've given us even more destinations to review. Whew, Now I feel like a kid in a candy store.  If only I had time to taste everything.  But one thing is for sure, we will be looking at your suggestions real close !!.

Thanks so much again to you all, see you all online again soon.
Plenty more research to do now.
Hooroo.

See sea monkeys.

Mono Lake has an interesting visitors center. The Tofu structures in the lake are one point of interest. Another is the fact that the lake is a stopover for a huge bird migration. See here.

oldozroadee said:

8muddypaws, I only have 21 days. You've given us even more destinations to review. Whew, Now I feel like a kid in a candy store.  If only I had time to taste everything.  But one thing is for sure, we will be looking at your suggestions real close !!.

Click to expand...

I lived in California for 40 years and I have traveled a lot there and still have not seen everything. You can spend 21 days in Yosemite and be crying when you leave. It is my all time favorite place in the world. The photos just don't do it justice. Your mouth will ache from being on the floor the whole time. Standing underneath El Capitan is a truly remarkable experience.

Unfortunately, not all potential visitors to the USA appreciate/understand the beauty of many of our National parks such as Yosemite.

Hi Tom, thanks for your comment.  There's no doubt about it ! Perhaps I should have mentioned we have been to the magnificent US before. Without going into the list, travelling on a Harley is fantastic, but the opportunity to immerse ourselves RVing is, well......... indescribable.  Having said that, by comparison, we have only covered the head of a pin. Our first family visit was to beautiful Hawaii for two weeks. Up till then, just me and the Congress woman for war and finances visited the mainland driving/riding.

If there was any drawbacks, it would be that we have not looked at RVing in the US before now.
Make no mistake, we intend to change that immediately if not before, lol.
Cheers.

Thanks SeilerBird, now that we have had a tiny look around at the varied sites and sounds, we did go to the US.GOV site for Yosemite.  Well may you say pictures or vids don't do the Park justice lol, as short as these vids are, we can see and agree that this will stir our emotionstoo, now we just can't wait to check in.
And I want to share the awesomeness of standing at the foot of EL Capitan.
My teen kids (watching at the same time) were absolutely stunned (they've only seen HI), I now seem to be having to explain why we left them home in their baby days.......... oops!!
No chance of that.................... any more.
Cheers