California loop

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Well, I love Bishop and the #395 corridor.  But for many different reasons.  We fly fish and hike.  Also Bishop has some great restaurants.  We love Chinese and Sushi and there are two excellent restaurants in Bishop.  But viewing the Sierra Nevada's from the eastern side along side of #395 is the highlight.  In fact we have driven the entire #395 north/south route up into Washington State up through the John Day Wilderness in Oregon several times.

Make sure there is water in Yosemite when you visit.  We were there several years ago in September and the water falls were just trickling....nothing spectacular at all.  Also, Yosemite is very impacted with tourist.  I would stay in a campground outside of the park and drive in.  However, as you mentioned get on those reservations quickly.

Some Ideas from a Californian:

*Be sure you drive Highway #1 north to south from Monterey Bay down to Malibu.  It's a spectacular drive.  We did it in a 36' with a tow car with no problems.  Infact the Monterey Bay Aquarium is great, especially for kids.  The Oregon Coast is also fabulous with light houses and places to camp along the way.  But I think you are trying to stay in California.  On the way down Highway #1 visit Hearst Castle and on down further on Highway #1 is the Elephant Seals rookery.  San Simeon is a convenient campground right on the coast close to Hearst Castle and the Seals.

*Another interesting area is Napa, CA (wine country)  There is a great campground at the Napa Country Fair Grounds. 

*Another fun drive is along the Russian River.

*Then there is Bodega Bay Country Park, north of San Francisco. (I need to verify the name)  The campground does not have any hook-ups, but the campground is on a "spit" with the bay on one side and the ocean on another.

*There is also the Giant Redwoods in northern California.  You can dig for clams along the shore with campgrounds sprinkled everywhere.

*The only problem I see is trying to visit Los Angeles.  It is NOT motorhome friendly; with tons of traffic and not a lot of campgrounds.  I would suggest going on down to San Diego and staying at Chula Vista RV.  It is fabulous, close to lots of tourist things with Sea World, the Marine Area Village and great food.

Have a great time.

Marsha~  (Who lives in the Southern Sierras
 
For clarification, here's a historical list of opening/closing dates for Tioga Pass. There's no guarantee/forecast for future years, but September should be fine.

Like Marsha, I always enjoy the Eastern Sierras, and fishing at numerous places along Hwy 395.
 
SeilerBird said:
. But there is absolutely nothing to see in Bishop.
Click to expand...

Bodie Ghost Town is near bishop and quite interesting, particularly the Stamp Mill tour,  although more for adults maybe. If you do stay there the Back Alley Bowl & Grill does good food.
 
G'day guys & gals,
Thanks to Marsha for more insight on the eastern Sierras.  It's still early days yet and with tons of advice to sift through, thanks to you all, we are getting more of the trip together slowly.
I'm so sad to say though, at some stage we will have to leave out some of your wonderful suggestions.
Cut & shut is never an easy thing to do when so many contribute their thoughts and suggestions on so many great stopovers.............
With our visit to LA, I've managed to guide the wife gently away pdq in past.  This time though, she wants to check out the Hollywood sign and do the semi tourist thing for a couple of days, then fly out. She loves the hustle & bustle of large American Cities, where I am the opposite.
So, as it is we'll be assembling a clockwise trip LA to LA, and then for comparison we'll do an anti clockwise trip Anaheim (teens want go to Disney Park) to LA, with a view on visiting as many of your suggestions as we can in the time we have, with the exception of our 4days/5nights at Yosemite, and each example will have different choices of stay overs (not any stopover the same).

If I may, once we've got those 2 together I'll run them by you for comment/advice (might take a couple of days !).
All the best from all of us in Aus.

 
There is so much to see and do in California it is ridiculous. Your kids (and you too) will love Disneyland. I would suggest buying a book at Amazon on touring Disneyland. There is so much too it and it is easy to miss some of the best stuff. Here is the best one:

https://www.amazon.com/Unofficial-Guide-Disneyland-2016/dp/1628090405/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471998513&sr=1-1&keywords=disneyland

Don't worry about seeing everything that is suggested. You will be back. Do you intend on doing any hiking in the parks? If so I have very specific trail recommendations for you.
 
Personally, I don't care if I see or hear of Mickey Mouse again, although I understand it's a must-see at least once for kids and adults. Chris OTOH would visit Disneyland or Disney World every week. We've made countless trips to Anaheim with friends and relatives visiting from the homeland. I finally got to the point of telling folks to fly into LAX or Orlando instead of SFO, and I'd buy Chris a plane ticket to go meet them and play tour guide.
 
I have an annual pass to Disney World and many weeks I go four times. One day each to Hollywood, Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Animal Kingdom. It never gets old.
 
G'day Tom & Tom,
LOL, yes family from the motherland can be a juggle. We did the family thing in Germany a couple years ago for 5 weeks. We managed to fit a 1 week RV trip to Netherlands, Poland, Cheq Republic.  That was only accomplished with o'nite stays. Whew, it was harrowing as far as day visits and the like, so much to see and do.
Same thing for them when the visit us here in Aus.  But hey, we're here for a good time, not a long time.
But as far as our trip goes in the US this time, relatively speaking (pardon the pun), we can do as we please......
THAT'S what we love about you guys.

Yosemite: Thanks Tom, can I ask you to keep that one under your hat for the moment........... I couldn't think of a better way to surprise the wife than with a 'special hike' for our anniversary (that's the main reason for our trip) in Sept.
So much to look forward to, so many to thank.
All the best to you, catch you again soon. 
 
The Planetarium at Griffith Park in LA is amaz and I'd recommend it even for the kids. The show I saw was mind blowing!
 
Thoughts from another Californian ...

Besides Disneyland, Los Angeles also has the Universal Studios Tour.  Unfortunately it's not too practical to go from one to another in a single day (distance and LA's usual traffic jams) so you might want to stay overnight near Disneyland for the duration (at least two full days to see it all) then relocate to a park on the north side of LA to visit Universal.  One suggestion is Balboa RV park in Van Nuys.  It's an easy trip on the Metro to and from Universal Studios and Hollywood and there's a local bus to and from the Metro station that stops about a block from the park

You can't hike to the Hollywood sign.  It's on a steep hillside above a residential neighborhood and it's protected by fences and motion sensors.  LA's primary police and fire communications tower is right above it so the city is very strict about not allowing people up there.  Your best bet would be to pick up a sighteeing tour in Hollywood and observe the sign from their regular stops.

Then head north out of L.A.  If you want to visit Lake Tahoe, take Hwy 14 north until it joins 395, then follow 395 up the east side of the Sierras through Bishop and continue north to Carson City.  It's a long drive, but the alternative is to spend a very long day on crowded freeways going through farm country.  If you go up the east side of the Sierras you can take a couple of days and visit Bodie, Mono Lake and drink in the views of the east side of the Sierra Nevada mountains on your way up.

At Carson City you can take US 50 west to Lake Tahoe's south shore.  From Lake Tahoe, continue west on Hwy 50 and visit the State Capitol and Old Town Sacramento.  Then continue west to the Silverado Fairgrounds campground in Napa and use that as a base to visit the Napa Wine Country.

On your way out of Napa, visit the historic town of Sonoma, California's first State Capitol.  Tour the Sonoma Mission, General Vallejo's home and the Korbel champagne cellars and have lunch on the town square.  Then continue to Marin Park in Greenbrae and use it as your base to visit San Francisco.

It's about a 15 - 20 minute walk to the passenger ferry on the other side of the inlet, on the way over to SF you'll get a good view of Alcatraz Island and, if the fog is out, the Golden Gate Bridge.

In SF, ride the historic streetcar up the Embarcadero to Pier 41 and Fisherman's Wharf.  Take the shuttle bus up to the Coit Tower lookout, then ride the cable car from the Hyde Street Pier up and over the huge hill to Market Street and Union Square.  On Market Street you can again catch a historic streetcar or other transit back to th Ferry terminal.

If you rent a car for a day (the park office can help arrange this), visit the grove of giant coastal redwoods at Muir Woods.  The redwoods are what you'll find further north along the California coast and are taller but more slender than the giant Sequoia trees in Sequoia/Kings Canyon.  Continue up Mt. Tamalpais for some spectacular views of the Bay Area, especially as the fog rolls in through the Golden Gate.

It's about 4 hours from Marin to Yosemite Valley if you leave after the morning commute clears out.

Then go south to Kings Canyon.

After Kings canyon, head west out to the coast and visit the Monterey Aquarium and Cannery Row.  About a half hour north is the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, the last old time beachfront amusement park on the West Coast.

Then head south along coastal Highway 1 to Los Angeles.  Don't forget to visit Hearst Castle on your way south.

 
Looks like we have some great input for a Library article.

As Tom'S said, there's so much to see/do in California.
 
As you can see there are lots of proud Californian's here (me too), and provided some great info on the state. Here is a little practical advice. Driving an RV in Ca can be a bit trying depending on where you go. Around a big city it's a good idea to have a route well planned as sudden changes in direction can be difficult at best. 

I recommend a GPS if you are comfortable using one. Just be aware that many of them do not know that you are driving a large vehicle, and may route you down some pretty small streets if you miss a turn and need to turn around. 

There are not a lot of large "Truck Stop" type fueling stations in the big cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, so plan to get your fuel off of the major interstates if possible.  Since you probably will not be pulling a car with you, that will be one less issue to worry about if you get into a tight situation and need to back up.

RV's are NOT required to pass through the commercial weigh stations that you will pass along the freeways. Primarily just trucks used for commercial purposes, and rental trucks used for hauling furniture and the like are required to pass through to be weighed. 

Due to the size and relatively slow speed of your RV, it's a good idea to stay to the right on multi lane highways. And if pulling a steep grade (which there are many in Ca) you will probably be in the far right lane with the semi trucks working your way to the top. Passing a slow one in front of you is acceptable, as long as you move back to the right when the pass is complete.

Without towing a car, you will not be restricted to the 55 mph speed limits you see posted for trucks and vehicles that are towing anything. However, you will be driving a large vehicle, and keeping the speed at a level where you feel comfortable in stopping and controlling the RV at all times is imperative. The law enforcement responsible for the highways in Ca is the Ca Highway Patrol (CHP) and usually don't pay too much attention to the RV's as long as they are being driven prudently. 

I can tell from your posts that you are well traveled, so I am sure many of these things have already occurred to you. Just remember that Ca is the most populated of all the 50 states, and for good reason.  As you have already been advised there is a ton of stuff to see and do here in this great state, but a lot of other folks will be doing the same as you.  Try not to push too hard, leave yourself and your family time to enjoy all that there is around you, and you will have a great trip.  Enjoy, and welcome to the  "Golden State"!
 
Well stated Marty. To that I would add that in California we have agricultural inspection stations. You are required to stop there and if you have any fruits or vegetables you will have to surrender them. If you do have some please don't lie about it. Those stations serve a very important function. One illegal fruit can harbor a bug that can devastate crops. And California's main industry is agriculture.
 
For clarification, the agricultural inspection stations are on major highways/freeways as you enter California. You won't see them after entering the state, or when you leave. Just wanted to be sure oldozroadee understood that you can buy fruits while in California, travel throughout the state with them, and take them with you when you leave. Just don't bring fruits in from/via adjoining states. You could also eat them, in or out of state  ;D
 
The reason I brought up the ag stations is because he was talking about going up 395 to Yosemite to Tahoe and then back into Cali which means he might be passing through two stations.
 
Understood. I couldn't recall seeing Ag stations on 395, and assumed I was just having a brain fart. Thought I'd look up the official maps of Ag stations, and they don't show one on Hwy 395. But they do show the one on Hwy 50 coming from Tahoe.
 
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