Vegas-Yosemite-San Francisco

We are looking at the possibility of driving from Las Vegas to San Francisco, stopping at Yosemite National Park along the way, over 3 days in late November 2005. Grateful for any advice on the best route to take (or whether it would be easier to just fly from Vegas and take a tour from San Francisco to Yosemite).

Vegas-Yosemite-San Francisco

Spare yourself the 7+ hour drive across Nevada unless you really love desert. Fly Southwest Air for $39 from LAS to Reno (RNO), rent a car there (Budget one-way is inexpensive to SFO) and drive through Tioga Pass west through Yosemite Park into Yosemite Valley, enjoying the wonderful sights most people miss (like the high meadows), then on to SF. That way you don%26#39;t backtrack (from SFO), and you also get to see even better views of the park. Just need to be sure the Pass is open that time of year.

You probably don%26#39;t even want a car in Vegas except to see Hoover Dam.

Vegas-Yosemite-San Francisco

Sage Traveling: Flying to Reno and renting a car to Yosemite is not possible. Late October/early November Tioga Pass is closed for the winter - depending on the first snow fall.

A 2 or 3 day tour to Yosemite from San Francisco sounds like a good idea. One way is about a 4 hour bus ride.... Yosemite is a beautiful place, and I hope you have some time to enjoy it.

Thanks Mere. I thought Pass was closed in Dec. Are there two different west entrance routes in and out that can be taken to maximize scenery, minimize backtracking? Maybe from SF and back to Monterey?

There are 3 entrances on the west side of Yosemite, but someone else will have to advise and give recommendations. My traveling is mostly on the eastern side of the Sierra and south.

AusGuy,

You will have to come up from Bakersfield and highway 99. At Fresno you can head North into the park on 41. This is a long long day of driving. You might want to find somewhere to stay for a night---or just plan on a travel day. Your egress from the park to SF can be along highway 120, most direct and scenic, or along 140 which doesn%26#39;t have the elevation climbs.

Have a marvelous holiday---If for some reason we haven%26#39;t had snow yet and Tioga Pass is still open, that should be your route, 395 north to 120 and into the valley. Last year the pass closed October 14, the year before October 30 and the years before that sometime in November, so there is a fat and slim chance you might still be inside the snow fall.

Our Thanksgiving Holiday is Thursday Nov 24 which is a popular time for people to have a LONG (ie Wed - Sun ) weekend in the Valley. Therefore, if that happens to be the time you planned to be there, move fast on getting accomodations. Be sure to read all the reviews in the HOTEL section here on Trip Advisor, so you know what to expect. There is a big difference in comfort, and price, OF COURSE, between Curry Village tent cabins (brrrr!) , regular cabins and hotel rooms at Yosemite Lodge at the Falls or the Ahwahnee Hotel. While there might not be snow in the valley in late November, it can be frosty and we have been there then when there has been an early snowfall at higher elevations around Wawona hwy 41.

There are places in the park (not the Valley) or just outside should all the Valley accomodations in your budget range be full, so just post another question here and the ';experts'; will give you the leads.

My suggestion, if you have time and flexibility, would be to fly to San Francisco, drive 120 to Yosemite and leave by driving 140 along the Merced River Canyon, over Midpines Summit 2962 ft. near Mariposa (which is lower than the Valley, so snow probably not a problem)to Merced, then 59 to 152 which is a good highway to Los Banos and on to 156 to Monterey, if you have never been there. There is the awesome Monterey Bay Aquarium that you folks from OZ would appreciate .

In fact, you might like to leave Yosemite mid afternoon on your last day, bearing in mind it gets dark early, and start back, staying somewhere on the road on your route back to the coast.

From Monterey, it is probably 3 hours max to San Francisco via 156 back to 101 or drive Monterey Bay to Santa Crtuz , take 17 to 85 and 280 the scenic Junipera Serra Freeway that runs along the hills above the Bay into the City to wherever your destination is. Hope you have time to make the loop rather than just going back and forth SF to YNP on 120.

Thank you all for your advice/suggestions. We will be on a fairly tight schedule (also visiting San Diego and LA before returning to Oz in mid-Dec) so I think we will save some time and just fly from Vegas to San Fran and either take a tour from SF to Yosemite or drive the circuit Juday suggested. However we do it, I%26#39;m sure we will go back again next year. Thanks again.

In that case, you may want to turn SOUTH at Monterey and and have the added bonus of driving Hwy 1, the incredible Big Sur route, to Morro Bay and on to S CA. www.bigsurcalifornia.com

Ask away if you have further questions about that part of the journey.

Ooops... correction www.bigsurcalifornia.org

Since Tioga Pass is closed in the winter, you%26#39;re talking about entering from the west.

Depending on what the weather%26#39;s doing, you could enter on the southern end of Yosemite via Hwy 99 to Hwy 41 (you go past Coarsegold and Fish Camp). The Wawona Hotel is the first park lodging (tho%26#39; there are others just outside the park). You%26#39;d go by Badger Pass down into the Yosemite Valley.

To come out, you%26#39;d go the via Hwy 140 through El Portal.

Problem is, Badger Pass in closed during the winter. That would mean you just go in and out the park via Highway 140 (from Hwy 99) and be done with it.

If you don%26#39;t want to hassle with the drive some people just take a tour from San Francisco, or Amtrak (which is really a coordinated package of bus from SF to the Amtrak station across the bay, then train, then another bus from the Fresno area). It depends on your comfort driving mountain roads for some part of the trip.

You can check with yosemitepark.com (operated by the concession)

www.yosemitepark.com/currentConditions.cfm鈥?/a>

And this national park service site for Yosemite may help, too:

http://www.nps.gov/yose/trip/