Vegas to San Francisco Via Yosemite

[watky555]

Has anybody got any experience or a tourist routes for driving to San Fran from Las Vegas via Yosemite national park?? where traveling in July.

[Rollin]

How long are you going for?

[watky555]

Three days planned for this part of the trip. love to drive north from vegas across death valley but unsure on fuel stops and if its safe with a young ish family

[Rollin]

190 to 395 to 120

Death Valley
Tioga Pass
Yosemite

It will be nice and hot in July in Death Valley (120+ day and 100 night)

[watky555]

Is there stop of points grub and fuel? it looks like lots of not a lot for hours

[fiatpower]

watky555 said:

Three days planned for this part of the trip. love to drive north from vegas across death valley but unsure on fuel stops and if its safe with a young ish family

I'd imagine it'd be fine. With regards to fuel stops there are enough petrol stations there so you shouldnt run out but when i was there i used a rule of If i was close to half a tank and i saw a petrol station i'd pull over and fill up. Probably wasnt needed but stopped any problems.

[Matt..]

watky555 said:

Is there stop of points grub and fuel? it looks like lots of not a lot for hours

It's a long way between LV and Yosemite. You will want to stop a few times. Mammoth Lakes is good.

Yosemite will be insanely busy at that time. Dont go on a weekend!

[Stumps690]

Vegas - Beattie (nice ghost town) + fuel stop - Death Valley ( stop at furnace creek leg stretch) - Stop at sand dunes for a play you can't miss them - Death Valley fuel stop stovepipe - up to mammoth lakes watch for speed cameras!! Leg stretch and fuel - up to Lake Tahoe for last leg stretch and fuel - into Yosemite.

Book all your accommodation NOW don't risk just turning up ( we did this and slept in the car! Not fun with a pregnant wife), camp curry is a lot of fun for families, just book your digs ASAP!

[IainT]

watky555 said:

Has anybody got any experience or a tourist routes for driving to San Fran from Las Vegas via Yosemite national park?? where traveling in July.

Did this in reverse a while ago at the tail end of a driving holiday.

We did

• SF (including trips out to Sac, Muir Woods, Napa)
• Down Pacific Highway stop over in Saint Luis Opisbo
• LA
• San Diego
• Grand Canyon
• Vegas baby!
• Death valley
• Yosemite
• SF

We didn't book any hotels apart from the first and last nights of the trip and found random motels and guest-houses. The roads were great - we kept off the Interstates for the most part. I'd probably stump up for something more fun to drive than the utterly terrible Pontiac Grand Prix we had though.

[sjwb]

Don't forget Lake Tahoe and stop at the Hyatt Recency, even if only for lunch.

Stop here before you get to SF.
http://auburnalehouse.com/
Just off highway 80, ZIP code CA 95603.

[louiebaby]

sjwb said:

Don't forget Lake Tahoe and stop at the Hyatt Recency, even if only for lunch.

If you've only got 3 days, (2 nights) for instance, I'd forget Lake Tahoe.

Consider:

LV -> Death Valley -> Mammoth Lakes (Longest day driving.)
Mammoth Lakes -> Yosemite Village (Shorter day.)
Yosemite Village -> San Fran (Longish, but not too bad.)

Book your accommodation soon / now. In Yosemite, it will be busy, but the Giant Redwoods just off the Tioga Pass, and Glacier Point are worthwhile (shortish) diversions.

With a big enough car, aircon and being sensible about Gas stops, you'd be fine!

[S7Paul]

We did it in reverse:-

San Fran - South Lake Tahoe - 395 down to Lee Vining (Mono Lake is awesome) - 120 into Yosemite, and then back out again onto the 395 down to Lone Pine - 138 & 190 to (& through) Death Valley - finally via Pahrump to Vegas.

ETA: And we booked the hotel in Yosemite Village about a year in advance, and even then were lucky to get in!

Edited by S7Paul on Monday 28th January 22:41

[watky555]

Cheers for the info guys much appreciated.

Approximately how many hours to Yosemite? is it do able in a full day

[S7Paul]

Going the most scenic route Google Maps says 460 miles & 9 hours 3 mins, so if you want to actually get out of the car & see anything, the answer is No.

[blueheron]

We did Yosemite -> Vegas in May last year. Left Oakhurst at 8am, arrived in Vegas at 8pm. This was with numerous photo stops/stretch legs/lunch so yes it's doable, but a long day.

Whoa Nellie Deli/Tioga Gas Station is worth stopping at for food. It's just outside Mono Lake where the Tioga road (120) meets the 395. I had tasty fish tacos there.

Allow as much time as you can in Yosemite. You don't want to rush this place. 2 days absolute minimum imo. I'd rate it over Death Valley which I found a bit boring when we drove through.

Tioga road is closed due to snow in Winter but should be open by July. Check the National Parks Service website for information.

Edited by blueheron on Tuesday 29th January 10:49

Edited by blueheron on Tuesday 29th January 10:50

[JuniorD]

I drove with a bunch of mates from Vegas to San Fran via Yosemite a few years ago.

We left at 1000 and drove the 95 north and the 374 west across Death Valley.
When we reached Lone Pine we went north on the 395 to enter Yosemite from Mono Lake. After a hour or two we thought it appropriate to check if the roads into the park were opened yet (it was May and warm) but we were told by a State Trooper they were still closed! SO much for good planning.

That called for a swift U-turn and a drive all the way south to Indian Wells, over to Bakersfield and up via Fresno. We arived well after midnight. I drove the leg from Bakersfield to Yosemite in the dark, challenging to say the least. We only had 2 nights in Yosemite which wasn't enough but the effort was well worth it - the best road trip I've ever done.

[Office_Monkey]

Did Vegas -> Yosemite -> SF in August over a couple of days. Stayed in Mammoth lakes, is beautiful scenery. The drive itself was quite fun too, plenty of crests and hairpins to have fun with (even with the dire gearbox in the rental Camaro). I would recommend you buy water and sun lotion, didn't have any problems with fuel at all tbh.

[S7Paul]

blueheron said:

Death Valley which I found a bit boring when we drove through.

I can understand that if you just drove through it, but if you'd had the time to visit places like Badwater, Dante's View, Zabriskie Point, Scotty's Castle, Artist's Palette Drive, 20 Mule Team Canyon and Ubehebe Crater you may have found it a lot more interesting.

As for Yosemite - stunning place. Glacier Point is a must, and it can be combined with a trip down to Mariposa Grove, where you wander amongst the Sequoia trees.

The problem with all these road trips is cherry-picking what you really want to see and what you don't mind missing, as you're always racing against the clock. That's why spending hours researching beforehand really pays off.

[Matt..]

Office_Monkey said:

Did Vegas -> Yosemite -> SF in August over a couple of days. Stayed in Mammoth lakes, is beautiful scenery. The drive itself was quite fun too, plenty of crests and hairpins to have fun with (even with the dire gearbox in the rental Camaro). I would recommend you buy water and sun lotion, didn't have any problems with fuel at all tbh.

You say that, but the road out of Vegas is one of the most boring roads i've ever driven. Once you hit DV it gets far better though!

Yosemite is a fun place. Though it's hard work in summer and most definitely on weekends! Between the hours of 9am and 4pm it is rammed in the valley. Parking can even be a challenge, and you will probably be queuing for spaces.

- Glacier point
- Sentinal dome
- Mirror lake
- Tunnel view
- Valley view
- Vernal falls/Nevada falls
- etc...

Loads of places to go

I also enjoyed DV, but in July? That's the hottest month. 115f average! (45c). It's easy to get around all the sites though, and you dont have to leave the car for very long if you dont want to. You will want to be doing everything either very early, or very late though. It's a long way between places though. DV is twice the size of Dorset.

Edited by Matt.. on Tuesday 29th January 18:08