Yosemite to Las Vegas

As part of our road trip holiday we will be travelling from San Francisco on a Thursday morning in late October and would like to drive via Yosemite Park on the way to Las Vegas which we would like to reach by Sunday.

Also, on Saturday we would like to stop off and rest as near to Las Vegas as possible so that we will only have a short drive on Sunday morning. Does anyone have any recommendations that will allow us to see the beauty of Yosemite and perhaps death valley on the way? Or are there any other places you would recommend us staying on the way to LV? Thanks :)

Yosemite to Las Vegas

If you are camping you are in good luck as there are many choice sof places to stay - if not book the National Parks in Advance

Thursday

Go from SF to Yosemite - break at Oakdale for rest stop.

Late lunch Yosemite (Ahwanee Lodge if wanting a treat). See valley, maybe hike Vernal Falls.

Option 1

High Sierra Route

Stay in Yosemite if you can - if not press on over Tioga Pass - bear in mind that if you sleep at over 7000 ft you need to drink well else you%26#39;ll get a headache or stiff shoulders - so Tuolumne Meadows may be a place to stay. Lee Vining doesn%26#39;t have that much - but there%26#39;s Mono Lake nearby. At worst stay at Mammoth - out of ski season there will be places or go on to Bishop (lower altitude - if you pick up a book of Motel Vouchers in Oakdale you can find a discount voucher maybe).

Friday

Devil%26#39;s Postpile near Mammoth.

Bishop - see Gallery of Galen Rowell - tragically killed in plane crash returning to Bishop. Bishop has lots of motels.

Go up to Bristlecone Pine forest turn - left just south of Bishop - some of the oldest trees in the world - 10,000 ft.

Push on to Death Valley for Friday night accommodation.

Saturday

See Death Valley - dunes, devil%26#39;s golf course, crater, Scotty%26#39;s Castle

Go to Las Vegas - Circus Circus tends to be good value.

Option 2

Leave Yosemite at the south end Wawona - see big trees on the way out. Go on to Kings Canyon or Sequoia National Park

Stay there the night - book in advance - there are lodges, campgrounds and huts with stoves.

Friday

Drive to Bakersfield, China Lake, Death Valley - China Lake is a cheap place to stay Econolodge if you decide to look around. Military Base - not pretty.

Then same as for other trip. Death Valley.

You can also stay in Death Valley.

Its a long drive making a push for Mammoth/Bishop or Sequoia National Park - but that%26#39;s what I%26#39;d do (have done both options!) and have a long day the first day setting off before rush hour from San Francisco to get across the Bay before the traffic.

Yosemite to Las Vegas

Travelbug,

While you are getting an itinerary rich with things to see and do, I might try to do this trip with a whole lot more time spent in Yosemite and save some of the other items for another day, when you have more time.

Your end of October plans are cutting it close to our Sierra snow season. Of the last 3 years, two saw the closure of Tioga Pass in October.

From the Valley to Las Vegas is about an 8 hours-ish drive time.

If using route 395 and making reservations, be sure to enquire on the cancellation policy if Tioga Pass closes. Often this time of year reservtaions aren%26#39;t required, but many people travel more comfortably with them.

Have a great trip.

Thank you amhey for your very detailed advice its very helpful I will print it off so that we can go over it %26amp; finalize our trip itinerary, we would like to make it to Bishop. Thanks for your helpful advice also HotelCharlotte we are considering extending the trip so that we may be able to spend more time at Yosemite. This is our first trip to the West Coast and its so tempting to try and see the places we%26#39;ve always talked about seeing all at once but we only have 2 and half weeks for our entire trip. Thanks for the advice about Tioga Pass and route 395.

Can%26#39;t wait to start this trip... :O)

We recently did a similar trip in reverse (Las Vegas to Death Valley, Yosemite and finally, Los Angeles). Gained invaluable information from TripAdvisor forums and reviews. Left Las Vegas at 9:00am, drove through Death Valley, had late lunch at Furnace Creek there and spent the night in Bishop, CA at the BW Creekside Inn - terrific spot. Arrived in Bishop around 6:30pm that evening, just to give you an idea of time. We stopped a LOT in Death Valley, but didn%26#39;t do any serious hiking there as it was a 121 degree late August day. Continued at 9:00 am the next morning on 395 N to Tioga Pass with short side trips (June Lake Loop and Mono Lake) along the way. The Whoa Nellie Deli at the Mobil gas station at the intersection of 395 and 120 (Tioga Pass) was everything everyone said it would be! Continued on the Tioga Pass to Yosemite Valley with plenty of stops (Whoa Nellie picnic at Parson%26#39;s Lodge in Tuolumne Meadows, short hikes at Tenaya Lake, Olmsted Point and Bridalveil Falls) arriving at the Lodge at the Falls around 7:00pm. Up and out early the next day to Glacier Point and south to Mariposa Grove continuing on 41 S to Los Angeles. Did a lot in a short amount of time, but never felt rushed. Enjoy your trip!

Thanks beachmusic sorry I%26#39;ve only just seen your post. This is very reassuring as we hope to cover more or less the same in similar timescale. I booked us into Motel 6 in Bishop for one night I hope its ok the reviews on tripadvisor are quite old but I did find a couple of more recent reviews on Orbitz.Creekside Inn looks great but we wanted to budget the one night stop over to leave more for better hotels elsewhere.