Traveling: SF, Tahoe Lake, Yosemite, Big Sur.........

In summer, me and my wife planning to go on trip arount California.

Our plan:

- couple of days in SF

- drive to Tahoe Lake through Ebbetts Pass Scenic road (Arnold) with overnight stay in Stockton

- overnight stay in South Lake Tahoe, trip around Tahoe Lake and in the evening drive to Tioga Pass

- stay overnight in Lee Vining or Bridgeport

- next day go to Yosemite Park and in the evening drive to Santa Cruz with overnight stay in Merced.

- next overnight stay in Santa Cruz and next day take Scenic Road 1 - Big Sur to San Simeon

- overnight stay in San Simeon and drive back to SF and fly home to Toronto...

Would appreciate any advice you guys can give me....

Also, which hotels/motels will you reccomend and which DO NOT!

P.S. We don%26#39;t need luxary hotels....only basic clean and secure...

Traveling: SF, Tahoe Lake, Yosemite, Big Sur.........

SF to South Lake Tahoe via Ebbetts Pass is a very different way of getting there. I would not wish an overnight in Stockton on my worst enemy.

It will be very hot in Stockton during the summer ditto for Arnold. Is there something specific drawing you to these places? Is it Big Trees and then Ebbetts Pass? Skip Stockton and stay in Arnold or Murphys.

SF to Stockton is less than 90 minutes. Stockton to Arnold is just over 90 minutes so actually you could overnight in Arnold or Murphys with no problem.

In Tahoe there are some nice Best Westerns. Timber Cove is better than the Station something.

Lake Tahoe to Lee Vining is a nice drive at about 2.5 hours. Lee Vining to Yosemite Valley is like 2 hours. Then time in the valley and then on to Merced which is 2 hours from the valley.

This is a super driving vacation.

Traveling: SF, Tahoe Lake, Yosemite, Big Sur.........

Yes, don%26#39;t stay in Stockton. Another possible stop is Angels Camp, where Mark Twain wrote the one about the celbrated jumping frog. They have lots of froggy stuff, and there%26#39;s the Frogtown motel.

Hwy 4 is a beautiful drive with lots of big trees, not just the sequoias at Big Trees State Park, but also pine and fir on the way to and from. The highway gets very narrow after Bear Valley, almost one lane, but people take RVs up there. Very winding up into alpine forest and over Ebbets Pass into sagebrush.

Thanks for comments!

We%26#39;d like drive to drive Tahoe Lake through Ebbetts Pass Scenic road (Arnold) because we like scenic roads. Not any specific reason.

The point staying in Stockton, was that we wanted to be in SF whole day and then to stay overnight close to Arnold. What do u think about Lodi?

What is bad about Stockton? Sorry, didn%26#39;t get what you meant by ';hot'; and Albert...

Also, is Merced OK to stay overnight? Found that the crime rate there is pretty high....

Summer in the central valley will be generally in the neighborhood of 100 degrees.

Another question,.... we%26#39;re planing to book ahead 2 nights in SF.... and for other nights to stay in some motel ';on fly'; (kinda driving, seing motel on the road-staying there) without booking at all (as our plan may change) or call in the morning in other to book for a night.

Is it a problem for 2nd half of July in CA?

Next year we went to Oregon and had similar trip...we didn%26#39;t have any problem with place to stay overnight..we thought it would be much more difficult and brougth tent with sleeping bags (but never used them)...

What about California?

From accomodation search on tripadvisor, my biggest concern about finding place in Lee Viking/Bridgeport and Big Sur/San Simeon areas.

You will have better luck with ';on the fly'; motel selection in Bridgeport than in Lee Vining. Lee Vining has about three motels, Bridgeport more. When you are in Lee Vining, however, do stop at the Mono Lake Visitor%26#39;s Center and see what a group of volunteers have done to fight the LA Water District and restore the water to the feeder streams and thus the lake, which had become seriously depleted due to the diversion of water by said LAWD.

I am sure you will have a great time wherever you go....

You might be interested in reading my article on our road trip through California in 2004. The route was very different but we did stay in Yosemite and Tahoe...

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~ifield/california/california%20road%20trip%202004.htm

Hope you like it...

Nadia

Is anybody knows what is the water temperature in Lake Tahoe in July? Is it warm enough for swimming? (last year we were swimming in deepest US lake - Crater lake and would like to swim in 2nd deepest lol). Wasn%26#39;t able to find something in the Web.

How warm are lakes around Yosemite, Sonora Pass etc....?