Road to Yosemite
September 27, 2011 11:37 AM Subscribe
Two buddies and I are taking a road trip from Las Vegas to San Francisco in November. After some research, I've come to a fork in the road...
The road trip is to last two nights and we are planning to start from Vegas on the second week of November. After travelling through Death Valley, I'm thinking that we should stop at the town of Lone Pine on highway 395, as it seems to be a natural midpoint in the journey. If anyone has highlights / downsides for this town, it would be greatly appreciated if they share them.
At this point, our itinerary starts to get unfocused: we really want to travel through and stay overnight at Yosemite National Park by taking road 120 from Mono Lake. Problem is, I don't know if the road is closed in the middle of fall season. Has anyone travelled through Yosemite, east-to-west during November? If so, any suggestions about accommodations at this time of year?
So, Yosemite is Plan A if conditions permit. Plan B would be to stay overnight at Lake Tahoe. Suggestions for accommodations here would also be appreciated.
The road trip is to last two nights and we are planning to start from Vegas on the second week of November. After travelling through Death Valley, I'm thinking that we should stop at the town of Lone Pine on highway 395, as it seems to be a natural midpoint in the journey. If anyone has highlights / downsides for this town, it would be greatly appreciated if they share them.
At this point, our itinerary starts to get unfocused: we really want to travel through and stay overnight at Yosemite National Park by taking road 120 from Mono Lake. Problem is, I don't know if the road is closed in the middle of fall season. Has anyone travelled through Yosemite, east-to-west during November? If so, any suggestions about accommodations at this time of year?
So, Yosemite is Plan A if conditions permit. Plan B would be to stay overnight at Lake Tahoe. Suggestions for accommodations here would also be appreciated.
Just north of Mammoth Lakes and south of Lee Vining, I'd drop through June Lake. If you catch it before the ski season, rooms there are amazingly cheap, and often have kitchens (the summer season is all about fishing), it's an amazingly picturesque place, with some great hiking.
As Idle Curiosity says, 120 will be closed. Be sure you have chains (even if you're on I80 there may be chain controls). You might consider Bode on your possible stops, and be prepared to be flexible: a storm could delay you for a day or two, or you may have clear weather.
posted by straw at 12:11 PM on September 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
As Idle Curiosity says, 120 will be closed. Be sure you have chains (even if you're on I80 there may be chain controls). You might consider Bode on your possible stops, and be prepared to be flexible: a storm could delay you for a day or two, or you may have clear weather.
posted by straw at 12:11 PM on September 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Great, thanks! I'm beginning to see that we really don't need to have 3 days on the road. Is it possible to make the trip in 2 days comfortably? Sightseeing is important to us, but so is maximizing our time in SF.
posted by In The Annex at 12:28 PM on September 27, 2011
posted by In The Annex at 12:28 PM on September 27, 2011
I live here in Tahoe and a friend just drove from Reno (half an hour away) to Vegas a few days ago and made it in about 7 hours, but he's a fast driver. Most people do it a bit more leisurely and do it in 8 or 9 hours with stops.
In the 10 years I've lived in Tahoe, we've had two Thanksgiving storms that were pretty much white-out blizzards, so yes, driving in the Sierras in November is a hit or miss proposition.
From Tahoe to San Francisco is 3-4 hours, depending on road conditions.
posted by HeyAllie at 12:38 PM on September 27, 2011
In the 10 years I've lived in Tahoe, we've had two Thanksgiving storms that were pretty much white-out blizzards, so yes, driving in the Sierras in November is a hit or miss proposition.
From Tahoe to San Francisco is 3-4 hours, depending on road conditions.
posted by HeyAllie at 12:38 PM on September 27, 2011
Response by poster: Okay, so a buffer night is a good idea then, considering HeyAllie's comment. Rent 4WD: check. Pack chains: check.
Any other advice about travelling through Death Valley National Park? Thing to consider (pack water being obvious)?
posted by In The Annex at 12:51 PM on September 27, 2011
Any other advice about travelling through Death Valley National Park? Thing to consider (pack water being obvious)?
posted by In The Annex at 12:51 PM on September 27, 2011
Tioga Pass may or may not be closed the second week in November, but you should definitely have an alternate plan just in case.
posted by doctord at 12:57 PM on September 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by doctord at 12:57 PM on September 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
To HeyAllie's observation, it was probably back in the early naughties ('01 or '02 maybe?) that I was headed back to the Bay Area from June Lake at the end of Thanksgiving, and a storm plus Thanksgiving traffic meant it took about 12 hours to get from the Nevada line 'til we were solidly on 50 out of Tahoe.
But, yeah, if the weather is good and it's not Sunday afternoon, Tahoe to SF in 3-4 hours sounds right.
I've only been in Death Valley in the dunes on the northern section outside of Lone Pine (around Thanksgiving then, too, that was probably '98). I'd say pack so that if you had to survive for a week trapped in your car in the snow you can do so. But that's probably good advice for anywhere along that side of the Sierra south of Tahoe, and I'm the paranoid type.
posted by straw at 12:58 PM on September 27, 2011
But, yeah, if the weather is good and it's not Sunday afternoon, Tahoe to SF in 3-4 hours sounds right.
I've only been in Death Valley in the dunes on the northern section outside of Lone Pine (around Thanksgiving then, too, that was probably '98). I'd say pack so that if you had to survive for a week trapped in your car in the snow you can do so. But that's probably good advice for anywhere along that side of the Sierra south of Tahoe, and I'm the paranoid type.
posted by straw at 12:58 PM on September 27, 2011
Response by poster: Brilliant resource, doctord. It appears that the road closing date is getting later in the season with almost every year. Climate change perhaps?
straw, there's a good reason to be paranoid.
posted by In The Annex at 1:14 PM on September 27, 2011
straw, there's a good reason to be paranoid.
posted by In The Annex at 1:14 PM on September 27, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
I don't know about Lone Pine, but you might also consider stopping further up north on 395 at either Mammoth Lakes or Lee Vining, which are close to Mono Lake. There is some other stuff to do around Mammoth Lakes as well.
Although I've never had to use them myself, I understand that some of the roads in the Sierras might have chain control during the winter. You should check the CA DOT website on the day you're traveling. For example, for SR-120 you can check this link:
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/sr120
Have a good trip! Death Valley in the winter will be amazing. Get a four-wheel drive vehicle if you can. This will allow you to go off-road in Death Valley to the really remote spots (I couldn't do this because I only had a 2WD).
posted by Idle Curiosity at 11:50 AM on September 27, 2011 [1 favorite]