Travel Forum / Destinations / USA and Canada / July 2006

Well, you can't cut through Yosemite at that time of the year, but
you could go up US 395 to Lake Tahoe and cut over to the Bay Area
from there. That would provide some beautiful scenery along the
Eastern Sierra and the Tahoe area. Otherwise, I'd recommend either
US 101 or Hwy 1. The latter is, of course, legendary for its stunning
ocean views, but it's a lot slower than 101. 101 has its moments, too,
especially if you overnight in Santa Barbara.

If yo'ure looking for sightseeing attractions, you can pretty much
rule out I-5. :-)  

Patty

There two scenic routes you can take:
1.  Head north along the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada mountains
to Yosemite.  If the eastern entrance to Yosemite is open (usually not
in late November), you can take Hwy 120 trough Yosemite then continue west
to San Franciso.  If Hwy 120 is not open, you can continue north to Lake
Tahoe and take I80 or US50 to San Franisco.

2.  The other route is to head west from Yosemite directly to the Pacific,
then take Hwy 1 up the coast to San Francisco.

Both routes are very scenic, but the 2nd route will have fewer weather issues
during the winter.

Fly. Fly. Fly. Unless you want to have a dreadfully boring time, fly.
Most of the drive between San Fran is dirt, miles and miles of dirt. I
did it twice and the drive was intensely boring. If you want to see some
sites along the way, save yourself a lot of time and just fly to Reno or
Los Angeles on your way to San Francisco.

It's a great time of year to visit Death Valley and you certainly
ought. Maybe even spend the first night there.

If you choose to not stay there, Mammoth Lakes, Bishop, or June Lake
are nice places to stay. Thence on to Carson City where you'll have
to choose whether to go to South Lake Tahoe or Reno before heading
West to The City. It's possible that either or both roads will be
closed but the closures are unlikely to be longer than hours.

The desert, particularly Death Valley, is beautiful. The Eastern
Sierra is magnificent, and the trip down from Reno is lovely.

In the unlikely even the Tioga Pass is open, go through Yosemite.

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