Advice for 2 week CA road trip, incl DL and Universal

[Arden01]

I'm not sure if there is a bus to the Observatory, but you could always get Uber/Lyft or a cab. USH is fun, but if a studio tour is more what your daughter wants, the WB tour is perhaps more in line with that (especially with the "La La Land" connection). Forgot to mention that if you do take a day for DCA, definitely be in Cars Land for sunset -- the neon lighting on Rte. 66 transports you right into the movie! Look into getting Max Pass for your DLR day/s -- it will help you get the most efficient use out of your time in the park/s.

Sounds amazing!

 

[Arden01]

One more question to CA experts! If I go to Yosemite, would you recommend 2 or 3 nights? I want to stay inside the park and see the Valley, but also want to go the Mariposa grove. @VandVsmama - I love your itinerary and you have 2 nights on there. Is 2 nights enough? I guess I could hit the Mariposa Grove on the last day and on our way out. TIA

 

[cruisehopeful]

My daughters voted to cut out Yosemite, but my heart hurts kind of thinking about that!

I wouldn't be quick to cut it out just because it was voted against since it sounds like it is important to you. Are there other plans over the 2 weeks that nobody is too excited about? If everyone chose their top #1 thing to do, would Yosemite be yours?

Would it be easier to visit Sequoia National Park instead? I am not sure if that saves you any driving time or not. Yosemite is mind blowingly awesome, but I like Sequoia National Park better because it doesn't have as many visitors and seemed more natural. Yosemite is totally natural, but because of the number of visitors, they fence off all of the Giant Sequoias and there are lots of people everywhere. The parks have different feels to them.

Regarding Muir Woods by San Francisco, it's absolutely beautiful. The last time I was there, we didn't have a car so we took a "tour" that picked us up at our hotel in the city. We didn't have nearly enough time in the park. I did notice that there wouldn't have been anywhere to park if we did have a car, unless we got there very early, like park opening. We had to cell service there. If there was a way to take a taxi in and know for sure that they would pick us up at a certain time later, we would have preferred that. Just something to keep in mind. The trees are amazing, but there aren't any Giant Sequoias there.

One more question to CA experts! If I go to Yosemite, would you recommend 2 or 3 nights? I want to stay inside the park and see the Valley, but also want to go the Mariposa grove

I would want 2 full days inside the park. The 2 or 3 nights wouldn't matter as long as I was able to have 2 full days.

Are you doing all the driving yourself? Will you be taking turns? For years, I did the majority of driving for our trips and since I hate driving, finally decided that I wouldn't do car trips anymore. That got me some help. Now, I do about 50-60% of the driving, which I still hate. If you are doing all/most of the driving, you'll want a lot more time at each stop. People not driving get to chill out and space out and essentially have a break the whole time.

 

[Arden01]

I wouldn't be quick to cut it out just because it was voted against since it sounds like it is important to you. Are there other plans over theweeks that nobody is too excited about? If everyone chose their top #1 thing to do, would Yosemite be yours?

Would it be easier to visit Sequoia National Park instead? I am not sure if that saves you any driving time or not. Yosemite is mind blowingly awesome, but I like Sequoia National Park better because it doesn't have as many visitors and seemed more natural. Yosemite is totally natural, but because of the number of visitors, they fence off all of the Giant Sequoias and there are lots of people everywhere. The parks have different feels to them.

Regarding Muir Woods by San Francisco, it's absolutely beautiful. The last time I was there, we didn't have a car so we took a "tour" that picked us up at our hotel in the city. We didn't have nearly enough time in the park. I did notice that there wouldn't have been anywhere to park if we did have a car, unless we got there very early, like park opening. We had to cell service there. If there was a way to take a taxi in and know for sure that they would pick us up at a certain time later, we would have preferred that. Just something to keep in mind. The trees are amazing, but there aren't any Giant Sequoias there.
I would want 2 full days inside the park. The 2 or 3 nights wouldn't matter as long as I was able to have 2 full days.

Are you doing all the driving yourself? Will you be taking turns? For years, I did the majority of driving for our trips and since I hate driving, finally decided that I wouldn't do car trips anymore. That got me some help. Now, I do about 50-60% of the driving, which I still hate. If you are doing all/most of the driving, you'll want a lot more time at each stop. People not driving get to chill out and space out and essentially have a break the whole time.

I will be the only driver. Any tips?

I have thought about sequoia national park! I just asked my cousin about it. My main interest in Yosemite is the sequoia. I am much more of a beach person and would choose beach over mountains any day. I sill would like to go to Yosemite and explore it in its entirety one day, but think I may leave it off itinerary this trip. Will explore the idea of going to sequoia national park, but I don’t want to burn myself out either! Thinking a trip from SF down to SD via PCH would be best with lots of stops?

 

[Arden01]

An option is Muir Woods. I know there are no sequoia there, but still might be easier.

 

[bcla]

An option is Muir Woods. I know there are no sequoia there, but still might be easier.

Technically they are sequoia, but not giant sequoia. It was mentioned on the first page. Right now the National Park Service is enforcing a reservations system (with additional fees) 7 days a week for both parking and shuttles. I'm not sure about how tour buses handle it. Before the reservations system, parking was a hot mess there. I remember taking visitors, where I'd drop them off and when there were no parking spots in the lots I found street parking maybe a mile away. Now if you're willing to park in Stinson Beach and hike in there, no reservations are required.

https://www.nps.gov/muwo/planyourvisit/reservations.htm

 

[Arden01]

Technically they are sequoia, but not giant sequoia. It was mentioned on the first page. Right now the National Park Service is enforcing a reservations system (with additional fees) 7 days a week for both parking and shuttles. I'm not sure about how tour buses handle it. Before the reservations system, parking was a hot mess there. I remember taking visitors, where I'd drop them off and when there were no parking spots in the lots I found street parking maybe a mile away. Now if you're willing to park in Stinson Beach and hike in there, no reservations are required.

https://www.nps.gov/muwo/planyourvisit/reservations.htm

This is good info to know ahead of time. Thanks!

 

[bcla]

This is good info to know ahead of time. Thanks!

I'm rather torn about Muir Woods. I have great memories there and had annual passes (they were only $20) for a couple of years. However, its only advantage is the proximity to San Francisco, which is why it's crowded enough that they've gone to reservations. There are excellent places to view redwoods all along the coast of California, but they typically don't have quite that parking mess. If anyone is visiting the central or north coast of California, I'd say it's probably easier to skip Muir Woods and find another place where parking is more convenient.

 

[Arden01]

I'm rather torn about Muir Woods. I have great memories there and had annual passes (they were only $20) for a couple of years. However, its only advantage is the proximity to San Francisco, which is why it's crowded enough that they've gone to reservations. There are excellent places to view redwoods all along the coast of California, but they typically don't have quite that parking mess. If anyone is visiting the central or north coast of California, I'd say it's probably easier to skip Muir Woods and find another place where parking is more convenient.

Do you have a suggestion? Somewhere along the way from SF heading down the PCH?

 

[Arden01]

I'm rather torn about Muir Woods. I have great memories there and had annual passes (they were only $20) for a couple of years. However, its only advantage is the proximity to San Francisco, which is why it's crowded enough that they've gone to reservations. There are excellent places to view redwoods all along the coast of California, but they typically don't have quite that parking mess. If anyone is visiting the central or north coast of California, I'd say it's probably easier to skip Muir Woods and find another place where parking is more convenient.

What about Big Basin or Henry Cowell State Park? Seems like I might be able to go before Monterey. I'm willing to add a day to trip for this.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

I’ve stayed in Henry Cowell and it’s a nice park. There’s a railroad nearby that’s a fun ride for a couple of hours - roaring camp. I’d suggest skipping Big Sur. It’s a long way down and back. I think you’re best bet is to take hwy 1 between Santa Cruz and Monterey and the cut over to 101 and take it south to Paso Robles, then cut back to 1 to drive through Cambria and Morro Bay. That will give you a good taste of the coast without spending as much time as driving all the way down 1.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon are nice national parks, but they aren’t as nice as Yosemite. And they are pretty far away from the coast.

 

[bcla]

What about Big Basin or Henry Cowell State Park? Seems like I might be able to go before Monterey. I'm willing to add a day to trip for this.

I've been to Henry Cowell Redwoods once. They have a $10 parking fee (Muir Woods now charges an $8 car reservation fee on top of the $10 per adult entrance fees) but otherwise no entrance fee. We didn't actually park there, but at the Roaring Camp parking lot next door. Roaring Camp is fun if you have kids. It's a narrow gauge railway that cuts through an old growth redwood forest. They also have an excursion train to Santa Cruz.

https://www.roaringcamp.com

Around Santa Cruz and the central coast the trees aren't that big. I asked once while I was at Muir Woods, and I was told that it's probably genetic. The trees closer around the north coast are the record holder types that are approaching 400 ft.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

If you skip Yosemite you could add in some time at Pinnacles NP. Or you could stop at Channel Islands NP and take a boat tour.

 

[Arden01]

I’ve stayed in Henry Cowell and it’s a nice park. There’s a railroad nearby that’s a fun ride for a couple of hours - roaring camp. I’d suggest skipping Big Sur. It’s a long way down and back. I think you’re best bet is to take hwy 1 between Santa Cruz and Monterey and the cut over to 101 and take it south to Paso Robles, then cut back to 1 to drive through Cambria and Morro Bay. That will give you a good taste of the coast without spending as much time as driving all the way down 1.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon are nice national parks, but they aren’t as nice as Yosemite. And they are pretty far away from the coast.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Arden01]

I’ve stayed in Henry Cowell and it’s a nice park. There’s a railroad nearby that’s a fun ride for a couple of hours - roaring camp. I’d suggest skipping Big Sur. It’s a long way down and back. I think you’re best bet is to take hwy 1 between Santa Cruz and Monterey and the cut over to 101 and take it south to Paso Robles, then cut back to 1 to drive through Cambria and Morro Bay. That will give you a good taste of the coast without spending as much time as driving all the way down 1.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon are nice national parks, but they aren’t as nice as Yosemite. And they are pretty far away from the coast.

How much time would I cut by doing this? Just curious.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

How much time would I cut by doing this? Just curious.

It depends on how set you are in going to Big Sur, if you definitely want to see Hearst Castle, and road conditions. A friend of mine wanted to drive Hwy 1 from San Luis Obispo to Monterey many years ago. Due to road closures it took us all day.

 

[Arden01]

It depends on how set you are in going to Big Sur, if you definitely want to see Hearst Castle, and road conditions. A friend of mine wanted to drive Hwy 1 from San Luis Obispo to Monterey many years ago. Due to road closures it took us all day.

Yes, definitely want to see Hearst Castle. I guess I'll have to budget extra time!

 

[Douglas Dubh]

There’s definitely a lot to see, even if you stick to the Coastal Range and not try to see Yosemite and Sequoia NP. You’ll just have to pick what’s most important to you.

I have a suggestion for San Francisco though. Drive southwest on Market Street to Twin Peaks. It has a great view of the Bay Area from there.

 

[Arden01]

There’s definitely a lot to see, even if you stick to the Coastal Range and not try to see Yosemite and Sequoia NP. You’ll just have to pick what’s most important to you.

I have a suggestion for San Francisco though. Drive southwest on Market Street to Twin Peaks. It has a great view of the Bay Area from there.

Great - thanks!

 

[oakleycat]

If La La Land is the big draw, I'd skip USH and do one LA day with the WB tour in the morning and the Hollywood/La La Land tour in the afternoon (or vice versa). The easiest way would be to rent a car (there are tons of on-your-own La La Land tours online). You could also do Uber/Lyft, or even public transport (Red Line Metro goes to Hollywood, Dash Bus up to the Observatory and picks up in several locations.)