CA vacation advice please (Los Angeles, San Diego: motels, campgrounds, gangs)

[skelaki]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

First off, thanks for all the replies. Now let me try a different tactic. The wife and I are more interested in seeing mother nature at her best VS seeing the cities. We know we want to see the PCH for at least a few days. We'd like to see Yosemite if possible and the wife wants to see Carmel based on a friends recommendation. (Not going to change her mind) If you were me. Where would you start this vacation? What city should we land in? Neither of us are city people so unless someone can say why the CA cities are a must see/bucket list item we likely will prefer to see the outdoor stuff.

If your main interests are nature, I would land in San Francisco spend a few days taking one to drive down Hwy 1 as far as Big Sur stopping in Carmel or Monterey on the way if you wish.

Then go east over the Bay Bridge, take in some of the wine country and continue on to Yosemite. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National parks are also definitely worth a visit but there are only two highways that will give you access to them, hwy 180 out of Fresno, or hwy 198 out of Three Rivers.

If you go to Yosemite be sure to stop at at least a few of the historical markers (not all, since most basically say the same thing).

[SandyCo]

It's too bad that Mt. Lassen Volcanic National Park is so far away (in the northeastern part of the state) from Yosemite and Sequoia/King's Canyon. It's beautiful, but best saved for another trip.

No matter what, you'll be doing a lot of driving, but since you both want nature and not cities, I agree that you should fly in to San Francisco. California is a truly huge state (I drove back from visiting a friend in Oregon, and cheered as I crossed into California, only to realize that I still had a ten-hour drive ahead of me!). Since you're going to Carmel, please don't miss the 17-mile drive. It's expensive, but beautiful and well worth the money.

Pebble Beach Resorts

[Bigfoot424]

Looks like some great advice here. We plan on a Sept vacation. Do you think doing Oct would work as well regarding weather? I don't mind cold weather. Oct might give us some more latitude with staying a little longer.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Looks like some great advice here. We plan on a Sept vacation. Do you think doing Oct would work as well regarding weather? I don't mind cold weather. Oct might give us some more latitude with staying a little longer.

Oct is the middle to end of our summer in San Diego

We are a little slow on the seasons here

[JakeDog]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Looks like some great advice here. We plan on a Sept vacation. Do you think doing Oct would work as well regarding weather? I don't mind cold weather. Oct might give us some more latitude with staying a little longer.

Oct is nice in the Bay Area and would be fine for Carmel as well. Yosemite would be fine too, but cooler. If you came to San Diego, it would be summer. San Diego is basically spring/summer all year. Yosemite is only an issue around Thanksgiving on b/c roads can be closed due to snow. If you had a lot of time it would be fun to start in SF/Napa for 3-4 days, do Carmel/Big Sur in 3-4 days, Yosemite/Sequia for 3-4 days (although you really should see Lake Tahoe, no lake on the East Coast is comparable), swing down the Eastern Sierra past Mammouth and come down to San Diego for fun in the sun for 2-3 days.

[bloom]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

First off, thanks for all the replies. Now let me try a different tactic. The wife and I are more interested in seeing mother nature at her best VS seeing the cities. We know we want to see the PCH for at least a few days. We'd like to see Yosemite if possible and the wife wants to see Carmel based on a friends recommendation. (Not going to change her mind) If you were me. Where would you start this vacation? What city should we land in? Neither of us are city people so unless someone can say why the CA cities are a must see/bucket list item we likely will prefer to see the outdoor stuff.

Decide between Yosemite/King'sCanyon/Sequoia Or Coastal trip. Both on bucket list with slight edge to Yosemite.

[sacramento916]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Hi all,
The wife and I will be coming to CA this Sept for what will be a 7-10 day vacation. I am looking at flying into San Diego and renting a car. The must sees for us will be a few days doing the PCH, seeing Carmel By The Sea (wife) and Yosemite. Assuming we have 10 days what else would you suggest we MUST see? We'd rather not drive days to just see one sight but would like to see things along the way.

Thanks in advance.

California is a big state with a lot to see. You won't be able to do much in 10 days. I would suggest just hanging out in SD and LA for those 10 days.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by bloom

Decide between Yosemite/King'sCanyon/Sequoia Or Coastal trip. Both on bucket list with slight edge to Yosemite.

We have to do at least a few days on the coast. That's the main reason we are coming.

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by skelaki

If your main interests are nature, I would land in San Francisco spend a few days taking one to drive down Hwy 1 as far as Big Sur stopping in Carmel or Monterey on the way if you wish.

Then go east over the Bay Bridge, take in some of the wine country and continue on to Yosemite. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National parks are also definitely worth a visit but there are only two highways that will give you access to them, hwy 180 out of Fresno, or hwy 198 out of Three Rivers.

If you go to Yosemite be sure to stop at at least a few of the historical markers (not all, since most basically say the same thing).

Given your most recent response, I second this suggestion. If you fly into SF, you can do a drive a big circle that will take you Carmel, Yosemite, add Lake Tahoe/Reno, Sacramento, Napa, Marin County, then back to SF. That would be doable in 10 days. Sept/Oct is the best time to visit SF, IMO.

Next time, you can do a SoCal trip and see SD, LA, Vegas, Grand Canyon/Zion, Joshua Tree/Palm Springs.

Let us know what you decide on!

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by sdurbanite

Given your most recent response, I second this suggestion. If you fly into SF, you can do a drive a big circle that will take you Carmel, Yosemite, add Lake Tahoe/Reno, Sacramento, Napa, Marin County, then back to SF. That would be doable in 10 days. Sept/Oct is the best time to visit SF, IMO.

Next time, you can do a SoCal trip and see SD, LA, Vegas, Grand Canyon/Zion, Joshua Tree/Palm Springs.

Let us know what you decide on!

What I put in bold sounds like something we would enjoy. I'll at planning something like this.