We are planning to drive to California to visit my niece in Davis. We are going to be there the 1st week in May. The route I had originally planned takes us from Las Vegas and then over to the coastal highway just north of LA for the scenic drive north.
We are hoping to camp in Yosemite while there. I noted a route that would take us through death valley and then up to Yosemite apparently through the mountains.
My main question is will we be OK driving in the mountains at this time of year? I do not have 4 wheel drive, but if necessary, I%26#39;d have access to one.
I am admittedly ignorant of CA weather and was surprised that parts of Yosemite may have snow in May even!! Had I known this I%26#39;d have asked for vacation time in June - oh well.
If anyone has cross-country travel/camping advice - our plan is to drive from WI and camp at Zion Nat%26#39;l park for a few days, then stay overnight in Vegas to catch the Cirque de soleil ';Love'; show, drive through Death valley and to Davis following whichever route people advise me here - we%26#39;re open to camping at yosemite before or after the Davis portion of the trip.
We%26#39;ll be in our tent.
thanks for any advice/comments/suggestions!
Kris
Driving to Yosemite in early May
Hwy 120 east of Yosemite valley (Tioga Pass) is closed in the winter - they plow it in the spring and the average opening date for the road is May 29th. it has opened as early as April 8, but I wouldn%26#39;t count on being able to drive over the pass the first week in May.
www.monobasinresearch.org/data/tiogapass.htm
Coming from Las Vegas, you should come into California from the southeast or come north through Nevada and cut over to California around Lake Tahoe (Hwy 50 or 80). If you want to go to Yosemite, you will need to come into California and then enter Yosemite from the west (Hwy 120, 140, or 41). Yosemite valley is only at about 4000 ft elevation and the weather is generally pretty good in May, although fresh snow is not unheard of. More often though, flooding is an issue due to the snow melt in the high country.
We camp in Yosemite valley in April and May, but it is often quite chilly. Earlier this year, we had overnight lows in the 20s.
Driving to Yosemite in early May
Check for CA road conditions on http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi and for mountain passes on http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/clsdlst.htm
Your idea of driving through Death Valley up hwy 395 and then over Tioga Pass was a good one....but you might at well forget it. 4 wheel drive will do you no good if the road is closed. Tioga Pass is just about 10,000 elevation, and snow can be seen year round usually.
Your quickest route from Las Vegas to Yosemite will be I-15, 58,99, 41 into Yosemite (check map). You can still do the Death Valley route, but it will be a very long drive. You might consider driving to Lake Tahoe for a night and then Yosemite? From Lake Tahoe to Yosemite you can take 89, 88, 49, 140 into the park. This will give you a nice drive through the ';mother lode'; area of California and the Sierra Nevada mountains. Or- perhaps you can do the Lake Tahoe route to Davis, and do Yosemite on the way back home? Lots of options.
Whoops- It is too bad there is not an edit feature on this site.
Route from Lake Tahoe: 89,88,49 and 120.....not 140, but I guess that could be done too.
How much time do you have and have you ever done any cross country tent camping before? I did it once with my family and vowed never to do it again. I am an avid tent camper, but having to setup and tear down the tent and get food ready was just not all that fun especially after a long day of driving (we did it from South Dakota to California). I suppose if you did not cook your own food, it might be okay.
Zion is a great choice for a stop. Are you hikers? If so, there are some amazing hikes in Zion. There are 2 campgrounds one of which has reservable sites.
Tioga Pass Road will be closed in early May so getting to Yosemite will require you to come in from the west. Are you planning to just show up and get a campsite? That may be possible in early May, but there%26#39;s a chance that everything will already be booked.
From Las Vegas you can get to Death Valley by way of Hwy 95. Since you want to hit the coast I%26#39;d leave Death Valley by way of 178 to 127 to I-15 and then take I-15 to I-10 towards LA. Going this direction would let you do Yosemite after Davis. If you wanted to do Yosemite first from Death Valley, then Davis, then head South down the coast, you could go the same way out of Death Valley, but then cut over to Hwy 99 via Hwy 58 from Barstow. Take 99 to Fresno to Hwy 41 and this will take you right into Yosemite. Leaving Yosemite you could take 120 or 140 to Hwy 49. Hwy 49 will take you to Hwy 50 and heading west on 50 will take you I-80 and into Davis.
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