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LA to SF via Death Valley

LA to SF via Death Valley

Old Apr 8, 2015, 10:53 am
  #16  
 
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Originally Posted by JoyRider
Thanks for all the responses.

Looking at how expensive some of the hotels in SF are, now I'm thinking maybe we can stop a couple of hours out of SF and then head into the city the following day. This way I will cut down a bit on our driving too. So with that in mind, I'm thinking about hopping over on to HWY 1 at some point.

A few options after looking at the map seem to be Monterrey, Santa Cruz Etc.

What are your opinions about those places and how long of a drive would it be on HWY 1 from there to SF on a Tuesday morning?

Thanks
Are you still planning on Death Valley? That's making a long trip longer.

I think I would do LA -> Death Valley -> Overnight Bishop or Mammoth -> take US395 and US50 -> Overnight Sacramento -> SF.

If you do CA1 from Monterey to SF plan on 2.5 hours for that leg.

For this short of a trip I would avoid CA1 between SLO and Monterey if you also do Death Valley. It's absolutely beautiful but SLOW.

Edit: just a heads up the long range forecast models have a storm hitting the Sierra around 4/13-15, and another one around 4/19-20, so this may make crossing US395 and US50 difficult with snow (where TH was this snow two months ago?!).

Last edited by Lost; Apr 8, 2015 at 11:00 am
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Old Apr 10, 2015, 10:48 am
  #17  
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After looking at the very few hotel options in Death Valley, we're leaning towards just doing a day trip from LA to death valley and then leave for SF the next day from LA.

we'll take I-15 and 127 on the way in. On the way back to LA, we'd like to take a different route. Which one of the other 2 is more sceninc (or Less boring)?

We will be staying in the northern part of LA (Glendale) so I assume it'll be quick to get out/in of the city on a sunday?

Thanks for all the help!
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Old Apr 11, 2015, 10:52 pm
  #18  
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It is never quick to get out/in L.A. on any day except between 1 and 5am! OK, maybe I am being just a bit cynical.

The accommodations in Death Valley are limited because the water is limited. That's one of the reasons it has the name it does. A day trip from Glendale would be a very long day and you wouldn't get to see much of what makes this park so special. But if the German tour busses can do it, I guess you could too.
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Old Apr 12, 2015, 12:01 am
  #19  
 
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Frankly, rather than go all the way back to LA, I'd spend that night in Lone Pine, Mojave, Tehachapi or somewhere along there after seeing the Park. That would make for a little bit faster trip to SF the next day. Accommodations would be basic but OP would only be sleeping there.
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Old Apr 12, 2015, 1:00 pm
  #20  
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Originally Posted by abmj-jr
Frankly, rather than go all the way back to LA, I'd spend that night in Lone Pine, Mojave, Tehachapi or somewhere along there after seeing the Park. That would make for a little bit faster trip to SF the next day. Accommodations would be basic but OP would only be sleeping there.
Definitely looking at that option.
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Old Apr 12, 2015, 4:07 pm
  #21  
 
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Originally Posted by JoyRider
Definitely looking at that option.
I know that Lone Pine has a Comfort Inn that isn't too grim. It is not far from a couple of nice little country cafes that have very nice early-morning views of the Sierra crest in the light of the rising sun.
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Old Apr 13, 2015, 1:36 pm
  #22  
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I think most all the motel choices are fairly grim, but the OP is looking for budget options.

Personally, I would break the trip to SF at Ridgecrest, which is an actual small city with many more options than the other places because of the presence of China Lake air base. This also allows a visit to Trona Pinnacles should you pass the road during daylight hours (although that is unlikely on a one day trip from LA).
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Old Apr 13, 2015, 2:07 pm
  #23  
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This is what I've come up with so far:

Leave LA on Sunday morning and drive to Death Valley. Spend a few hours there and then drive back to Bakersfield and spend the night there. I found a Marriott for $120 in Bakersfield.

Next day drive from Bakersfield to Monterey and might take the PCH.

From Monterey we will get to SF on Tuesday as it's only a few hours drive.

We will have an additional night in SF before flying out on Wednesday.

Of course this all might change between now and Friday.

Thanks
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Old Apr 24, 2015, 12:34 am
  #24  
 
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Rather than loop all the way back to South to Bakersfield, why not route Northwest to Bishop? Bishop has some mid-level chain motels like Best Western and Comfort Inn; as well as some reasonable local motels like the Creekside Inn or Joseph House Inn... (if it were mid-May or later I'd recommend going up to Mammoth Lakes, but as they are still doing Spring skiing, rooms will be hard to come by and expensive...)

The next day, either drive up 395 passing Mono Lake to Carson City and take Highway 50 over the Sierras, skirting the South edge of Lake Tahoe, or follow 395 all the way up to Reno and then hop on I-80 W. Much, much prettier drives than the pass to Bakersfield and going through the Central Valley.

Either way, you end up in Sacramento and can decide to idle around there, swing slightly north to the Napa wine country, or South towards Santa Cruz or Monterey
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Old Apr 25, 2015, 8:26 am
  #25  
 
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The OP's trip is already under way and I hope he did not see or act on the above. Both US 50 and US 80 have chain restrictions in place and bad weather is in progress. Better to avoid trying to cross the Sierra north of Tehachapi for now.
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Old Apr 26, 2015, 4:56 pm
  #26  
 
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Originally Posted by abmj-jr
The OP's trip is already under way and I hope he did not see or act on the above. Both US 50 and US 80 have chain restrictions in place and bad weather is in progress. Better to avoid trying to cross the Sierra north of Tehachapi for now.
Of course, the very next day, the restrictions are off both highways....

Spring snow typically doesn't hang around very long in CA.

(...if you are concerned about road conditions, you can check them at http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi )
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Old Apr 27, 2015, 1:33 pm
  #27  
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Thanks for the replies everyone. I just got back a few days ago and had an amazing trip.

Of course nothing went to plan . We ended up leaving LA in the afternoon. When we got to Baker it was already 5 Pm so we decided to head to Vegas and stay the night there.

From Vegas we left in the morning and drove through death valley and through to Bakersfield and made it all the way to Monterey. Crazy I know

Our hotel was booked in Monterey so didn't have a choice but not to drive all the way.

I would do it again in a heartbeat (Maybe not taking 198 from I5 to 101 in the dark )

Thanks
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Old Apr 27, 2015, 3:40 pm
  #28  
 
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Originally Posted by JoyRider
... (Maybe not taking 198 from I5 to 101 in the dark ) ...
Hoo boy! You managed to choose the hardest, least recommended route for that. It can be quite scenic, though perhaps not at night.
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Old Apr 28, 2015, 1:39 am
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by JoyRider
... (Maybe not taking 198 from I5 to 101 in the dark ) ...
Originally Posted by abmj-jr
Hoo boy! You managed to choose the hardest, least recommended route for that. It can be quite scenic, though perhaps not at night.

Pish-tush... 198 is not the greatest crossing of the coastal ranges, but it's hardly the worst.

Count yourself lucky that you did not try to completely avoid I-5 by just taking Highway 58 from Buttonwillow to Santa Margarita on US-101. While scenic, there are some nasty hairpin turns that you really don't want to take in the dark....which I know from experience.
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