Where to stay on the PCH + Yosemite in March?
 

Going to be in San Francisco next week for a couple of days.

Picking up a rental car on the 4th March and have to be in the Orange County / Santa Ana area sometime on the 8th.

Was originally going to drive to Oakhurst and then visit Yosemite but not entirely sure how the snow etc. is there at present (went last time in September).

Secondary option is to miss out Yosemite and spend 3-4 days driving down the Pacific Coast Highway stopping in Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur area, Santa Cruz etc (in L.A. the following week so don't need to worry about Santa Monica etc. on this trip)

So are there any recommended places to stay along the PCH that don't cost the earth? Had a look on some site and loads of Super 8s, Best Westerns etc coming in at around $60 or so which would suffice for a night here and there.

This Best Western suited me and my wife pretty well. It's been four or five years, though. Arroyo Grande, CA

Hotel Photos It's roughly halfway from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Not far from pricier San Luis Obispo.

Yosemite is probably worth keeping on your radar screen for this trip as the conditions there are pretty good at present.

One place to monitor Yosemite's road is on the National Park Service website: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/conditions.htm. At the moment the three west side roads (Highways 120, 140, and 41) are all open. In addition, live webcams from the park (which are linked from the page above) show negligible snow on the valley floor at approx. 4,000' elevation.

Late winter/early spring is also a beautiful time to visit the Central Coast. Yes, the prices there can be surprising for small towns. The coastal attractions draw visitors as do the wineries in the region. I see from your profile that you're an IHG member; if you have points accumulated you might find a good deal at one of the Holiday Inn Express hotels in the area. I've stayed at the one in Atascadero and found it comfortable.

There was no - zero - snow there last week when I went up. I was in short sleeves until the sun started setting. That said, there has been a storm this weekend so things could change a bit. It would take a lot more storms and snow to make it a problem, though.

If you are going in from the Bay Area or the coast, I'd suggest using Highway 140 and staying in Mariposa instead of 41 and Oakhurst. The reason is that 140 stays quite a bit lower in elevation as it enters the Park. If there will be snow or ice problems on any of the 3 main west entrances, it will be in the higher parts of Highway 41 between Chinquapin and the tunnel before any of the others.