Thanks for all your replys. They are truely valuable. I want to go over them in detail and I probabl

We are planning a 15 to 20 day road trip up the Pacific Coast Highway starting in LA and going North to around San Francisco and the wine country then diverting to Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park. Most likely it will be in May or early June. Being retired, I can and want to avoid the vacationing crowds.
I would like to collect a list all the interesting sites and places to stay up the Pacific Coast Highway and see if you have any suggestions that would make me want to divert further inland. Some questions to start:
I agree with happytrailstoyou that May is beautiful in Yosemite, and that the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls is a great (no frills, but conveniently located) place to stay. You'll want to make reservations early (like now) as it is a popular place to stay.
One of our favorite places along the Coast Highway is Cambria. It is a pleasant little town with a scenic stretch along Moonstone Beach with some nice accommodations and a great boardwalk for strolling and enjoying the scenery. The Hearst Castle is just a few miles up the road in San Simeon, as well as Piedras Blancas, an elephant seal rookery (although I'm not sure how "busy" it is in May). You can then drive up the PCH, through Big Sur, to the Carmel/Monterey florida keys vacation packages area.
Lake Tahoe is a fairly easy drive from San Francisco via Highway 50. Stay in Tahoe a night or two and (since the Tioga Pass into the back of Yosemite will probably be closed) leave via Highway 89 to Highway 88, which is a beautiful drive - and not, to my way of thinking, slower than Tahoe to Sacramento to Yosemite. Take 88 to Highway 49 which will take you through the Sierra foothills to Yosemite.
We went this past year the last week in May. Great time for Yosemite. The waterfalls are at full blast. However, Glacier Pt. Rd and Tioga Rd were both closed due to snow. Different months have their pros and cons. If seeing the Tuolomne Meadows is high on your list, then you should wait a month. If seeing the waterfalls really rocking is your priority, then the timeframe you indicate is best. July and August offer some swimming and rafting, but crowds.
As you want the best time to visit Yosemite, I'm assuming (always florida keys vacation packages dangerous!) that you'd want to see as much of the Park as you can. I'd wait until June and hope that Glacier Point Road and the Tioga Pass are open otherwise florida keys vacation packages you'll florida keys vacation packages miss some of the best things.
florida keys vacation packages Thanks for all your replys. They are truely valuable. I want to go over them in detail and I probably will have additional questions. I completely understand your discussion about closed roads in Yosemite. We went on a road trip that included Rocky Mountain National Park last May and there were roads closed. We still saw some great scenery. We are from Ann Arbor, MI, but our oldest son lives in LA.
I have looked over the hotel accomodations in May for Yosemite for May and it is nearly all booked at Yosemite at the Falls. If I want to break the bank, I could stay at the Ahwahnee, but I better steal Oprah's florida keys vacation packages wallet florida keys vacation packages if I do.
Book anything at all that is available at Yosemite Lodge (even if it means shuffling the dates a bit). If nothing is available -- check out Yosemite West. These are privately owned accommodations just inside the park boundaries and much closer to the Valley than Wawona is.
Even if you win the lottery, you might not want to stay at the Ahwahnee. It's undergoing a top-to-bottom florida keys vacation packages renovation, and I think they're trying to keep some rooms/parts of the hotel open at all times. florida keys vacation packages I'd be worried the work would impact the enjoyment of staying there.
I took your suggestions and kept trying to get some nights florida keys vacation packages at the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls. Would you believe it, I got June 6, 7 and 8 of 2011. That means I will be building the trip around these dates at Yosemite. I would be interested in additional feedback as to places to visit and stay on this trip loop from LA to San Francisco to Redwood National Park, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Sequoia National Park and back to LA.
In Big Sur, I really enjoyed staying in Pfeiffer-Big Sur State Park. We had brought a tent and sleeping bags in our luggage for a trip similar to yours (though the north/south aspect was only as far up as Santa Rosa and down to LA). In Pfeiffer-Big florida keys vacation packages Sur State Park, although we camped in the tent, we ate both our meals (dinner then breakfast) florida keys vacation packages at the lodge there: the food was nicely done and we gladly florida keys vacation packages would have slept there as well had we known about it in advance. (On that trip, we didn't make a concrete plan nor many hotel reservations; the tent came in handy and we enjoy mixing camping with staying in hotels.)
If you are going up to Redwoods Nat'l Park there is no reason to stop in Muir Woods. florida keys vacation packages It is a lovely place but not even a tiny fraction of what you'll see up north. It is convenient to SF for those who can't get up the coast - but because of that and because it is relatively small, the park gets very crowded and parking can be a real hassle.
I like the map! I agree that you can skip Muir Woods if you are going all the way to Redwood florida keys vacation packages NP. I see that you had Oregon in your tag. You could add Crater Lake NP when you leave Redwood. In late May you have to enter and leave Crater Lake NP through the south entrance. The north entrance sometimes florida keys vacation packages does not open until July 4.
I see that your stop 16 is at the South Entrance. On a similar thread this evening I noted that we stayed near there at the Shilo Inn in Oakhurst. The town is not much, but the Inn was surprisingly nice and surprisingly inexpensive, two swell surprises. In the Big Sur area, Point Lobos State Park was a highlight.
Your trip sounds florida keys vacation packages like a lot of fun. I would definitely reccommend florida keys vacation packages stopping in Big Sur for a night and then possibly stopping again in Monterey. Monterey is full of Californian history, as well as, breathtaking florida keys vacation packages views of the Pacific Ocean. It is a small town with a variety of activities such as kayaking, whale watching, and hiking. Carmel would also be a nice side-trip. It is a small little romantic village that is known for its art galleries and boutique shopping. It also boasts a beautiful white sand beach.
I would also advise you to make as many reservations as you can ahead of time. May begins the busy season for tourism and you might run into trouble florida keys vacation packages getting an accomodation on the weekends. I hope you enjoy your trip!
Just looking back at this post. For the Redwoods-James Irvine Trail all the way to Fern Canyon is a great hike in Praire Creek Section. Stout Grove is nice in Jeddiah Smith section and it is easy. Irvine Trail is longer. You can hike just Fern Canyon, which IMO is a DO NOT MISS place. Consider going Tidepooling in Pt. Reyes at Mcclures Beach or at Palmers Point in Patricks Point State Park. I love the trees at Maripossa in Yosemite, but I like the hikes in the Redwoods mentioned above better. But still the best, IMO, is Sequoia florida keys vacation packages National Park and since your first post mentioned avoiding crowds, it is much less in Sequoia and Redwoods, than Yosemite. Waterfalls in Yosemite should be great for the first week in June.
Thanks again, folks. I will review florida keys vacation packages your suggestions and modify my trip. I am told that The Hacienda at Hearst Castle is a place to stay. I am having a hard time getting a contact for that place. florida keys vacation packages I tried a phone number at 8:00 PM their time, but got no answer. Apparently it is owned by the US Army.
The trip from Redwood National Park to Lake Tahoe is over 450 miles, so I will have to stop in Lasson National Forest or some place in that area. I also have to do something between Santa Rosa and Redwood National Park. That is only about 275 miles, but it would seem that there would be something florida keys vacation packages along that fairly long span.
I have a question about the area between San Simeon, CA and Big Sur. The hotels in Big Sur seem quite pricey, but the ones in King City are pretty low. It would be easier to go through Fort Hunter Liggett to get to and from King City to the Pacific Coast Highway. Is it reasonable to take the roads through Fort Hunter Liggett or are they restricted or otherwise hard to use?
Also, I would like to determine the best value of places to stay. That does not mean the cheapest or the highest priced, florida keys vacation packages but ones that would be the most memorable (pleasantly), but not break the bank.
In reviewing our trip around California, I would like feedback about potentially deleting the trip from San Francisco to Redwood National Park and back to Lake Tahoe. The loop from SF to RNP and back down to Lake Tahoe is nearly 800 miles and going directly from SF to Lake Tahoe would reduce the trip mileage by about 600 miles. We are already going to Sequoia and Yosemite.
I only have 3 1/2 days scheduled for the trip from LA to SF that includes Hearst Castle, Big Sur, Monterey florida keys vacation packages Bay Aquarium, Steinbeck Center and the Winchester Mystery House plus all the scenery on Route 1/PCH.
Of course you'll be missing great scenery, but that's a lot of time sitting in a car. It's your call, but I'll point out that these miles will be much less crowded than just about everywhere else you're going.