California roadtrip advice from LA in mid October

[djh47]

Hi there,
Help! We are flying to LA mid Oct for 2 weeks with three teens. Itinerary so far as follows..
LA - 3 nights
Pismo Beach - 1night
Monterey- 2 nights
Now we are stuck- we were going to Yosemite for 3 nights but put off by weather may be bad?And will teens be wowed? Is it worth visiting mid Oct? Please advise... or do we ditch that idea and head to Vegas and Grand Canyon? We are spending last 3 nights in Palm Springs at a nice resort before flying home from LA. Ive read so many websites, forums etc that I'm confused where we should go... Anyone done a similar trip at this time of year?? Thankyou in advance.......Also keen to drive thru Death Valley too.

I think Yosemite is amazing!! And driving thru death valley was also amazing! I'd only go to Vegas for a day to see it maybe, not very child friendly :)

Thanks Tbug for replying :)

Lake Tahoe also a worthwhile stop, casinos, beautiful landscapes and potential skiing day. We did las Vegas(including grand canyon trip) - death valley - tahoe - mono lake- San Francisco - Monterey - la. Were planning on Yosemite but it was closed due to snow. Monterey to la drive felt the longest, I wish we'd done another stop on that leg. San Francisco our least favourite stop.

Make sure you hire a car that can cope with snow! We were shocked at temp change through mountains eg 42 in death valley to snowing in Tahoe. Will be an amazing trip

I did a very similar trip to yours in October last year. The weather in Yosemite was lovely and the scenery awesome but you're unlikely to get the spectacular waterfalls that late in the year when the flows are much reduced. I also went through Death Valley (c. 100 degrees) and to the Grand Canyon south rim where the weather was also great.

My parents took me to California 20 years ago when I was in my teens, 3 weeks in October, it was fantastic. It was 30-32 degrees most of the time in LA. We also went to San Diego which I loved, particularly La Jolla. Didn't make it north of LA but would've liked to.

Vegas no good for under 21 really, or at least under 18.

We did Yosemite, and also Mammoth Lakes both of which amazed us.

We went in June and there was still snow on the mountain passes so if you do make sure you get a car that can cope!

Thanks all- I think we will risk Yosemite and get a nice air bnb house so if weather dodgy we can all chill in comfort!! Will ditch Las Vegas and go onto Death Valley, Palm Springs, home.

Good luck booking accommodation in Yosemite....I've been to California twice and both times wasn't able to get reasonable accommodation in/near the park (I didn't want to camp)

Unless you're arriving in Monterey late one evening and leaving in the morning two days later I'd rethink that bit. There isn't enough to do there to fill more than a day, although the aquarium is amazing.

I'd carry on up the coast a bit to Santa Cruz then over the mountains on Highway 9 and up to San Francisco. There's at least a day there exploring, climbing Lombard Street, riding the cable cars and hanging out at Fisherman's Wharf and the shopping's amazing for British teens. (If your family is into shopping a detour to the outlet mall at Gilroy is worth it.)

Something to be aware of is the sheer scale of the place. I knew California was big but somehow I had this idea that it's about the same size as England. It's a lot bigger, as we found when we set out to drive to Yosemite, and there's miles and miles of bugger all filling it between the towns.

Placemarking as we're doing a 4 week California road trip next year!

Yosemite and California. Don’t bother with Vegas.

Yosemite and San Fran.

San Diego is an amazing city well worth a visit