To bypass Yosemite during California road trip?

[PissyDressingGown]

I know some of you are knowledgable on USA so I'm hoping to put forward my idea and ask if I'm being unreasonable to Miss off something that everyone raves on about.

We're flying to San Francisco in August. That's the only bit we have booked, the rest is still to organise.

Original idea was 4 nights in SF, 3 nights in Yosemite and then down to LA.

However I'm thinking now of scrapping Yosemite and just doing a straight line down - so it would be 3 nights in SF, 2 nights in Monterey, 2 nights in Big Sur and then on to LA.

I'm worried I'll be missing out if I don't do Yosemite though?!

Came on to say DO NOT bypass Yosemite! I was totally blown away by it. I had really hyped myself up to see the Grand Canyon but I was hungover not feeling the best the day we went and I was almost a little underwhelmed. I didn't really know much about Yosemite, we only went there for a day but it was truly amazing.

We drove up to this view point towards the end of the day and the late afternoon sun was shining on Half Dome and you could see all of Yosemite falls (from the bottom you could only see the bottom bit). It was one of those moments that I think I will remember forever!

It was during our visit to Yosemite that I realised that I am not a mountain/forest person. El Capitan is beautiful, the giant redwoods were gigantic and the waterfalls were very pretty but it didn’t wow me. We left a day early. We flew into SF, then Monteray, Carmel, Yosemite, Route 1, Vegas, Sam Diego and then LA.

We went to Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Kings Canyon and Sequoia Natonal Park. All were fantastic. I would not miss Yosemite it was fantastic. We also got chased by a bear in Kings Canyon. Could’ve done without that, to be honest.

Snowmageddon suggested one night in Carmel as I thought OP was tight for time. Carmel has a gorgeous beach and would definitely be worth another night if things could be taken more leisurely. Monterey was such a big let down - we found it tired at the edges and quite tacky. Around the aquarium it was quite smelly. We got a good deal on the Monterey Plaza & Spa but so wished we'd driven on to Carmel as it was was vibrant and inviting and the cafes and restaurants looked better. We did the 17 mile drive which was excellent and a real highlight..
Have done California four times now. Most recently we did 3 x SF, 2 x Yosemite, 1 x Carmel then basedourselves in Santa Barbara with trips to Malibu and Santa Monica.

Would try to persuade your teens to spend two nights max in LA - dangle places like Malibu beach instead. Personally I think it is too tiring to try to do San Diego in the same trip. Come back and do that another time.

I’m going to Yosemite in September and this has made me SO EXCITED

We did San Fran, Yosemite, Monterey, Cambria, Santa Barbara, Vegas, Grand Canyon, LA. But I know that is a lot.

I'd keep Yosemite - it is amazing. But we went in the summer and it was extremely hot. Has the Big Sur road been re-built? - it had fallen into the sea last summer. We had to make a big detour inland.I also loved Cambria near Big Sur, and the Grand Canyon. DD loved Vegas.

Just to add a curve ball San Diego is beautiful too. And good for kids.

We only did LA for 2.5 days - went to Universal Pictures which we loved, the Beverley Hills tour and Griffiths observatory, then Venice beach and Santa Monica.

We planned a similar journey last year, flew to SF then planned to drive down Highway 1 to LA. Unfortunately Highway 1 was closed about 1/3 of the way down due to landslides so we had to re-plan and ended up doing Yosemite instead. (We also went out of it on the "other side" and drove back to SF via the Mojave desert which was also amazing)

It was fabulous, the scenery is really something else. Didn't see bears but the whole place was just breathtaking.

See I was underwhelmed by SanFrancisco. But LA is on the up. Lots of super vibrant and interesting neighbourhoods.

Same.

Expected to love San Fran but found it distinctly meh. Expected to hate L.A but had an amazing time. Because it's so massive though I think it's a city where you see the best bits if you're shown around by a local and thus avoid the grotty touristy bits.

San Diego just felt like nice suburb after nice suburb. Didn't thrill me. I wasn't there very long though!

Also, if you want to do another trip to America, I would recommend Yellowstone. I have never seen such a wonderful place. We went to the loo and there was a moose waiting in the queue.Our car got hijacked by chipmunks. Just wonderful. After we booked our non refundable flights to SF, we decided we wanted to visit Yellowstone before the volcano underneath erupted. So we booked a flight from Oakland to Salt Lake City and drove up from there and then flew back and did the road trip on the west coast.
For the Grand Canyon, we went to the less busy North Rim, which was fantastic too. We camped and booked the camping places about 9months in advance. We got a good book which was helpful - National parks for dummies. Lots of useful tips.

Phoenix, Sedona, Grand Canyon, Vegas, Death Valley, Yosemite, SF, then Route 1 and Monterey, S. Barbara, LA. D shorten L.A. was blah, keep Yosemite!

Ellen, the view point is probably Glacier Point, it's the most spectacular view I've ever seen. The Grand Canyon is amazing but can't even begin to compare to GP. I've hiked down from it twice and hopefully will again

fortysix thank you.

I wouldn't skip Yosemite but I wouldn't skip LA either, I love it there! The walk of fame is awful, I agree, grotty and grabby and all that, but there are other parts of LA that are fantastic: Griffith Observatory, Farmers Market, Rodeo Drive etc. It's great - completely the opposite of what I expected. I like SF too, but I agree with PP if you're up that way it would be worth squeezing in Napa and Sonoma.

We saw a bear cub in Yosemite!!!

I’ve missed Yosemite out of various itineraries over the years in favour of other places in Cali - love LA and surrounding areas! SF always amazing; Monterey is worth a look! Santa Monica and Long Beach are fun too. San Diego is cool too if you have a chance to go that far south....

I wouldn't go to LA!

Agree with Private re Napa and Sonoma if you have time in north Cali!! Fantastic!!!

4 nights in LA. You will regret it. One night will leave you sated. It is not nice. Truly.

oh. Don't call it Cali. It does not go down well. Same goes for San Fran. Just no.

Wine country is amazing. That would round out the trip really well.

The Big Sur information facebook page is worth following for Highway 1 updates ; the Caltrans information is not that user-friendly.

Glacier point

Slightly off message but a wonderful place to go is Albuquerque for the balloon fiesta, usually first weekend in October, 600 balloons in the air, one of my anchor points for trips to the SW., then up to Santa Fe. We always do an open jaw flight so we're not rushing to get back to the start, often Las Vegas to Tucson, another great spot.

Place marking.

Yes you’d be mad ! Yosemite was one of the best places I visited.

Also make sure the big sure isnopnedd as after last years landslides some areas are closed to traffic with no opening date

I did 1 long day bus tour in LA, felt that was all i needed, was underwhelmed by San Fran too, Carmel is very quaint, point lobos is a must in the area, very pretty