California road trip help

[TheLastofThem]

Please tell me if you think this is doable in 15 nights or too much. Family of 4 - 13 and 10 year old... hiring a campervan travelling in April.

Timings are approximate but what google maps tells me...

Part of highway 1 - pacific highway coast is closed due to a landslide and no sign of opening any time soon so we will have to skip a lot out and go from Monterey inland down to Morro Bay.... will stop en route at other places as well as these but this is stayovers.

Are we missing anything major? Having second thoughts about whether to do Vegas with the kids but thought we'd check it out seeing as we are close by... is it too much in two weeks?
Any advice grateful. Thanks.

15 night - Route

3 nights San Fran
2.5hr drive to
2nights Monterey and big sur
3 hour drive to
1 night Morro bay/pismo beach
2h30 min drive to
2 nights LA
2h30m drive to
1 night Palm Springs / Joshua tree
3h40m drive to
2 nights vegas
1h50m drive to
1 night Death Valley
3h10m drive to
1 night mammoth lakes
2h 15m drive to
2 nights Bodie state national and Yosemite
3h30 drive back to San Fran

Will hopefully stop at Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Malibu and other little stops for food and quick visits en route.

We are looking at more of a campervan than an RV so we have the option of hotels and campgrounds and can navigate some of the roads easier! Heard the PCH 1 Big Sur road can be tricky with an RV . Looking at the Escape Camper Del Mar 5. Or a small Ford truck style 4 berth RV which looks a little like a Luton I think Road Bear do a similar type that a pp mentioned.

Tioga pass will definitely not be open in April nor will many locations in Yosemite. As PPs have also said we went late June and drove the pass the first day it opened.

Two of the cabins we'd booked en route from SF to Yosemite in late June too were inaccessible because of snow and we had to make other arrangements.

It was absolutely scorching too so it wasn't as if it was a cold spring/summer

We did a convertible on the PCH and stayed in cabins, hotels, motels. Campsites are few and far between. Then swapped for a camper in SFO to do north Cal and Yosemite/Tahoe

The PCH will be sloooow with a camper and you'll have to stop regularly to let the line of cars behind you go. I suspect it might be pretty stressful for the driver too as it's unrelentingly windy (as in windy road not blowy but it can also be that too!)

Don't discount how long the PCH may take becuase if the above and also because it's so beautiful you will want to stop every few mins for pics and exploring. The PCH is all about the journey not the destination (for example I found Monterey/Carmel quite dismal, tacky and suburban little places compared to the majesty of the PCH.)

If you're considering vegas I'd go the whole hog and go straight to the Grand Canyon and Sedona, especially with kids. My kids are similar ages and would enjoy amazing (natural) sights more than Vegas (which, granted, does offer its own version of interesting sights!).

Following this as I am doing this next year also! We've hired an RV for 10 nights and just looking at campsites now. We're thinking a smaller loop however: SF, Tahoe, Yosemite then Monterey.

Your San Francisco plan sounds good.

Malibu beach is a long way (30m or so) from Universal so Uber-ing might be very expensive. personally I’d do a drive-by, miss out LA itself (you’ll have seen the Pacific plenty) and stay in Universal for one night if you can afford it. If you get this right you’ll get front of line access to make the most of the stay (this is based on Orlando so don’t take my word for it).

Absolute Yes to the Grand Canyon over Vegas, but it’s a long, long drive. Sedona is gorgeous, but out of your way.

You can see redwoods in Yosemite as well as Sequoia - at Tuolumne Grove, which I think should be open in April.

(edited to add right ocean…)

3 nights in SF feels long to me. I would probably shorten that bit and that time for something else.

We did a Californian road trip some years ago and our itinerary was something like:

Flew from NY to San Francisco, 3 nights there
Went north of SF first
1 night in Sonoma
1 night in Calistoga
stopping off in Napa, Point Reyes Station

Then we came back down and went south along the coastal highway
We stayed at Half Moon Bay
Big Sur,
Carmel
San Luis Obispo
We also went to Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park and
spent a night in Santa Barbara and then finally LA for a night and flew home the next day

We stopped at (but didn't stay) in Marina, Monteray, San Simeon and Morro Bay

It was a wonderful trip and I can still remember it even though it was a long time ago now...

Another vote for 29 Palms rather than Palm Springs to see Joshua Tree. The 29 Palms Inn is lovely in a funky kind of way.

We didn’t the opposite way round and started in San Diego for three nights and to LA for two nights and then Santa Barbara for two nights one night in Monterey three nights in San Francisco three nights in Yosemite. Then across to Vegas for 4 nights (we have family there) We did manage to get on the pass though. then flew out of Los Angeles. My favourite part was San Diego and Yosemite. I’m not sure I’d want to do it in the snow though. The only bit I didn’t like was Los Angeles, we did the universal studios and enjoyed that but the rest just felt a bit dirty. We also stopped places on the way such as Morro Bay, etc

Doable but check mountain passes, many aren't open yet. I did CA, NV, AZ and UT in one trip with much younger ones, your itinerary is fairly pedestrian

I agree with others, it's a little too much. I would probably concentrate on Southern California at that time of year weather will be glorious. Fly into LA, take the kids to Universal (the bus tour of the studio is amazing) then head south to San Diego via Carlsbad to see the Flower fields and go to Legoland, great for the younger kids but the rides are still good for the older ones. Stay near La Jolla beach at San Diego and go to the Midway and get some fish tacos. Then maybe back to LA via Palm Springs, or fly to Vegas from San Diego and go see the Grand Canyon.
If you were just doing the desert or going to Sequoia or Yosemite and staying rural then the camper van is a fantastic idea, but as you are planning on a few city stops it doesn't quite work, as others have said LA is really heavily congested with traffic and with vans needing quite a bit of preparation to get organised. Some of the roads are quite veritiginous, or perhaps I am just a wimp but I don't think I would like it to be my first time driving one because you have the combination of difficult traffic and difficult steep roads.

I did 15 states plus Toronto to Vancouver in one trip of less than a month 😄 I think my idea of what is drivable is somewhat skewed. I loved the bits of Arizona that I saw (much more so than places like SF) so I say go for the wow places that the kids will remember.

we did last a road trip last year but started in LA.

LA-Seqouia-Kings Canyon-Bass Lake-Yosemite-Tahoe-San Fran-San Luis Obispo-LA. Probably similar number of days to you. Don’t underestimate LA traffic. It isn’t the holidays in April so it’s busy on the roads if you travel at the wrong time. I’d say those driving timings are rough estimates.

Like others have said you need to factor in multiple stops along the Big Sur to look at views, stopping for lunch etc.

15 days is a lot for all of that. I’d probably miss Las Vegas and be flexible with your time at all the other destinations incase you just feel like stopping.

I personally wouldn’t do San Diego - it’s lovely but hours out of you way. We enjoyed San Fran sad to see it’s demise but it still has life.

I’d allocate more time for Sequoia and take a trip to Kings Canyon - which I thought was absolutely stunning.

Also don’t underestimate the cost of Ubers in LA. Just warning you. It can be pricey.

Have fun. Beautiful state.

We already have flights booked so flying in and out of SF is non-negotiable... have changed our hotel from 3 nights to 2 in SF though but will probably do our last night there to save driving back on snowy roads and flying home on the same day....

Thinking to skip Vegas. Would love to do San Diego but think it may be a little out of our way with the time we have to get back to SF.

Honestly Vegas is a hole. But I am glad we went, as you say it would be a shame not to at least see it, maybe visit for a day & go up the Stratosphere or something but devote those 2 nights elsewhere. Grand Canynon maybe?

Here’s an itinerary that gets you to all the national parks mentioned. It keeps San Francisco and Universal, but no other cities. There are brutal driving days, but also full days with only the drives around the national parks. Clearly you can ditch any of the park options and save two days for something else. Death Valley is pretty much closed at the moment because of the floods so those timings are guesswork but the roads should surely be open by next April!

Day 1: Arrive, stay San Francisco (pref Fisherman’s Wharf area for convenience)
Day 2: Alcatraz & bikes.
Day 3: Get RV and drive to Yosemite (5h including a couple of comfort/gas/photos stops). Note: If you go via Groveland, just before you get to Groveland there’s a very windy precipitous bit of road called Priest Grade (apparently you need a priest afterwards) which you’d do well to google before choosing to tackle in a RV. I didn’t like it much but needs must. I don’t know what the road via El Portal is like.
Day 4: Yosemite valley
Day 5: Drive to King’s/Sequoia Grant Grove area
Day 6: King’s Canyon/ Sequoia
Day 7: Drive to Twentynine Palms (6.5h without stops, so all day with stops)
Day 8: Joshua Tree NP
Day 9: Drive to Grand Canyon NP (another all day drive)
Day 10: Grand Canyon
Day 11: Drive to Furnace Creek Death Valley (another long drive day)
Day 12: Death Valley
Day 13: Drive to Universal Studios (another long drive day)
Day 14: Universal Studios
Day 15: Drive to coast between LA and SF and finish up near RV hire place
Day 16: Fly home.

If you don’t want this holiday I’ll have it. :)