[whale]

my girlfriend and i are taking a trip from the 21st - 29th and i was wondering if i could get some of you s to give me some suggestions on places to visit, lodging, etc...

we are actually flying into oakland on the 21st and then plan to stay in SF for a few days exploring (we've been to SF a couple of times and love it). the last couple of times, we drove around monterey bay, santa cruz (of course!), and hiked in the muir woods. i'm thinking we are going to hit up alcatraz this time and we already have reservations to have dinner at the greens (amazing vegetarian food - for her). i'll be inhaling as many dungeness crabs as humanly possible while out there. she doesn't really bike so we will probably be just doing some hiking and stuff out around the SF area.

after SF, we are going to hit up yosemite and maybe sequoia park for a few days? anybody have experience with lodging around there? recommendations?

after that, we are going to make the drive through death valley and end up in las vegas. i've got a buddy that lives about 10 minutes from the strip. i know i'll be renting a bike for a day and hitting up bootleg canyon again and we'll probably check out more of red rock canyon and the valley of fire.

flying home from vegas on the 29th.

our plans are pretty flexible. i'm just looking for suggestions and ideas (cool things to see, places to visit) from folks. we'll be making reservations for places to stay in the next couple of days. we are renting a car one-way from SF to LV and the airfare is all free thanks to my rapid rewards tickets!

thanks in advance for your help!

 

[HarryCallahan]

I could make a lot of suggestions for the peninsula and Santa Cruz area. What would you like to do and see? Here are just a couple: Big Basin Redwoods, not as crowded as Muir woods, and a big park, lotsa hiking.

Boulder Creek Brew Pub, very tasty food and beer, and yes, they have veggie options.

Cool budget lodging on the way to Yosemite, the Yosemite Bug Hostel, outside Mariposa.

In Yosemite, if money is no problem, stay at the Wawona. If you are watching your costs, camp and just make dinner reservations, but note that you need to dress nicely. Think sport coat and slacks.

Cool budget lodging on the way to Yosemite, the Yosemite Bug Hostel, outside Mariposa.

Best spectacular entrance to Yosemite,in my opinion, is the highway from El Portal, the south entrance. Not the best way to get there from San Francisco, but driving through the tunnel and seeing the valley...wow.

Definitely hit up Sequoia. Very different place than Yosemite, and the big trees are very different than the coast redwoods.

In planning your travel days, keep in mind low speeds in the parks and mountain areas, due to curvy roads.

 

[whale]

it looks like we are planning to stay in the SF area for the first few days. from there, we will probably be hitting up sequoia and save yosemite for another trip some other time. we are definitely hitting up zion after getting to my friend's place in vegas. i'll most likely spend a day riding bootleg as well.

 

[HarryCallahan]

Good call on skipping Yosemite and just doing Sequoia. Trying to hit both would mean you'd just short-change them both, and have to rush through. Plus the Yosemite high country is still all snowed in.

There's new lodging in Sequoia since I was last there; check out their web pages.

http://www.nps.gov/seki/

The road from the southern entrance out of 3 Rivers is really incredible. It's this switchback climb into the mountains that looks like something out of the Alps. I mention this because driving from the north, you might not go that way, and I'm not sure you get the same effect leaving the park by that southern route.

Check the weather there; it's high country and will be colder than SF or Vegas. Pack accordingly.