Road Trip SanFran>Vegas>LA Hints/Tips/Travel advice

Hey there,

I reaching out for some inspiration.

I'm going to be heading on a 2000 mile road trip from SanFran.

The rough route is SanFran>Yosemite>DeathValley>Vegas>GrandCanyon>LA>SanFran.

If anyone has any tips for places that are worthwhile visiting (from photography perspective)?

Or more importantly what i must not miss under any circumstances?

Stuff off the beaten track is great, any undiscovered gems you are willing to share?

I know it's a broad question given the size of the area but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

When are you expecting to go? Weather can play a major factor in deciding where to go and when in that rather broad area. In a general sense, winter closes out some of the high passes but can make for pleasant temperatures in the otherwise brutally hot desert areas.

How long are allowing for the trip? Are you planning on camping or staying in established lodging, like hotels, motels, etc.?

Craig Gillette said:

When are you expecting to go? Weather can play a major factor in deciding where to go and when in that rather broad area. In a general sense, winter closes out some of the high passes but can make for pleasant temperatures in the otherwise brutally hot desert areas.

How long are allowing for the trip? Are you planning on camping or staying in established lodging, like hotels, motels, etc.?

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I'm doing the trip first half of September. Will be staying in regular hotels/motels.

Although there is a limit to what i can visit. Just wondering if there were anything a bit off the beaten track that is a bit quirkier. For example, I recently did Highway 61, and visited Charlie Patton's grave. Or any interesting places to stay, stayed in the Shack Inn in Clarksdale during that trip.

enthusiast888 said:

Craig Gillette said:

When are you expecting to go? Weather can play a major factor in deciding where to go and when in that rather broad area. In a general sense, winter closes out some of the high passes but can make for pleasant temperatures in the otherwise brutally hot desert areas.

How long are allowing for the trip? Are you planning on camping or staying in established lodging, like hotels, motels, etc.?

Click to expand...

I'm doing the trip first half of September. Will be staying in regular hotels/motels.

Although there is a limit to what i can visit. Just wondering if there were anything a bit off the beaten track that is a bit quirkier. For example, I recently did Highway 61, and visited Charlie Patton's grave. Or any interesting places to stay, stayed in the Shack Inn in Clarksdale during that trip.

Click to expand...

Well, you're covering a lot of ground there. You should have a great time. We get Indian summer through mid-October. I don't know how committed you are to those locations, but if you are willing to go north of Yosemite, Lake Tahoe is a world class destination with lots of recreational activities. The east side of the lake is good for sunsets, especially south of Sand Harbor. If you're willing to even farther north, Lassen Natl. Park is an uncrowded jewel with a totally different feel from Yosemite.

In Yosemite, I would do the Tioga Road drive across the park. If you have time, you can keep going east out of the park to visit Mono Lake and Bodie, the abandoned mining town. In Yosemite Valley, I would recommend the awesome Mist trail for spectacular scenery you will not forget:





I would also say you MUST do the drive to Glacier Point for the best panoramic view I have ever seen in any national park.

In San Francisco, you can get some nice views of the GG bridge from the Marin Headlands or down at Marshall's Beach in SF itself. For sunsets, you can get some shots from around the Cliff House/Sutro Baths and for some nice views of the skyline, you can head out to Pier 14:





If you want to see the giant sequoias without the crowds, you can also head down to Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP. Not as spectacular as Yosemite, but has great sequoia groves, lots of black bears and no crowds compared to Yosemite. The road to the Cedar Grove area is very scenic.

In Vegas, I've heard the Red Rock Canyon is cool, but I haven't gone there yet.

--
"You can't be young forever, but you can always be immature" - Larry Andersen

great photos.

thanks for suggestions, will definitely look up those driving routes around Yosemite.

If you're leaving from SF presumably you're familiar with that area.

I would skip Tahoe and Yosemite.
Take the Sonora Pass to Mono Lake. Same geology and fewer crowds. Hike to the falls at Kennedy Meadows.
stay in Bridgeport, which is great at sunrise.

Lassen is great but out of the way. If you ever go, visit Bumpass Hell.

At Death Valley, Zabriskie Point is best spot. Go for the Golden hour if you can

Get on Route 66 in Kingman.
Stop at the Meteor Crater.

Your itinerary may be driven by your reservations although it might be somewhat less crowded after the first weekend of September. Yosemite is likely fully booked and then some. I'm going to guess that you expect to go east to Yosemite and then east out of Yosemite over Tioga Pass. Mono Lake is very unusual, it's an area that doesn't drain naturally so the mineral content is high, along with geology dominated by volcanism, leading to a bit different ecology and also tufa formations from changing lake levels. South leads you past Mammoth Mountain with a view to the Minarets, some lakes and Devils Postpile. South through Bishop and a couple of choices to Death Valley. If you go far enough through Owens Valley, yu'll pass Mt. Whitney and the east scarp of the Sierra range is stunning. You probably won't have any high elevation snow problems but that does mean that you will hit very hot weather in the low elevation desert regions.

South of Las Vegas, likely a short side trip depending on routes taken is Oatman. An old stop on Route 66 with some Hollywood related racey history and wild burros walking the streets. (Near Kingman/Laughlin). Skip the Grand Canyon Caverns. it's a dry cave and not that interesting compared to some of the famous wet caverns. It's between Kingman and Williams, I think only accesed from o;d Route 66. That's a slower drive than I 40 between Williams and Kingmand but has a couple of old towns that retain some of the pre interstate travel flavor.

Sounds like you need a really good motorhome lol.

Cjar said:

If you're leaving from SF presumably you're familiar with that area.

I would skip Tahoe and Yosemite.
Take the Sonora Pass to Mono Lake. Same geology and fewer crowds. Hike to the falls at Kennedy Meadows.
stay in Bridgeport, which is great at sunrise.

Lassen is great but out of the way. If you ever go, visit Bumpass Hell.

At Death Valley, Zabriskie Point is best spot. Go for the Golden hour if you can

Get on Route 66 in Kingman.
Stop at the Meteor Crater.

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I live in southern Calif and have driven extensively through this region.

I STRONGLY disagree about bypassing Yosemite. And I agree with another poster not to miss Glacier Point. Yosemite is one of my all time most beautiful places and photo opportunities abound.

If you have time, check out Bryce Canyon and/or Zion National Park on your way to the GC.

Check out the town of Oatman on Route 66 west of the GC. (EDIT: I see another poster also mentioned this).

Joshua Tree National Park off Interestate 10 east of Palm Springs is interesting. IMHO the northern portion of the park is more geologically interesting and is where the Joshua Trees are.

On the drive from LA to SFO, the entire coast is very picturesque, but check out the town of Morrow Bay near San Luis Obispo. Hearst Castle in San Simeon is also worth a visit. And of course Monterey and Big Sur.

Good luck

Go South Rim, not West Rim of the Grand Canyon. It's much grander.

Thanks all for the tips, didn't know about Momo Lake, but would have kicked myself if i missed that one. Oatman and Joshua Tree National Park, added too.

Some people have mentioned a "Titus Canyon"? supposedly hazardous but worthwhile.

I'm using a rental car, so just wondering if would it be damaged travelling this road?

BTW, its a regular size SUV like Ford Escape.

In September the Yosemite waterfalls will be dry.
I've been to Oatman. Yea, there are mules in the streets but didn't feel it was that interesting. It's a tourist stop so if you want photos of tourist things ...

Cjar said:

In September the Yosemite waterfalls will be dry.
I've been to Oatman. Yea, there are mules in the streets but didn't feel it was that interesting. It's a tourist stop so if you want photos of tourist things ...

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With the rain we (didn't) got this year many of the falls were probably dry early in the summer. However Nevada and Vernal Falls run year-round if you want to take a bit of a hike. And the valley and Glacier Point are still incredibly impressive.

Also check out Tenaya Lake and Tuolomne Meadows, which you would pass through on the drive to the eastern Sierra to get to Death Valley.

You've basically mentioned all of the popular tourist stops. Why not just post a link to the tourism board website? There really hasn't been much mentioned that's unique.
If you're looking for common tourist photography spots, just Google them.

Yosemite can be accessed in different ways, and the National Forests around it are very cool. I have driven over the north side, for instance. One interesting thing about Yosemite versus some other parks: in other parks you only have to hike a mile or so to lose about 75% of the people, in some cases (Great Smokies, for instance) because so many of the visitors are out of shape and/or fat. Yosemite, OTOH, gets accessed by a lot more fit people, so you have to really get into the back country to lose the crowds. So, this is another reason to try some of the National Forest lands around it.

The eastern side of the Sierras are generally very cool. Also, further east, the White's get a lot less traffic ( a tip I got from a ranger). Then there's Nevada (excluding Las Vegas). Surprisingly cool place with lots of interest up in its mountains, and little traveled. Have water and a reliable vehicle, though, it gets remote with many miles between towns or even any services.

If you're willing to wake up really early and drive a very short distance to Treaaure Island, the views of the Oakland Bay Bridge stretching into the City are great.

If you Messagecme, I can send you some Google map pictures to show you how to get there and where to set up.

I agree, TI has that great view of the SF waterfront.
But TI also has a real variety of building styles, if you like architecture. Buildings frim the 1939 worlds fair up through about the 1970s ... commercial buildings, abandoned military, residences, etc.

So if you stop on TI, don't spend too much time looking off the island.

I concur about going north of Yosemite, over Sonora Pass.

Cjar said:

You've basically mentioned all of the popular tourist stops. Why not just post a link to the tourism board website? There really hasn't been much mentioned that's unique.
If you're looking for common tourist photography spots, just Google them.

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I guess you have even less to contribute than I do.

enthusiast888 said:

Hey there,

I reaching out for some inspiration.

I'm going to be heading on a 2000 mile road trip from SanFran.

The rough route is SanFran>Yosemite>DeathValley>Vegas>GrandCanyon>LA>SanFran.

If anyone has any tips for places that are worthwhile visiting (from photography perspective)?

Or more importantly what i must not miss under any circumstances?

Stuff off the beaten track is great, any undiscovered gems you are willing to share?

I know it's a broad question given the size of the area but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Click to expand...

Don't ask for ideas of where, what to shoot, you will be cloning/reproducing stuff shot hundreds of times, shoot what catches your interest, I mean how many SanFran bridge shots do you need? focus on details, maybe a different angle of a view that's been over looked. explore.