Planning a Californian trip

[fi4fitness]

Hi, we're from the UK, we're hiring an RV from Anaheim CA, July 20th for 6 days.

We want to travel to Yosemite via the Sequoia National Park and then return down the coast.

My husband would like to drive no more than around 150-180 miles.

I was hoping to get some recommendations on nice RV campsites along the way and how long to stay in Yosemite?

We're not familiar with 30 or 50 amp? What should we use with a class C 24ft?

Many thanks 

Fiona 

 

 

[Kirk W]

Yosemite National Park is a place that you could spend a lot of time in, especially if you like to hike. But you will need to have reservations to stay there so get them soon. It is 300 miles from Anaheim to Yosemite via the most direct route. If you then leave the park and travel west to the coast and follow it south back to Anaheim that will be about 600 miles return trip. It will not be possible to do what you have in mind in 6 days if you only travel 150 -180 miles per day.

Google Map of the proposed route

[sandsys]

150 miles a day would take 5.66 days on Kirk's route. But, that's only about 3 hours of driving so you'd still have several hours a day for rest stops, meals, and sightseeing. That sightseeing could use some of your extra 30 miles a day. So it is doable.

A Class C usually uses a 30 amp hookup. The rental will come with a power cord for you to use. It should also come with a hose for refilling your fresh water tank and a different one for dumping from your black water tank. 

It's been years since we traveled in California so I have no current data on campsites. If you sometimes get a site with full hookups you can dump and fill right at your site.  Most RVs here have enough battery power that, with careful use, you can stop some nights without an electrical hookup. Often those stops are in some parking lot like at Walmart or Cracker Barrel or a park without hookups. You probably won't need to dump and fill more than once in the middle of your trip unless you have very small holding tanks. If you tell us what model of RV you have reserved we can offer more specific advice.

Linda Sand

[fi4fitness]

Thanks for the advice 

[Vladimir]

The Escapees Parks in Coarsegold is a good overnight stop on your trip.  If you cannot get into a campground inside the National Parks and Forests there are also Corps of Engineer campgrounds that are also in the area.

Your trip down the coast along HIghway 1 will also require reservations.  You have picked the correct direction north to south since it will put you on the outside lane, with views of the ocean and pull-outs such that you won't have to cross traffic.

Be sure to take some binoculars or a small telescope with you for views of sea otters, etc.  It is probably too late for the whale migration.

That is a classic California trip.

PS.  The route shows you going back on Highway 101.  You want to go down Highway 1.  It should be totally open by then according to Cal Trans.

Explore the website REC.GOV now, and see about making campground reservations in July.  That will give you a good clue how difficult it will be to find a campsite.  Good luck on weekends.

Edited March 31 by Vladimir

[sandsys]

2 hours ago, Vladimir said:

PS.  The route shows you going back on Highway 101.  You want to go down Highway 1.  It should be totally open by then according to Cal Trans.

Do check Cal Trans just before departure though as Hwy 1 is susceptible to landslides with all the rain they have been having.

https://dot.ca.gov

Linda

[Vladimir]

7 hours ago, sandsys said:

Do check Cal Trans just before departure though as Hwy 1 is susceptible to landslides with all the rain they have been having.

https://dot.ca.gov

Linda

Yeah, that didn't take long.

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/highway-1-california-landslide-road-closure-19378076.php

One of my all-time favorite road trips was going down Highway 1 through Big Sur.  When I lived in California, I made a point of doing the trip almost every year.

For the past five or more winters I have been trying to repeat that trip and the road has been closed every year.  I am beginning to suspect that in the near future the state of California might just abandon Highway 1.

If the road is open, do the trip.  It is as someone said...."the most dramatic meeting of earth and sea in the world".

[bruce t]

Is it a "good" idea to drive a 24ft rv down into Yosemite? It has been a while since I've been there and wondered about parking/camping etc.

[Solo18]

I spend a few weeks every year in California because I have a son who lives in Napa.  Frankly, after almost 12 years full-timing, I think I can confidently say that California has the worst state parks in the country--most of the time, you get very small dirt sites and portable toilets with no showers for about $50 per day.  There are a very few full-hookup state parks, but they usually cost about $70 - $75 per night, which is very expensive by other state standards.

On the other hand, California has some excellent regional/county campgrounds that have electrical and often water hookups for less money than the dirt sites in the state parks.  Check out Riverside and San Diego County parks for some excellent full hookup campsites.  Napa also has an excellent campground at its EXPO County Fairgrounds.  It is expensive, but sites are paved, have full hookups, plus it is walking distance to downtown and the many excellent restaurants and shops there.   Most of the EXPO sites are 12' wide and 80' long, so they are worth the money.  (Hotels in or near Napa are outrageously expensive, by the way, but there are tons of fantastic restaurants that make up for that.) 

Campgrounds inside Yosemite have no-hookups, but the views are impressive and the drive in is quite long, so it is worth staying inside the park if you can get a spot and want to spend more than one night.  Once you are parked in the campground, there are shuttles that will take you around.  It is fun, though a bit scary, to use binoculars to watch climbers on the steep rock faces!  And I have driven my 32' C into Yosemite more than once, so your 24' rig will be easy, other than heavy traffic on weekends, depending on when you go. 

Edited April 1 by Solo18

[Solo18]

Note this article about a recent landslide on Hwy 1 near Big Sur:   https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-03-31/landslide-erodes-part-of-highway-1-near-big-sur-closing-roadway

It will take a few months to clean that one up and rebuild the roadway!!!

Edited April 1 by Solo18

[sandsys]

15 hours ago, Solo18 said:

Note this article about a recent landslide on Hwy 1 near Big Sur:   https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-03-31/landslide-erodes-part-of-highway-1-near-big-sur-closing-roadway

It will take a few months to clean that one up and rebuild the roadway!!!

California actually is falling into the ocean. People originally thought it would be along the San Andreas fault line but, instead, it is just doing it bit by bit.

Linda

[Solo18]

2 hours ago, sandsys said:

California actually is falling into the ocean. People originally thought it would be along the San Andreas fault line but, instead, it is just doing it bit by bit.

Linda

The problem is that the line of mountains along the coast are mostly made of stuff scraped off the seabed when the continents collided.   In other words, they are made of piles of various types of sediment, not granite or volcanic rock as are most inland mountains.

Thus, when it rains, the dirt and rocks in the hills along the coast can easily come apart and fall into the ocean.   

[jamtracy]

Look up Yosemite Pines RV Resort and Family Lodging in Groveland, CA. 22 miles from the west entrance to the park. A 24' class C is fine for the Yosemite. There is also transit services from the RV park it-self if you don't want to drive. Lots of renters of class C MH stay there. It's a perfect home base with a nice grocery store 2 miles away. Lots of Amenities at this park as well. Pool, deli, etc... Easy reservations and reasonable prices. 

There is also Yosemite Lakes about 5 miles from the west entrance. It's a Thousand Trails park.

Take and care and have FUN!!!

Edited April 2 by jamtracy

[fi4fitness]

On 3/31/2024 at 3:40 PM, Vladimir said:

The Escapees Parks in Coarsegold is a good overnight stop on your trip.  If you cannot get into a campground inside the National Parks and Forests there are also Corps of Engineer campgrounds that are also in the area.

Your trip down the coast along HIghway 1 will also require reservations.  You have picked the correct direction north to south since it will put you on the outside lane, with views of the ocean and pull-outs such that you won't have to cross traffic.

Be sure to take some binoculars or a small telescope with you for views of sea otters, etc.  It is probably too late for the whale migration.

That is a classic California trip.

PS.  The route shows you going back on Highway 101.  You want to go down Highway 1.  It should be totally open by then according to Cal Trans.

Explore the website REC.GOV now, and see about making campground reservations in July.  That will give you a good clue how difficult it will be to find a campsite.  Good luck on weekends.

Thank you 

[Zulu]

OP, it can be done, but you'll have to compromise . . .

First, I live in Mariposa, CA which is about an hour from Yosemite National Park. My wife and I have been to the park several times and have camped in the area for a couple of years. So . . .

I suggest using a web application called RV Trip Wizard. It's great for planning RV trips as it lists RV parks, travel distances, reviews, maps, etc.

From Anaheim, I'd suggest you travel to Three Rivers Hideaway campground. It's near Sequoia National Park, but it is a 230 or so mile drive.

Next, I'd camp at the Mariposa County Fairgrounds or up Highway 140 (going to Yosemite) at AutoCamp Yosemite.

From one of these two campgrounds, take the YARTS public transit bus to Yosemite. Then in Yosemite sign up for a bus tour of the park. When you take the bus into the park, you do NOT need reservations.

Plus, even with reservations, you do NOT want to drive around Yosemite in a Class C RV.

The time to make reservations is NOW.

Finally, your Class C will probably be 30 amps.

[emilyhlib]

We are also planning to go on a trip to California soon, so this topic is very interesting for me! :)