Yes, Chookie brings up a good point about accessibility of Yosemite: Some of the roads into Yosemite are “iffy” (your car may require chains) in early Spring or late Fall.
Often the Park service will be overzealous and say that chains “may” be required when in fact the chances are quite low. (I’ve travelled to Yosemite umpteen times, have chains for my car, but so far have never needed them.) But check the weather reports and use your judgement. Obviously there will be times when chains are definitely needed, and you won’t get into the park without them. However, I’ve driven into Yosemite Valley as early as March and as late as November and have not needed chains. (It all depends on the weather, of course.)
Tuolumne Meadows is only open a few months in the Summer–though I do think one May I was able to get in (my memory may be fuzzy on that). The road up to Tuolumne can close as early as September (but I went up a year ago in October and everything was open in Tuolumne).
A few more thing popped into my head tonight as I drove back to LA from the SF area.
You asked about buying airline tickets.
Yes you can buy same day, but there are three reasons you might not want to
Costs more (best deals are usually 14 day or 21 day advance purchase yeah for the net early purchase is easy)
2)LAX->SFO is a very popular flight, they do run full and you might not get on the flight you want. (there will be another, but you might have to hang at the airport)
3)A last minute purchase will get you into the cavity search line at security :eek:
You did not say what month you are planing to come, so let me give you some advice about weather.
In the central valley of California during December - Feb it get foggy. REAL foggy. I have seen it so foggy that I could not see the road directly in front of my car! Driving Highway 5 in this is brutal. I do not recomond it, unless you are into stress.
Feb is probably the wetest month for So Cal. However rain can come from Oct-April.
If you are going to fly to SF in bad weather SFO goes down to one runway. This plays hell with every airlines schedule.
April is wonderful through much of the state, everything is green, clear skies, just beautiful.
May and June tend to be cloudy in So Cal (we call it June gloom)
Ya know superstar if you ask nice we might be able to get a doper or 20 together to greet you when you get here.
If I can get you any info, like maps drop me an e mail.
I can’t believe it’s taken this many posts to get to this, as far as I’m concerned it’s the most important thing to do when visiting the area.
I don’t have much to add to what’s been written already, but a couple fun ideas: If you like garlic, be sure to have a meal at The Stinking Rose restaurant in the “Little Italy” area of SF. If you happen to end up in the San Jose area for whatever reason (heaven forfend!) you might enjoy checking out the Winchester Mystery House, which is bizarre and fascinating.
If you do take interstate 5, and you like pea soup, be sure to try Pea Soup Andersons which is in Santa Nella, about 90 minutes before you get to SF. (There’s also one down south in Solvang, but I find it inferior to the Santa Nella location. There’s a 3rd location somewhere on highway 99, but I’ve never been to that one.) How’s that for obscure?
Agreed! Big time! Too many people think only of the weather in Phoenix when they visit AZ. Northern AZ gets a lot of snow and cold temps, especially in and around the Grand Canyon. So please take that into consideration when you plan your trip to the Canyon. My family flew out here the end of March this year for our wedding, and they decided to drive up to the Grand Canyon for a few days. I warned them to bring very warm clothing for that leg of their trip, and I don’t think they took me too seriously. While it was in the upper 70s in Phoenix, it was below freezing and snowed at the GC while they were there. :rolleyes:
If you have the extra $$$, consider a helicopter tour of the GC. They have places outside of LV that can take you. But do your homework to find the best companies that provide those tours.
