Travel in California
Hi everyone,I am travelling to California in February 2013 and I'm trying to figure out the best way to travel around. The main places I want to go are San Francisco and Lake Tahoe (for skiing). However my partner wants to go to Las Vegas, and we were thinking about flying in to LAX and and driving there. I think google maps estimated 4-5 hours, which isn't a problem. My question is about getting from Vegas to Lake Tahoe. If I were to drive this leg of the trip (i know it's a long drive) are there any interesting places to see, and places to stay overnight? Or would it be a better solution to fly to Reno and then rent another car to travel to Lake Tahoe and then to San Francisco?
If I fly into LA then I would probably need to get back there from San Francisco too, I would probably be driving there.
I was thinking between 10-14 days for the trip, as I want to fly to Alaska afterwards. If anyone can help it would be much appreciated. I have never travelled to the USA before and I've done a bit of research, but I'm still not sure if I'm being realistic!
Edited by: killer_seahorse
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So, you want to primarily visit San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and Las Vegas before going to Alaska.I don't quite get why you would fly to LA to get to Las Vegas (you can fly to Las Vegas from San Francisco
or Reno.) Lake Tahoe is about a 4 hour drive from SF and, yes, flying from Reno to Las Vegas
is the way to go (Reno is about 1 hour from Lake Tahoe.) Alaska will be dark and cold- it's the middle
of winter with limited daylight but a great time to go if you want to see the Aurora Borealis.
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As far as Alaska goes - February is actually an excellent winter month if you are into winter carnivals, dog mushing, and ice sculpture. Fur Rondy (Fur Rendezvous) will be Feb 22- March 3 in Anchorage and the Iditarod starts in Willow, AK, north of Anchorage, on March 3. There is a ceremonial start for the Iditarod in downtown Anchorage on March 2nd (right on 4th avenue and winding through park trails across town). Fur Rondy has all kinds of events - carnival rides no matter what the temps, frostbite footrace, outhouse races, snowshoe baseball, dog sled rides, juried art shows etc.The World Ice Art Championships will be held in Fairbanks from February 26th to March 31st.
Aurora viewing is likely good then as well. Some like to head out to Chena Hot Springs for that - 60 miles NE of Fairbanks but you can see them nearer to town, even near or in Anchorage. The best I have seen were in interior AK near Fairbanks but it is also a matter of luck, not just location.
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This is how to maximize your time while minimizing costs: Fly into San Francisco (SFO) Take thetrain or fly to Reno where you rent a car for your days skiing at Lake Tahoe. Return the rental car to
Reno and fly to Las Vegas. Just cab it to your Las Vegas strip hotel (try to go to Las Vegas during weekdays
when hotels cost a fraction of their weekend rates.) Fly from Las Vegas back to San Francisco. Check
Kayak.com for airfares and also Southwest.com which Kayak does not list. Airfares are around $100 for each
of your California/Nevada legs. Have a great trip!
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My question is about getting from Vegas to Lake Tahoe. If I were to drive this leg of the trip (i know it's a long drive) are there any interesting places to see, and places to stay overnight?Please do not fly from Reno > Las Vegas, or Las Vegas > Reno. The drive from Las Vegas to South Lake Tahoe, via Death Valley NP, Bishop, and all of Hwy 395 - is absolutely wonderful, especially in winter. Definitely rent a car for this sector - and in fact from there to San Francisco. Flying from LAX to Las Vegas is reasonable (or the reverse) - it is not that scenic.
Scenery trumps dollars every time.
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Ian is partial to the Sierra's eastern slope drive- the 395. I grew up in Southern California whichthe Owens Valley and the 395 reminds me of-- it's very dry without a lot of forest- which is what I
most like about our National Parks. Another spectracular drive (just my opinion) is the drive on Hwy 80 between
Truckee west to Hwy 20. Great mountain peaks, creeks and small lakes can be seen if you drive this
stretch of the interstate from North Lake Tahoe toward San Francisco.
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Indeed ... the drive from Las Vegas via Pahrump and Death Valley, and then up the hill to Owens Lake/Lone Pine, and then on to Lake Tahoe via Hwy 395, is truly excellent. Why would anyone avoid it if they have the time and capacity to do it?10
If you do decide to drive between Lake Tahoe and Las Vegas via the 395 (It is indeed a scenic highway)the 11-hour drive is easily broken up by stopping at Mono Lake near Lee Vining- it has unique natural
towers called tufas and makes for a great photo/picnic stop. If you can drive it mid-week, you'll avoid
the heavier traffic made up of skiers making the journey to Mammoth Lakes for the weekend.
Everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving!
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Wow, thanks everyone. You've given me a bit to think about now.Now I'm thinking I could fly to San Francisco, then fly to Vegas, drive to Lake Tahoe and back to San Francisco. That would still cut out a bit of the driving. Are there many accommodation options around halfway between Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe? And i would defiantly like to see Death Valley while I'm there.
And I am going to Alaska in the hope of seeing the aurora borealis, but I'm looking forward to having a go at mushing too.
Thanks again for all the advice! I think I'll do some more googling when I wake up.
Edited by: killer_seahorse
