TOP TIPS
-Rent an RV for longer stays
-Keep snacks i.e granola bars, fruit juices and plenty of water for hikes
-Wear comfortable clothes and shoes
-Download Offline Google Maps
-No drones allowed so don't bother taking it
-Keep a picnic blanket to sit on and enjoy the scenery in front of you
-Know when to go. Summer: best time, but it's hot. Spring: waterfalls. Winter: most areas closed due to snow/ice. Autumn: beautiful colors but dry meadows.
The best part about our three weeks vacation to the States was this five days roadtrip around the glorious national parks we've discussed of going to for months. The drive, the views, the captivating history stole our hearts. Keep scrolling down to see for yourself how nothing can be compared to the beauty of nature!
Sequoia National Park
A day earlier, we rented our car from Hertz car insurance company for the trip. We began our escapade at 4am so we could have ample time of daylight to enjoy the park. We entered through the Ash Mountain Entrance and paid a $35.00USD/vehicle ticket that is valid for seven days. If you're going by foot or a bike, then it is $20/person. Once you enter the park, it takes one hour to drive around the mountains for your first pit stop, which is the Moro Rock.
There were hardly any tourists around, so we had all the space to enjoy the place alone and take some pictures before moving forward. The next stop was the famous General Sherman Tree. Although there are a lot more taller trees than this one, the volume and thickness of it was what makes it so special. To get there, we had to walk downhill for about ten minutes through the forest.
Due to the forest fires, there were many trees that were either burnt or completely decayed. But, we had no idea how important fire is for the production of trees. We recommend everyone to visit the museum for further information about the trees, animals and history of the area.
After spending half the day in this park, we began making our way to Oakhurst Lodge for the night. The staff was very friendly and the room was quite cozy. This lodge is not only affordable ($94/night) but it also has many fast food restaurants around the area for a quick bite to eat.
We woke up to quite a chilly morning the next day, so, if you're travelling here in October, make sure to keep a jacket or a warm sweater. The breakfast served at the lodge was pretty basic. There were two types of cereals, jams, butter and bagels. The best part was making your own waffle which was really fluffy and delicious.
Yosemite National Park
All the national parks have one fixed price, which is $35/vehicle for a 7 days access. The drive was about two hours long from the lodge to the south entrance. Now this is a park where you have to stop off at every vistapoint. The views are absolutely breathtaking and we couldn't be happier to visit this place in autumn where you see so many diverse colors along the roadside. However, the meadows and waterfalls were dried out which we were anticipating to see, but it's another reason to return next year in spring.
The food market in Yosemite has limited options, but freshly baked pizzas and cold-cut sandwiches is really all you need after walking around the entire park. A few more hours here and it was time to make way to our next destination, Lake Tahoe. On our drive there, we took a small break at Tenaya Lake for another pit stop. It's just impossible to drive continuously on a road that is surrounded by beauty like this.
Yosemite most definitely exceeded our expectations and this is a place that cannot be captured in photographs or videos. The enormous size of the granite monoliths and the giant sequoia trees can truly be appreciated in person.
Lake Tahoe
Lets start off with how difficult the drive was to South Lake Tahoe. Both of our ears were in pain due to the high elevations on the mountains. We'd be driving on 2000ft elevation and within minutes, go upto 9000ft and back again to a 1000ft. We normally left the parks two hours before sunset so we don't have to drive on these roads at nighttime. But, because of the 45 minutes road closure in Yosemite, the drive back was quite dark. We checked into Econo Lodge Inn and Suites ($55/night), freshened up and walked over to Subway which was only six blocks away for dinner.
Lake Tahoe has minimal street lights and it is very cold here as well. Thankgod for the heater in our room because our toes were frozen by the time we returned with our warm subs. We woke up around 4am to catch the sunrise at Emerald Bay our friend on Instagram told us about. It was about 40 minutes drive from the lodge. When we got to the parking ground, it was a $15 ticket to park your car there. We made a u-turn and instead stopped at the vistapoint to enjoy the view for free haha! Guys, this location was surreal. We spent well over an hour here until the sun finally peaked over the mountains.
The breakfast at Econo Lodge was also pretty basic. There was one cereal option, scrambled eggs, potatoes, muffins and waffles. We quickly ate, got dressed and checked out for our final stop, San Francisco.
San Francisco
The drive was about 4 hours long and the amount of traffic in this city is exasperating. We checked into our room in Motel 6 ($121/night) which was really small but clean.
The amount of warning signs all around the area and even inside the rooms stating "keep your belongings with you, don't leave them in the car, lock the doors etc." made us paranoid. We normally leave our documents in the room before going out, but with these sort of signs, we took them with us as we head out to explore the city.
Visit San Francosco and not drive through the Golden Gate Bridge..IMPOSSIBLE. However, the amount of hype about it in movies, on the internet and just from so many people is overstated. The bridge is no doubt an extraordinary built and reasonably convenient for locals commuting each day to drive over the water. But, it is a lot smaller in person and the traffic that we had to be stuck in specifically for it was just not worth the time loss. The parking is free after 5pm so were just in time. There were many tourists lined up here to take picture in front of the bridge. We walked further down the pathway and found a secluded spot with a gorgeous view of the bridge behind us as we clicked a few shots before rushing to the world famous Lombard Street. B has been wanting to visit this street for the longest time. The drive on it was about 2 minutes long and very slow. There wasn't much of a view and the tourists below flooded the main road so getting out was difficult since we had to be careful not to hit anyone.
We drove back onto the golden gate bridge before heading back to the hotel. This city definitely needs more time but we only had a few hours to spare. Although the visit was a bit of a rush, we got to tick two more boxes on our bucketlist.
We took the 11 hours drive on highway 1 for our main route home. Once again, the views were just amazing and we got to see giants seals laying under the sun too. M got to see a whale dive back into the water which just made the entire trip perfect.
Overall, if you're visiting California, you just have to take out a few days for these national parks. They're absolutely incredible and the beauty of nature mesmerizes ones soul.
