Advice request - Austin - Yosemite - Sant Cruz - PCH - LA - Austin

Playc

We plan to take our trailer Nov 10 and travel the subject route.  It will be our first long trip.

We plan to stay at KOA and hotels along the way and the main goal is to see the beautiful country.  We plan a 2 week total travel time.

Any advice from you are greatly appreciated. 

Dalehelman

We rearly if ever stay at KOA. Not all but many are old and poorly maintained. Much prefer national, state, county, and city parks. I like Allstays, and Ultimate Camp Ground apps. Yosemite expect snow. Santa Cruz cool but nice. California highway 1 in Northern California. Is winding and slow but very beautiful. PCH is a great drive in southern Calif. LA traffic, traffic, traffic. You will have a great time.

tabasco_jim

Playc.

I did a similar trip 6 years ago in June, but...We flew into LA and rented an SUV. We spent the first 3 days exploring LA ( Santa Monica Pier and beach, Hollywood, Rodeo Dr. and the Pasadena Rose Bowl. The 4th day we headed to Sequoyah and spent the night at the end of the road in Kings Canyon at the lodge. The 5th day we drove to Yosemite. We did not stay in the park. We stayed at a hotel in El Portal. We explored for three days and nights. We the left and drove to Monterey and stayed the night here. We did the famous 17 mile drive around the peninsula and explored the club house at Pebble Beach. The next day we hit Hwy 1 going south. It was raining when we started and got progressively worse. After a lunch stop along the way we got to a point where they had closed Hwy 1 due to a rock slide. We had to take a gravel road detour up and over the mountain. At least we got out of the fog but you couldn't see the ocean. We had to change our itinerary because of this and wound up staying in San Luis Obispo. We made it back to LA the next day and got ready to leave the next day on an early flight.

So here is some of the advice I would give you.

1. LA is a long 2 day drive from Austin. I have driven to LA in a pickup from Birmingham when I was in my 20's in 37 hours. I would never do that again. If I was leaving tomorrow from home I would budget 3 nights on the way to get there with the 4th day arriving and the night being a rest day.

2. Yosemite in Nov is going to be questionable even if you can get there and be able to leave without seeing snow and dealing with it. There was snow on roads in Sequoyah that were still closed in June when I was there.

3. I would do the LA and coastal stuff this trip and enjoy yourself. Take your time and have fun. Go back and do the mountain stuff in the summer

 

Librarydragon

If you would like to stay near Santa Cruz, Costanoa's is a nice place to stay. Its north of Santa Cruz and is cheaper than the Watsonville KOA.

Playc

Great advice, folks.
We are in the second year of learning camping.  Have done short trips and weekend stays at state, KOA, and private parks in the first year.
So we like to explore more and take longer trips (we both retired now so we can take our time).  

Based on your advice maybe Yosemite is not for November.  You get me thinking to go to Florida and stay at some nice, white sand beach campground.  Please continue to advice us as the routing (from Houston), place to stay along the way, and the best white sand beach campground in Florida (destination).  We plan a 10-14 total travel time.

Big thanks to you all.