I’m embarrassed to say that we have traveled across this country 5 times and have never visited the beauty we have in our own back yard until now. This summer we decided to stay local and visit Sequoia, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, and Big Sur. What a wonderful trip this was, definitely a must try trip and I am about to tell you why.
On day one, we made it all the way to Sequoia although we must have taken a wrong turn along the way because we ended up on a one lane dirt road, the internet went bye bye so we had no idea how far up or down we were from the main road. We contemplated turning around several times but we didn’t even have the space on the road to do so. We prayed and hoped for the best until we finally reached a paved road. Later we discovered that we were on N. Fork Road; very scenic drive if you know you are not lost 🙂
Arriving at Sequoia National Park, we were immediately in awe of the sizes of those tree trunks.
We loved to see how many are standing but also sad how many are not.. We did read in the Giant Forest Museum about how that is the normal cycle but it was still a sad sight to see how many trees are on the ground. After passing the entrance gate, we stayed on the main road and stopped in several scenic spots in both Sequoia and Kings Canyon before heading to our campground for the night. I booked a site at Big Meadow (recreation.gov) a long time ahead thinking it would be fully booked in mid June but it wasn’t; we actually passed many other campgrounds and many sites available. Arriving at our site, it was a little tight, not even so we had to put out the blocks, bugs everywhere, but it was in Sequoia so it was beautiful. We unloaded the bikes upon arrival and went on an amazing ride until it started to get dark so we turned around to be sure we arrived back to camp safely.
Day two we made our way back to the main road and we made went on our way to see the famous Sentinel and General Sherman Tree. Be prepared for a good hike to see it but it is paved and you can take your time. The line to take a picture directly in front of it was ridiculously long so we opted for a side view of it instead.
From there, we opted to head back to the highway and continue north heading to the much anticipated Yosemite. I was unable to book a spot inside the park ahead of time during the planning process, so I found an RV park that had decent reviews and it is somewhat close to the South Entrance near Fish Lake. We wanted to see how long the drive was so we entered the park and drove directly to Glacier Point. Oh what a sight, you can see the waterfall in the distance too. What a majestic view.
From there we drove straight to our site for the night. I didn’t know how massive this park really is and how long it would take us just to drive out of it; close to an hour away. The drive inside the park was a little tedious in the RV because of the mountain turns inside the park. We arrived a little after business hours so we didn’t talk to anyone and went straight to our spot for the night.
At night while I was “trying” to sleep, I just couldn’t believe how long it took us to get out of Yosemite so I just had to try to stay in the park and we got it! Thank God I was able to book a spot in Hodgdon Meadow for the next night and it was wonderful.
Day three we made our way back into the park and we decided to enter from a different entrance, Arch Rock and this one was the most scenic entrance out of the four entrances we used.
Luckily it was a beautiful scenic drive and we were so happy to be in a RV because we were dead stop with no cell service for a while, not knowing what was going on. People were turning around but we couldn’t as there was not enough room on the road to do so. We just made some lunch and waited it out. Come to find out, that was just the “normal” line to enter the park.
Upon entering, we found a parking spot right away near the bottom of the Brideveil fall so we took advantage of that since we had our trailer with us too and off we went.
What a majestic place to be! All four of us couldn’t believe how beautiful this place is. We hopped on our ebikes and once again, it saved the day because let me tell ya, this place is ginormous! I can’t tell you enough how happy we were to have our bikes with us inside the park. It was a long ride to the village and to many different scenic spots. I’m pretty sure we could not have been able to go see them all if we didn’t have our bikes with us. We were also very thankful that we pulled into that parking spot when we first entered as we did not see any other space where we would fit if we just kept driving in. Inside the park near the main village, it’s only a one way road where you just make a big loop in and out. There are many car parking spaces inside near the main village but not RV designated spots. There are designated bike lines inside too so it made getting around inside very easy and practical; we made many people jealous and many asked us where did we rent our bikes because they would have loved to have one about now (it really is a lot of walking)
This being our first time here, we did not plan to take any specific hikes, our goal was just to see it in person and experience just being inside this park and we did just that; we rode all the way in, saw the bottom of Yosemite Fall viewing point, enjoyed some ice cream in Curry Village, saw the bottom on Vernal Fall, enjoyed the Glacier Meadow on the way back and just took it all in watching the people swim in that cold water and all.
Finally after many riding miles, we were ready and happy to head to the site we lucked out with for the night. What a lovely campground this is, the road is tight but well managed and a lively place. We stayed next to a couple from Canada who were heading down to Los Angeles next so we chatted about some must see spots and so on. Overall, just a wonderful pleasant experience. And the fact we didn’t have to drive alllll the way back to the RV park was a HUGE blessing.
Day four was our bonus day because originally we planned to just head up north from the RV park but since we had the privilege of being inside the park again, we were able to drive out via Tioga pass instead. Before we headed out, we were so close to the Hetch Hetchy part so we thought we should go there first since this was our bonus day. We drove out of the Big Oak Flat entrance/exit and we could see how HUGE the line was to enter the park as we drove past them. We finally make it to the Hetchy entrance and it states that you cannot be any longer than 20 ft to enter the park… oh yes… we were very sad and upset we didn’t know that sooner… So yep, back we go to that enormous line to re enter the park. At least we can say we have entered Yosemite through every entrance to the park. Upon entering, we just stayed on the main road and headed up to the Tioga trail, a must drive through by the way, it is spectacular.
Tioga Pass gave us Yellowstone flashbacks: there is so much beauty to see and it makes you feel like you are driving through different regions in the same trip. We saw a beautiful waterfall, we saw deer out playing in the meadow, we saw a beautiful clear lake, we saw mountains that looked like the badlands, and we saw snow! Yes, in late June, we had a snowball fight on the Tioga Pass. Driving here made us feel like we were on the Small World ride at Disneyland; you drive along and you are in completely different regions and ALL of them are absolutely beautiful. What a treat this drive is, all the way through the exit and beyond.
Exiting this magical place, we made our way to 395 north on day five passing many other lakes and beautiful California scenery making our way to our next destination; Lake Tahoe. This drive alone through the 395 can become its own trip loop through June lake because of how beautiful it is.
Finally made it to our campground and to our surprise, it was packed! Not only was the campground full, that section of the campground was lively because they have a coffee shop and a lovely ice cream parlor that we visited not once, but twice!. RV Village Campground at Camp Richardson Resort is the place to camp! This place has water and power so it does cost a little more but what a treat it was to stay here; all four of us wished we could have stayed here another night; the kids especially because of internet bars on their phones here were full. Beach access to the lake is just across the street too and it’s just a short ride to the main town from here. Did I mention the ice cream? You get a whole lot of ice cream here so be ready.
Before making our way to our new camp spot for day six, we decided to drive all around the lake; 22 miles scenic drive. We crossed the Nevada side and saw some of the most beautiful scenic sections, some looked like you were staring at a postcard. We saw many beautiful lake front homes and imagined how lovely it would be to live there. All around the lake there are beautiful picture perfect spots worthy of a stop so you must go see it for yourself. There were more than one section where the was road construction happening so the drive was a lot longer than anticipated but the views made it worthwhile.
After we completed our scenic drive around the lake, about five miles past Camp Richardson, we drove into Fallen Leaf Campground. Similar to the campground inside Yosemite, when you picture in your head a place to “camp in the woods”, this place here is the perfect picture. This place is a wonderful place to get away and camp in the woods. Very spread out sites but close enough for comfort. Magnificent trees everywhere and the paved roads made it easy to drive and ride around. Another reason we chose to stay here was because this place has its own lake! We brought our paddle board along just to use it here; three out of the four of us had enough courage to get into the freezing water. Based on this last comment, can you tell who didn’t make it in? Yup! Too cold for my liking. But I loved seeing my husband and kids fall off of the board and completely submerge in this beautiful snow runoff lake.
We stayed here two nights but we were only able to book each site for one night each. Site 84 is just across the lake entrance so it was perfect for us but that’s also where everybody else enters so it’s a busy site. Next day, day seven we slept in a little bit before we were cleared to move the rig to the next site for the night, site 98 just a few spots down and that one was more secluded and closer to the end of the campground. We liked both and both provided a different experience. After lunch, we hopped on the ebikes and rode back into town to that ice cream parlor for our second ice cream overload servings, I say servings because it is definitely more than one and possibly more than two servings of goodness per person. Luckily we had some miles to ride back to burn at least some of those calories we consumed. One thing you have to watch out for here are bears; we actually did not encounter any ourselves but we received many warnings about them so be careful when you go.
Back on the road we go on day eight to San Francisco. This section of the trip is where our plans switched after the initial booking phase and it cost us some grief. In our original plan, we were to only spend one day in San Fran so because of that, there was only one place that we found that allowed us to book only one night. Other more appealing RV parks have a two day minimum so that was out of the question during our trip planning stage. Turns out we decided to also visit Alcatraz after some high recommendations from trusted friends so we ended up staying there two days anyways but by this time, the “better” RV park was fully booked up and we were forced to book a second night in our original parking space. We ended up staying in Candlestick RV Park which is about 9 miles away from Pier 39. Upon arrival, the office was closed and the security guard was new and spoke limited English. They did not have our reservation accessible and there was no parking spot available. This RV park has A LOT of residents, people doing daily living and working behaviors all around this place so it is NOT a place you feel like you are on vacation; you will be paying around $100 dollars per night to feel like you are invading their home and their lifestyle.
After 45 minutes of waiting to hear back from the office workers and the manager, the security guard received approval to force someone to move their car from a spot, so we can park there. Imagine the looks we received when we got out to hook up, but thankfully they ended up having a spot that we PAID in advance for although they themselves did not know that, we spotted that one and asked if we could park there.
We do not recommend this place so that is why I did not hyperlink the name. It is the closest place to park if you plan to go to Pier 39 and surroundings since you will most likely have to uber around if you do not have a car; this city has very slim chances of you finding a parking spot to fit an RV. I have to say that the manager, although not organized in the first place, did show concern and did attempt to make the awkward situation resolved. We also enjoyed the proximity of this place to where we were going to go, but the uber driver himself actually told us he almost did not take the order because of where it was coming from. If we were to go to San Francisco again, I would attempt to stay at San Francisco RV Resort but it is 16 miles away from Fisherman’s Wharf and we can only hope it would be a great experience.
We arrived at this RV park around 6:30 pm because we visited Six Flags Discovery Kingdom first. This is our third time here so we just had to catch some rides for this trip to be complete. This time we also visited the butterfly sanctuary and it was very well put together. This park is nicely designed and having the zoo aspect of it makes it unique. Glad we had a nice time here before our almost nightmare we experienced later that day. Although there was a security guard there, we did not feel safe. Nothing happened Thankfully but this place does not provide a “safe” feeling; there are too many people around coming and going so it makes you want to sleep with one eye open.
With that disclosure out of the way, we thoroughly enjoyed our day nine in San Francisco. We first took the ferry to Alcatraz and what a wonderful experience that was! We loved the audio guided tour, it truly made you feel like you were there in real time. The grounds itself were a site to see and the view of the city from the island is just spectacular, including the Golden Gate Bridge. Be prepared for the super foul smell of birds everywhere and do bring your lunch and drinks as they do not have any to sell there.
Returning from the island, we walked to Pier 39 to have a meal and to enjoy the seals. This place is very lively; many shops to explore and they have regular live entertainment schedules. My favorite: a store just for us lefty’s, everything reversed for lefthanders like me.
We wanted to return before it got dark so we called an uber and based on the last driver’s comment, we are glad someone showed up! We returned, made dinner, and stayed inside the rest of the night.
Day ten was a beautiful scenic drive day. This is where we made our way to the coast as soon as possible and just took in the many beautiful landscapes stretching 134 miles from Pacifica, all the way to Big Sur. Passing Half Moon Bay, Carmel by the Sea, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and many other smaller but just as beautiful places to see. Our Destination for the night was Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park Campground , it is a reserve California site spot and how I wished I knew how lovely this place is; we all would have loved to stay here longer than just one night.
This trip thus far, we have stayed in several “woodsy” places, this one tops them all because it feels like camping inside a forest. We were all just in awe as we finally pulled into our site, the magnificent trees around makes you feel like ferries living in the forest. Upon settling in, we hopped on our ebikes and rode 2 miles down via Sycamore Canyon Road to Pfeiffer State beach. The road is very narrow and windy, and the parking lot is small so I’m glad we had our bikes and I’m glad they are powered for sure; it is a straight down and a straight back up type of ride.
We read that this is the place to be for sunsets so we wanted to miss the crowd so we arrived there around 2pm. The wind was in high mode, sand hitting you in the face and all but what a magical place to be; the rough waters crashing against the mountain caves provided a timeless experience. The sea breeze and the light blue ocean against the untouched sand made you feel like you were on some secluded island somewhere off the coastline. We had a great time trying to run against the wind.
Riding back to the campsite was a little challenging because it was a steep ride, we were beyond glad to have assisted power to help us up so kudos to those who can make that ride back on a standard bike. As we entered the Campground, we stopped and marveled at the beautiful clear natural pool they have there part of the Big Sur river. We also stopped and did the nature walk trail and rode all around this campground before heading back to our site; I wished I knew how lovely this place is, next time we will stay longer for sure.
Waking up to the sounds of different types of birds was another bonus to waking up in a real forest. On our way back to the main road, we stopped at River front Inn for some lovely home made pie to enjoy out on the river. This place has chairs for you to sit and enjoy the sounds of the river passing through. Sadly the southbound of the Pacific Coast Highway was closed so we had to drive back up north out of here. We did know this in advance so day eleven was a theme park day! We drove up to California’s Great America since we learned they will be closing this park soon. This is our first time here and we really enjoyed ourselves; it is a smaller park but it is themed nicely and we are saddened that it is on Six Flag’s to be closed list.
This park does share the parking lot with the 49’s stadium so that may be part of the reason, we did find our favorite ride in this park: Gold Striker and rode it 5 times. This ride is small but very mighty so we had a blast.
After we left the park, we drove home for the night and stayed at Coyote Valley RV Resort. This place was great, super level site, wonderful customer service, clean and neat place so we highly recommend it if you are passing through. This was a great place to stay on our last night of this wonderful trip, day twelve we drove all the way home still in awe of all we got to experience these past two weeks.
The places we recommend are the highlighted words, click on it for a direct link on how to book your site there. Feel free to send us questions, we would love to help you guide your next trip to California.
