JOhn Muir and then???

[2009ThruHiker]

I hope I can get some suggestions from people who know Yosemite and the west coast...I plan on visiting there the first week of june and will have a few days left over at the end of our hike. LIving in VA, I've never been further West than Texas! So what should I spend those extra days on ? I should have 4 days or so, and access to a rental car. I was thinking California, but have no idea what I should try and see.

Thanks for the input!

[vaporjourney]

Death Valley would be fun and is a place I"d love to see, and soon. Also the coast of California is very beautiful. You could do a nice hike for a few days on the Lost Coast Trail which is very rugged.

[mudhead]

Redwoods.

Pacific Ocean.

San Francisco/Golden Gate/Marin Co.

And on the fourth day you rest.

[d'shadow]

Sequoia National Park is an awesome experience, Yosemite National Park is great, however, will be crowded that time of the year. A drive up hwy 1, on the coast, through Santa Barbara, Moro bay is beautiful. Check out the websites available. Northern California is green and beautiful. Southern California is desert, so, it depends on what kind of environment you are looking to explore. Happy trails!

[Sly]

The John Muir Trail is likely to have lots of snow 1st week of June and Tioga Rd will likely be closed.. You could visit Yosemite Valley, maybe hike up Half Dome and visit the Giant Sequoias at Mariposa Grove.

[Mad Hatter 08]

Well it all depends on what you decide you want to do. If you decide you want to do the touristy thing there is Disney and Hollywood(but it is actually not very impressive) and of course the Beach. or you could stay at yosemite you can rent cabins if you don't want to camp out. or if your in a money spending mood there are ton's of Casinos around California they are mainly slot machines and some card table games not quite vegas scale but some have nice hotels and a few even have really nice moderately priced spas so you could go and pamper your body after your hike. There is really so much out there that it'll be more hard to narrow down your options before deciding what you want to do.

[fiddlehead]

Yeah, it's looking like there's gonna be tons of snow yet in the Sierras at that time.

Don't know what you are into. If you are already gonna be on a hike and want to see more of the west, Reno is a possiblity. It's called the "poor man's Vegas" by some and probably rightfully so.

That is on the east side of the Sierras where also you've got Lone Pine with lots of movie history as well as some decent hot springs in the area. Death valley is there. VEgas is 1/2 day drive or less. (which is right near Hoover Dam AND the Grand Canyon) but THAT is a lot of driving for 4 days.

On the west side of the Sierras, i'd see San Fransisco, Golden Gate bridge and drive up the coast to the redwoods. Northern CA is one of America's best kept secrets. (shhhhh!) did i say that?

Personally i wouldn't go south. Souther Ca is nothing but traffic.

Be better to know more or your interests. and where you have to return the rental car to.

[d'shadow]

Reno If you are going that far, forget Reno, go to Lake Tahoe which is beautiful, has a ski area, lake, and casinos. Really, four days is not long when you are in the West, plan to drive long distances.

[Hana_Hanger]

The Coast Hwy 1 pass by Morro Bay then up through the Village of Solvang a taste of Sweden maybe cruise into Hearst Castle and then cut across to end up on Hwy 99 and up Hwy 41 to Yosemite ...Mariposa Grove with Huge Sequoia Trees and top it off with the awesome famous view of Yosemite Valley. Reno personally is not at all impressive...tiny small and desert only pretty for about a 10 minute drive at night only. As stated above Lake Tahoe is much better area...unless small scattered towns in the middle of the hot desert with sand storms is your thing...then you would love that area.
Just doing Hwy 1 and 101 is so breathtaking and full of exciting adventures and places to see and also hike...you could fill up your four days very fast!
What ever you do in California it's a great choice, and so is Disneyland

[Frosty]

Wow. Get a hiking book on California and start drooling. There are so many great hikes there it's unbelievable.

One of my favorites was The Pinnacles, near Soledad. Incredible hike. Do it from the eastern end, even though it's harder to get to. There is a counterclockwise loop that is awesome. Ladders, railings and steps carved into the rocks on the pinnacles themselves, but awesome.

Lots of good hiking east of San Deigo. Near Borrego Springs you can hike a fairly easy, if hot, trail to an honest to God oasis. Walk for an hour or so in a baking dry canyon and come across a waterfall and a pool surrounded by palm trees. Also a rugged place called Hellhole Canyon. Wear leather gloves as there is some hand-over-hand climbing and a rattlesnake or scorpion might be sunning itself on the rock ledge above your head.

Head east from San Diego on I-8 and bang a left towards Mr Laguna. Pacific Crest Trail paralles the road with great views.

Someone mentioned death valley. A nice hike below Artists point.

There's Joshua Tree National Monument. Get a hiking guide at the TwentyNine Palms side. Lots of terrific trails.

East of LA, at Palm Springs, you can take a cable car halfway up Mount San Jacinto and walk the other 4000 or so feet to the top.

Great hiking in the mountains behind Santa Barbara, in the Sierras at Sequioa or Kings Canyon (rugged) and especially Yosemite. You could spend your entire time in Yosemite and not regret it. Stay in Mariposa. An hour from the park and fairly cheap.

Awesome redwood hike near San Jose (Big Basin?), of course Muir woods (miles and miles of trails that people who stay on the paved walkway never see), and all up the northern California coast.

Seriously, if you can't find four or five hundred totally awesome day hikes in California, you simply aren't looking.

[mudhead]

I could spend part of a day near a Valencia orange tree.

Now that is some kind of tasty.

[Frosty]

Disneyland. We don't call Disneyland/DCA "Disney" - that's an east coast shortened version of "Walt Disney World." (Pet peeve of a native southern Californian.)

I vote for making a trip down to Disneyland if you're partial to theme parks. There's nothing like the original. Also, the drive down the coast is beautiful.

We don't call it "Disney" and certainly not "Walt Disney World." On the east coast we call the premier Disney park in the world simply ... Disney World.

We have heard about other Disney parks around the world, though. Tokyo and Paris, and also about another Disney park here in the US. I think it is in Branson MO or Anaheim CA or something. Or am I thinking about that Berry place?

[Mad Hatter 08]

Disneyland. We don't call Disneyland/DCA "Disney" - that's an east coast shortened version of "Walt Disney World." (Pet peeve of a native southern Californian.)

I vote for making a trip down to Disneyland if you're partial to theme parks. There's nothing like the original. Also, the drive down the coast is beautiful.

We don't call it "Disney" and certainly not "Walt Disney World." On the east coast we call the premier Disney park in the world simply ... Disney World.

We have heard about other Disney parks around the world, though. Tokyo and Paris, and also about another Disney park here in the US. I think it is in Branson MO or Anaheim CA or something. Or am I thinking about that Berry place?

I got "disney" from knowing and talking to many "native" californians in the almost 6 years I've lived there. I would never have called it "disney" living in texas because obviously there are two different ones I could mean and because it wasn't that special since I was 10 miles from six flags and hurricane harbor. Frosty I would imagine that there are many floridians who call it "disney" due to their proximity just as some californians and i'm sure some french and japanese do as well. oh and knotts berry farm is also in california as well.

[d'shadow]

I'm a native Californian, lived there most of my life. In my circle of friends, and family, we refered to Disneyland where we all went two or three times a year. Disney World is the term we used for the one in Florida. My brother spent his honeymoon there and told me it is quite different. Just my two cents worth.