I wouldn't recommend cramming all these National Parks (NP) in a mere two weeks, but if you absolutely have to, it is possible and it will be absolutely EPIC! You'll miss lots of interesting attractions inside the park and you'll have to skip a ton of awesome stops in-between the NPs and you'll be absolutely positively guaranteed to be exhausted... but you will be able check off these parks from your bucket list.
You'll probably hate me, hate yourself and curse the world and everyone in it if you tried to squeeze everything in 14 days...
... but if you do make it, let me know! I want to hear how your trip was!
Otherwise, I suggest being more generous with the timeline, modify this outrageously ambitious itinerary, or even omit several of the national parks in this itinerary. Feel free to take none, some, or all of the suggested modifications. Add your own must-see item. This is your trip. Have at it and have fun!
Opportunities and suggestions to extend and enhance your trip are made at each juncture and is noted as "Modification". This 2-week trip (as little as, but I DON'T recommend that) could very very easily turn into an 8-week trip. Eight weeks! This is an epic road trip that is best done when school is in, that way, the parks aren't as busy.
To give you a general overview, you'll be starting inland in Southern California and will be going north following Interstate 5, locally known as "The 5", all the way to the Canadian border. Once you've reached Canada, you'll then turn around and head back south to Southern California, this time along the coast, which is a journey and a vacation all on its own.
Enter from the south entrance of the park, off of the 10 Freeway. It is possible to drive through the park, take a few photos of the Joshua tree, enjoy the cactus garden, and exit from the north side in about three hours.
Upon exiting from the north entrance, head straight and get as close to Sequoia NP, aiming for Wuksachi Lodge. The distance is approximately 350 miles or a 6.5-hour drive. If you make it to Wuksachi Lodge for the night, you will already be in inside NP when you wake up for your Sequoia adventures.
Modification: Stop by and take your time exploring the Cottonwood Spring Visitor Center just inside Joshua Tree NP's south entrance. Do some hikes and catch a breathtaking desert sunset inside Joshua Tree NP.
Modification: Spend a day or two in Palm Springs and the other desert cities. The Palm Springs Art Museum is a jewel in the middle of the desert.
If everything went according to plan, you should already be waking up inside Sequoia NP. To get the biggest bang for your buck, visit the Giant Forest Museum and drive through the Crescent Meadow Road. If open, you can access the Crescent Meadow Road near the Giant Forest Museum. The Meadow Drive is a loop and in which you can see the Auto Log, Tunnel Log, and other giant tree groupings. The Museum and the Crescent Meadow Road loop will probably take you 2 hours.
From the museum to Yosemite National Park, is about 200 miles or a 5-hour drive. If you estimate that there is still sunlight by the time you arrive at Yosemite Valley, go for it! If not, I suggest staying as close to the park entrance as you can. You'll read why in the next segment, "Yosemite National Park".
Modification: Stay an additional night or two for the Crystal Cave Tour, hike Morro Rock, walk round the Big Trees Trail loop which loops around the Round Meadow, and drive up Generals Highway to see General Grant Tree. Check this Sequoia & Kings NP Itinerary for more ideas.
Yosemite is one of the most visited National Parks for a reason. It is large and diverse and there is absolutely no way you could get the full Yosemite experience without staying for several days or visiting multiple times. But the best hit-and-run bang for your buck would be to enter the park from the south going north on State Route 41 until it ends. This way, your first view of Yosemite Valley will be "Tunnel View" where four of Yosemite's landmarks are visible in one photo frame.
Drive all the way down and into Yosemite Valley. Check out Lower Yosemite Falls (an impressive sight that will cost you a short and easy walk), Sentinel Meadow (more impressive covered in wildflowers or snow), and whatever else in the valley that you can fit into your schedule.
When you leave Yosemite NP for Lassen Volcanic National Park, aim for Khom Yah-Mah-Nee Visitor Center as much as possible. It's about 350 miles or a 6.5-hour drive between these two parks.
Modification: Stay an additional two or three nights and hike Half Dome, hike Upper Yosemite Falls trail or go tubing down the river. The trail to get to the top of Half Dome is long and strenuous but you'll be hiking past several of the most dramatic waterfalls the park, nay the state!, has to offer. Permits are now required to hike all the way to the top.
Modification: On your way to Lassen Volcanic National Park, exit Yosemite National Park by taking Route 120 eastbound to Highway 395, on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. At the bottom of the mountain is Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve. The landscape is unreal, alien and absolutely beautiful. The difference in mileage and time, had you gone straight to Lassen Volcanic's Khom Yah-Mah-Nee Visitor Center, is almost negligible.
Modification: Exit Yosemite National Park and drive up to Lake Tahoe and stay for 2 or 3 days. This alpine lake on top of the Sierra Nevada is a must-see, especially during the summer when it is at its bluest and clearest.
In my opinion, this National Park is seriously underrated. If you enter through the south entrance, the Khom Yah-Mah-Nee visitor center is just inside; you must come in for a visit. And while you're there, just a short hop away is the Sulphur Springs where you can wonder at a real-life, but entirely safe, display of volcanic activity right there by the roadside. Keep driving north on Lassen Volcanic National Park Highway and take a gander at beautiful Lake Helen. Keep driving north to exit the park through the Manzanita Lake Entrance Station, and if you have time, visit the Loomis Museum, it is worth the visit! From here, drive to Crater Lake National Park. It's about 230 miles or 4.5 hour drive.
Modification: Stay an extra night or two and try this itinerary or go to Drakesbad Guest Ranch.
Enter Crater Lake National Park from the south via Highway 62 through Fort Klamath. Park at the Rim Village Visitor Center and explore the crater rim from there. Drive to Mt. Rainier National Park. It's about 440 miles or 8 hour drive. For more info and things to do, try this itinerary.
Modification: Stay for a night to watch the sunset, sunrise or both!
Modification: I very highly recommend that you make a side trip to Silver Falls Oregon State Park. I mean, where else can you see a whopping ten waterfalls within a 7-mile hike? And they have different kinds of waterfalls too. And... you get to walk behind this giant waterfall (see below)!
Modification: Portland is a foodie paradise with an awesome coffee culture. Birthplace of Stumptown Coffee and Heart Coffee Roasters. Stay for a night or two and explore Portland.
What a beautiful national park. The peaks, the lakes, the glacier... absolutely breathtaking! Enter Mount Rainier National Park from the south through the Ohanapecosh Visitor Center via the 12 Freeway. Drive west on Stevens Canyon Road and up the mountain to Paradise area. Paradise has a large parking area, giant visitor center, numerous trails, many of them easy, great views of the glacier, almost year-round wildflowers and waterfalls.
To head to the next NP, North Cascades NP, go back down the mountain, drive west on Paradise Road and exit the park via Highway 706, aka National Park Highway. Head towards Seattle as a stop on your way to North Cascades National Park, which would take about 6 hours or 250 miles.
Modification: Stay another night or two in Mount Rainier NP. It takes an entire day to explore Paradise area. Ohanapecosh area also has a lot to offer and could take several hours. And Stevens Canyon Highway is a great drive-and-stop sightseeing opportunity. Check out this itinerary.
Modification: Spend three or even five days in Seattle. Try this itinerary and explore what the Emerald City has to offer.
The easiest target destination to put in your GPS in North Cascades NP is the North Cascades Visitor Center. You will find this visitor center inside the NP easily by traveling east along Highway 20 (after you travelled north on Interstate 5 from Seattle).
North Cascades Highway, basically Highway 20 once inside the NP, is another drive-and-stop sightseeing opportunity where you could try several short nature walks and find views of lakes, waterfalls, dams, flora and fauna.
North Cascades Visitor Center to Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center in Olympic NP is about 275 miles or 7 hours drive.
Modification: Unwind and relax and stay at the in-park Ross Lake Resort for a day or two.
Modification: I'm putting this Olympic NP site in this portion of the blog because you will hit this site before the Town of Forks on your way to to Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic NP. Highway 101 runs along the northern and then western perimeter of Olympic NP. On the northern portion, if you have time, go check out Sol Duc Falls.
Modification: If you're a Twilight fan, get ready to pull over for the town of Forks!
Olympic National Park is amazingly diverse. An alpine forest, a rainforest and a beach? Awesome! At a minimum, go visit the Hall of Mosses at the Hoh Rain Forest on the west side of the park.
If you have more time, visit the beach. The entire stretch seems to be part of the NP and Beach 4 has steps that take you all the way down. FYI, if you're a Twilight fan...
It's about 600 miles or 11 hour drive from Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center to the Redwoods National and State Park in Crescent City, California.
Modification: Do one side of Olympic NP, then stay a night. Do the other side and stay another night. Wake up super early and now you have a fresh start to drive all the way through the Oregon Coast and straight to California.
Modification: Don't drive through Oregon. Stop and stay a while in Cannon Beach, which is about 250 miles or 5 hours from Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center. Stay the night and explore the seaside charms of Cannon Beach and Cape Meares. Stop by Tillamook's Cheese Factory for a tour and lots of food.
Modification: Stay a night in Newport and go visit the seal sanctuary, Sea Lion Caves.
There is a unique situation going on here at Redwoods: it is both a State Park and a National Park. Its main attraction are the living redwood giants and the best way to see them is to take a hike. You'll have several opportunities to take short easy hikes while you drive south on Newton B. Drury Scenic Highway. Start by entering Newton B. Drury Scenic Highway at the north end of the park by turning in from Highway 101. By the way, taking this scenic highway and driving south towards the Prairie Creek Visitor Center would be the fastest way to see the redwoods and make it to the next NP stop. Elk Prairie a short distance south of the visitor center and is worth a stop because you'll almost always find elk out here. It's going to be a long 8-hour drive straight from Redwoods NP to Pinnacles NP. It's almost 500 miles or 8.5 hour drive.
Modification: Make your way down the cliff to Gold Bluffs Beach to access the famous Fern Canyon.
Modification: Head south and check out Ferndale, a small but wonderfully preserved Victorian town.
Modification: Kick back and take 2-3 days to enjoy the charms of small town coastal Northern California. Set up base in Mendocino while you explore the surrounding area and towns like Fort Bragg and Willits.
Modification: Head south to San Francisco and spend a few days exploring the sights, smells and eats that the City by the Bay has to offer before heading to Pinnacles.
The newest addition to the national park system in California. It will be a 4-hour drive to the mainland visitor center for your next, and last national park, Channel Islands National Park. About 250 miles or 4 hour drive.
Modification: Head west and spend several days in Monterey Bay and explore this charming former fishing town, bougie Carmel, the beaches, the aquarium and the mission.
Modification: Cruise south on Highway 1, aka Pacific Coast Highway, probably the most scenic route in the continental US. If you have a few days, try this 3-Day Big Sur itinerary. If you're short on time, try Big Sur Drive Thru Itinerary.
Modification: Central Coast is awesome. Take a peek at the opulent not-so-distant past at San Simeon's Hearst Castle. Gawk at the elephant seals at Piedras Blancas. Do some wine tasting in any of this wine country towns: Los Olivos, Paso Robles or Santa Ynez.
Modification: Spend the day walking around the Danish settlement at Solvang. It was so charming and authentic that the town of Leavenworth Washington sent people to copy the architecture to recreate it.
Modification: Spend a day or two in Santa Barbara, the Californian Riviera. It's very easy to relax in one of their luxurious resorts or spas, try as many of their restaurants and tasting rooms as you can, go walk along the boardwalk and enjoy a spectacular SoCal sunset.
Day 14 - Channel Islands National Park
Its isolation preserved it and because of it, the wildlife and plants make it an ideal outdoor classroom for local universities. It's also culturally significant to Native Americans.
And with that, your epic West Coast National Parks Road Trip has ended. I hope you fall in love with this coast like we did. Let us know how your trip turned out.
Comments