How long to drive from Yosemite to LA? Need to arrive by 1pm on a Sunday to visit Walt's Barn.

[MarbleBob]

Question for those who have visited Yosemite from the LA area...

We are doing a two week road trip from St. Louis to California. We've pretty much planned our whole trip around being able to visit Walt's Barn in Griffith Park on the one day that they are open to the public in June.

http://carolwood.org/barn.html

They are open from 11 am to 3 pm on Sunday, June 21. I'm thinking that if we arrive by 1:00 PM, that two hours should be enough time to visit the barn and maybe take a ride on one of the steam trains (http://www.lals.org/).

Q1 - For anyone who's visited Walt's Barn, do you think 2 hours is enough time? (Bob Gurr is supposed to be there that day, so it might be more crowded than normal?)

We are staying at Curry Village in Yosemite Valley. Departing the morning of Sunday, June 21. Google Maps estimates that going 41 to 99/I-5 will take around 5.5 hours on a Sunday morning (5 h 11 min without traffic.) We'll probably want to stop for gas and a fast lunch on the way (maybe eat in the car to save time), so I'm guessing 6.5 to 7 hours total should be safe? If it's 6.5 hours, then leaving Yosemite Valley at 6:30am should get us there by 1pm.

Q2 - Any thoughts on the driving time from Yosemite to Griffith Park? We've never visited Yosemite before. What are the odds of getting stuck behind a big RV on the way out? What about traffic in LA? Is the Google estimate even reasonable? I'm wondering if we should just bite the bullet and leave at 5 AM or something. (Despite having three kids who aren't really morning people, and we'll probably be tired from exploring Yosemite the previous day.)

Any thoughts/suggestions are greatly appreciated!!!!!!!

 

[usnuzuloose]

The maps indicate 6 hours. Leaving Yosemite is a windy road. As with any trip anything could get you hung up, traffic, accidents. 99 goes through many towns. Highway 5 is a straight shot with really nothing around. But plenty of places to stop and eat along the way. LA traffic can be unpredictable. Depends on the time of day. I can't help you with Walts Barn as I have never been there.

 

[MarbleBob]

Thanks usnuzuloose

 

[SMD]

The maps indicate 6 hours. Leaving Yosemite is a windy road. As with any trip anything could get you hung up, traffic, accidents. 99 goes through many towns. Highway 5 is a straight shot with really nothing around. But plenty of places to stop and eat along the way. LA traffic can be unpredictable. Depends on the time of day. I can't help you with Walts Barn as I have never been there.

Yes, I agree with the above. I would plan to leave Yosemite on Saturday to account for traffic, accidents or road closures that could happen. If you're planning the trip around one activity, it makes sense to get there a day ahead to make sure you'll be able to make it on time.

 

[MarbleBob]

Thanks SMD, yes it makes sense to arrive in LA on Saturday, but we decided to risk it when we booked our Yosemite room nearly a year ago. Sort of locked into that time frame now, unwise as it may seem today. At this point, I'm just wondering how long the drive will be barring any crazy accidents or road closures....

 

[czmom]

We are driving from Yosemite to Anaheim on a Sunday as well. We booked our final night at Wawona so we'd be further south. Map quest is telling me 5.5 hrs from there so you may count on longer coming from the valley.

 

[SMD]

Figure an hour or 2 to get out of the park, and then 5.5 to 6.5 hours to get to Griffith Park. It sort of depends, people tend to drive slower during the day due to scenery and turn offs. You'll have to leave before the sun is up, so it might be faster, but maybe just as slow due to visibility. That should leave you a cushion for a combo gas/food stop.

 

[StageTek]

I live two miles from Walt's Barn. It takes me about 7 hours to drive from Yosemite to home with no traffic. So Google Maps is about right with no traffic, no stops and a steady speed.

 

[MarbleBob]

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the feedback. My concern was that Google would be accurate enough to account for traffic and what not. Sound like barring any accidents and unusual traffic, that 7 hours should be enough time. And then I'll pad it an extra hour, which probably means a 5am departure from Yosemite. Sorry to my kids!

 

[KCmike]

I've always wanted to do this roadtrip but just couldn't pull the trigger because of the time it would take to get to California in a car. From KC its 24 hrs to LA. Which path are you taking each way? We are headed out next week. We are driving to Denver and catching a super cheap flight out to LAX. Then headed to San Diego for some beach time, then up to Yosemite and back down to celebrate Disneyland's 60th Anniversary.

 

[MarbleBob]

I've always wanted to do this roadtrip but just couldn't pull the trigger because of the time it would take to get to California in a car. From KC its 24 hrs to LA. Which path are you taking each way? We are headed out next week. We are driving to Denver and catching a super cheap flight out to LAX. Then headed to San Diego for some beach time, then up to Yosemite and back down to celebrate Disneyland's 60th Anniversary.

Looks like we'll just miss you! We'll be hitting Disneyland around the 22nd. I'm beyond excited to see the 60th anniversary celebration events!!! Sounds like you have a pretty cool trip planned too!!! (I've never been to San Diego. Maybe next time!)

We are driving from St. Louis, so we have a few hours on your 24 hour drive from KC.

We are driving from St. Louis to St. Joseph on the first day. (Stopping in Marceline for a couple hours.)
Then St. Joseph to Cheyenne (via I-80), next day driving to Elko, NV (still on 80), final day to San Francisco still on 80. And then to Yosemite and LA/Disneyland as mentioned before. And then back home via I-40 stopping at Grand Canyon on the first night. Then on to Amarillo, TX for the second night, and then back to St. Louis on the final day. It's gong to be a crazy long road trip, but I've always wanted to do something like this. Should be full of memories, hopefully more positive ones than negative ones.

I have more details in a pre-trip report if you happen to be interested....
http://www.disboards.com/threads/pt...e-2-minivans-and-a-5k-mile-road-trip.3380791/