Sacramento to San Diego

[behappyJules]

Hi all!
We are planning a trip for June 2025. Flying from Pennsylvania to Sacramento and then plan to rent a car and drive to Yosemite. I'd like to stay at the Ahwahnee if possible. From there, we'd like to go to Three Rivers to see General Sherman and hike the Sequoia National Forest. From there, we will head to Anaheim and spend a couple of days in Disneyland. It will be our second trip to Disneyland (our first was in 2019), but our first time exploring California. From there we plan to head down to San Diego to catch a flight home. While in San Diego, we are thinking about going to the zoo, safari park and maybe the Birch Aquarium. We like adventurous, outdoors, educational activities. DH and I are both elementary teachers with DS (17) and DD (15) - (ages at the time of the trip). I welcome any insights or ideas of must do activities/places or things you would skip or change in our plans. Having never been there before, I've only had the internet to explore ideas.

 

[China Expat]

Coronado Island and a walk around the hotel Del Coronado. Great beach.Cabrilllo Monumement and Balboa Park and musuems- esp. the air and space museum.La Jolla cove should not be missed.

 

[behappyJules]

Coronado Island and a walk around the hotel Del Coronado. Great beach.Cabrilllo Monumement and Balboa Park and musuems- esp. the air and space museum.La Jolla cove should not be missed.

Thank you for these suggestions! I think we're definitely going to have to spend more time in San Diego than I had anticipated!

 

[LKing]

How many days are you planning for each leg of this trip? I assume you know that Ahwahnee books very quickly, especially during the summer.

Sacramento to Yosemite isn't a bad drive. Yosemite to Sequoia isn't bad. However, Sequoia to Anaheim will be a bear. Do you plan on stopping anywhere in between?

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

Hi all!
We are planning a trip for June 2025. Flying from Pennsylvania to Sacramento and then plan to rent a car and drive to Yosemite. I'd like to stay at the Ahwahnee if possible. From there, we'd like to go to Three Rivers to see General Sherman and hike the Sequoia National Forest. From there, we will head to Anaheim and spend a couple of days in Disneyland. It will be our second trip to Disneyland (our first was in 2019), but our first time exploring California. From there we plan to head down to San Diego to catch a flight home. While in San Diego, we are thinking about going to the zoo, safari park and maybe the Birch Aquarium. We like adventurous, outdoors, educational activities. DH and I are both elementary teachers with DS (17) and DD (15) - (ages at the time of the trip). I welcome any insights or ideas of must do activities/places or things you would skip or change in our plans. Having never been there before, I've only had the internet to explore ideas.

Make sure to book Ahwahnee early, it can fill up very quickly. Today (May 27) they are taking reservations for May 29 2025 (you can book more than 1 night as long as the reservation starts on 5/29/2025). We weren't able to figure out exactly when the reservations open, I think it's not always consistent, but somewhere between 3 AM to 6 AM pacific time. I don't know if it's completely necessary to wake up at 3 AM, but certainly would book the first day they are available. May 28 2025 for example is already sold out.

 

[behappyJules]

How many days are you planning for each leg of this trip? I assume you know that Ahwahnee books very quickly, especially during the summer.

Sacramento to Yosemite isn't a bad drive. Yosemite to Sequoia isn't bad. However, Sequoia to Anaheim will be a bear. Do you plan on stopping anywhere in between?

I knew Ahwahnee is difficult to book, but didn't realize it was as bad as the next poster indicated. Any ideas of where to stay if I don't get it? I'm thinking 2 full days in Yosemite, possibly stopping at Mariposa Grove on the way to Sequoia, 1 night there, hike a bit in the morning and then drive to Anaheim. Two days in Disneyland/California Adventure and then 2-3 in San Diego.

 

[behappyJules]

Make sure to book Ahwahnee early, it can fill up very quickly. Today (May 27) they are taking reservations for May 29 2025 (you can book more than 1 night as long as the reservation starts on 5/29/2025). We weren't able to figure out exactly when the reservations open, I think it's not always consistent, but somewhere between 3 AM to 6 AM pacific time. I don't know if it's completely necessary to wake up at 3 AM, but certainly would book the first day they are available. May 28 2025 for example is already sold out.

Thanks for the heads up! I knew Ahwahnee was hard to get, but I didn't realize it was that difficult. I've been checking occasionally to see when the reservations open, but I'll have to watch even more closely now.

 

[wabbott]

I strongly, strongly suggest you drive Hwy One part of the way, especially Big Sur. It will be fully open late this fall, and hopefully will be good to go next year. Current Big Sur news here: https://bigsurkate.blog/

 

[behappyJules]

We are also now considering starting in San Diego and heading north to Sacramento since we're coming from the east coast. Having done it once before, I know we'll be up super early at least the first several mornings, so we'll have more energy to get up and start things early in San Diego and Anaheim.

 

[LKing]

We are also now considering starting in San Diego and heading north to Sacramento since we're coming from the east coast. Having done it once before, I know we'll be up super early at least the first several mornings, so we'll have more energy to get up and start things early in San Diego and Anaheim.

Is there something that you want to see in Sacramento or is that just a convenient airport to fly out of?

Is this what you are thinking?

Day 1 - arrive in SD
Day 2 - SD
Day 3 - SD, drive to Anaheim
Day 4 - Disneyland
Day 5 - Disneyland
Day 6 - Drive to Sequoia
Day 7 - Sequoia, drive to Yosemite (?)
Day 8 - Yosemite
Day 9 - Yosemite
Day 10 - Drive to Sacramento

I strongly, strongly suggest you drive Hwy One part of the way, especially Big Sur. It will be fully open late this fall, and hopefully will be good to go next year. Current Big Sur news here: https://bigsurkate.blog/

It would be very difficult to take Hwy 1 if they want to visit Yosemite and Sequoia. Save Hwy 1 for another trip.

 

[behappyJules]

Is there something that you want to see in Sacramento or is that just a convenient airport to fly out of?

Is this what you are thinking?

Day 1 - arrive in SD
Day 2 - SD
Day 3 - SD, drive to Anaheim
Day 4 - Disneyland
Day 5 - Disneyland
Day 6 - Drive to Sequoia
Day 7 - Sequoia, drive to Yosemite (?)
Day 8 - Yosemite
Day 9 - Yosemite
Day 10 - Drive to Sacramento


It would be very difficult to take Hwy 1 if they want to visit Yosemite and Sequoia. Save Hwy 1 for another trip.

Yes, that itinerary looks like what we were thinking. Sacramento was just a cheaper, convenient airport than anything closer to Yosemite and without having to retrace our steps back to our original airport. We wanted to see as much as we could and keep it within 10 days.

 

[foolish_mortals]

I would strongly recommend avoiding Coronado as a beach. It's nice to walk around but it's almost always under a water quality advisory/closed due to sewage nowadays.

 

[behappyJules]

I would strongly recommend avoiding Coronado as a beach. It's nice to walk around but it's almost always under a water quality advisory/closed due to sewage nowadays.

Wow! That's sad. Thank you for the info!

 

[Katiebird]

I knew Ahwahnee is difficult to book, but didn't realize it was as bad as the next poster indicated. Any ideas of where to stay if I don't get it? I'm thinking 2 full days in Yosemite, possibly stopping at Mariposa Grove on the way to Sequoia, 1 night there, hike a bit in the morning and then drive to Anaheim. Two days in Disneyland/California Adventure and then 2-3 in San Diego.

Keep in mind that the safari park and the zoo are 45-60 minutes apart, more in rush hour. Both can be full day experiences. If you're trying to do both of those, and general sightseeing (highly recommend Coronado or La Jolla, Balboa Park, the Midway), you'll want to think about how much time you need.

 

[behappyJules]

Keep in mind that the safari park and the zoo are 45-60 minutes apart, more in rush hour. Both can be full day experiences. If you're trying to do both of those, and general sightseeing (highly recommend Coronado or La Jolla, Balboa Park, the Midway), you'll want to think about how much time you need.

Thank you. There is definitely more that we want to see than time we will actually have. The things you recommended are on our must see list. As of now, I think we're going to get a hotel closer to the safari park the night before we go there and do the park the day that we will head to Anaheim in the evening. We have decided that we are definitely going to have to do another California trip in 5 years and will have to hit all of the things we don't have time for this time. It's quite a list and I always love having something to look forward to!

 

[erinch]

My favorite beach is Torrey Pines , which is a hike to get to, but so rustic and gorgeous

 

[bcla]

Not quite sure what you might do in Sequoia National Forest. There are some giant sequoia groves there (especially in the part that's Giant Sequoia National Monument) but the big attractions are going to be in Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park. And effectively they're treated as one national park.

https://www.nps.gov/seki/

I don't know about staying in Three Rivers. It seems closer to Giant Forest than maybe Grant Grove, but that road can be really slow and winding. If you can find loging inside the NPS areas or in Giant Sequoia National Monument) that could be ideal. Google Maps estimates over an hour to go about 22 miles from Three Rivers to Giant Forest. I guess it's better because the last time I was there was over 15 years ago and there were delays in this section because of construction to improve the road. But here's video of the drive showing the dropoffs to the side.

There are also home rentals in Wilsonia, which is an inholding near Grant Grove that is still in private ownership.

https://www.airbnb.com/wilsonia-ca/stays
https://www.vrbo.com/vacation-renta...try-high-sierra/sequoia-kings-canyon/wilsonia

The absolute best hike to see sequoias is in Redwood Canyon in this little oddball segment of Kings Canyon National Park. It was annexed back in the 80s but it's the largest sequoia grove anywhere. None of the trees have identifying signs, and off-trail travel is allow where one can legally walk right up to a tree and touch it. That's not allowed at the more popular spots such as Giant Forest (Sequoia National Park with the General Sherman Tree) or Grant Grove (Kings Canyon National Park with the General Grant Tree).

Strike that. The trail is closed.

https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/redwood-canyon-trail.htm​

Due to the 2021 KNP Complex Fire, the following trails are closed until further notice:​

• Redwood Mountain Road (Redwood Canyon)
• Sugar Bowl Trail (Redwood Canyon)
• Hart Tree Trail (Redwood Canyon)
• Redwood Canyon Trail (Redwood Canyon)

 

[behappyJules]

Happy to report that I was able to book a reservation at The Ahwahnee this morning! Thank you for all of your advice and the heads-up about how hard it would be to get the reservation. My second choice was the Yosemite Valley Lodge and that's just as hard to get. Both of them are sold out for our check-in date already and it just opened this morning.

 

[sndral]

Happy to report that I was able to book a reservation at The Ahwahnee this morning! Thank you for all of your advice and the heads-up about how hard it would be to get the reservation. My second choice was the Yosemite Valley Lodge and that's just as hard to get. Both of them are sold out for our check-in date already and it just opened this morning.

The Awahnee is much nicer, IMO.

 

[bcla]

The Awahnee is much nicer, IMO.

I don't know if it's that great. It's not really a luxury accomodation, but more or less a nicer option that's more like a hotel than a motel. I certainly love the building and have dined in the Dining Room, but reviews of the rooms seem to be more meh.

Yosemite Lodge is certainly not fancy and isn't going to be mistaken for more than what it is. But it's not staying in a rustic accommodation like Curry Village or Housekeeping Camp. It's a real building with a door that locks. For me the important thing is being in Yosemite Valley. The last couple of times I visited Yosemite was camping, and there's just something to be said for waking up, looking out my tent, and seeing Half Dome. I can't really imagine my experience would have been any better at The Ahwahnee other than maybe being able to shower. But with the money we saved we could afford the breakfast at The Ahwahnee Dining Room.

The other issue right now is that the concessionaire (Aramark) at Yosemite is getting a lot of criticism for poor operations. And it seems to be systemic, as they were recently booted from the operations at Crater Lake National Park and have gotten warnings about Yosemite. These include dangerous conditions at the properties they operate.

https://www.sfgate.com/california-p...ctor-aramark-endangered-visitors-19449430.php