sacramento, lake tahoe, yosemite... [updated w trip report]

[mpc]

H and I want to rent a camper and drive it around for a week before deciding if we want to buy one. We're considering flying into Sacramento and doing it there. We were thinking sometime in October or November, but might be able to swing September if we get things figured out ASAP. 

Tell me where to go! We can move around during the week, but we don't need to stay 7 different places on 7 different nights. We've always been interested in Yosemite, but it looks like it might not be as impressive in the fall? I'm also wondering if it's too late really to book campsites. We liked outdoorsy stuff and we'll have our 2.5 year old with us.

Thanks!

ETA: trip report below

[Alyssa]

Definitely look into reservations on Yosemite just to be sure. I know valley campsites in the summer months are almost impossible to snag but I'm not sure about Oct/Nov. You will run into pretty cold nights, so FYI on that one. You will be looking at low 40's to freezing.


You can try Mammoth Lakes but their campground season ends on Oct. 24th.
link

[Deleted]

Yosemite is ALWAYS impressive.

[mrs.jacinthe]

What I'd do is a circle. Take 80 to Tahoe, stay there a couple nights, then take 89/395 south out of Tahoe and go back across the mountains at Tioga pass (120) to Yosemite. Stay there a couple nights, then take 99 or 49 back to Sacramento. Be aware that the mountains can be effing cold in October, so you might want to take some winter gear and/or make sure the camper has a heat source.

[mpc]

Aug 10, 2015 0:53:29 GMT -5 mrs.jacinthe said:

What I'd do is a circle. Take 80 to Tahoe, stay there a couple nights, then take 89/395 south out of Tahoe and go back across the mountains at Tioga pass (120) to Yosemite. Stay there a couple nights, then take 99 or 49 back to Sacramento. Be aware that the mountains can be effing cold in October, so you might want to take some winter gear and/or make sure the camper has a heat source.

 I am not prepared for effing cold. we're currently looking at that last week of sept/first week of october. There are no electrical hookups at yosemite campsites, so we will be cold. oy. 

We are thinking about skipping tahoe. spend 3ish nights in yosemite, 2 in sacramento, and 2-3 in between the two - calaveras state park, wine tasting, panning for gold, train rides, etc. nothing has been booked yet though. 

[mrs.jacinthe]

Aug 10, 2015 13:58:41 GMT -5 mpc said:

Aug 10, 2015 0:53:29 GMT -5 mrs.jacinthe said:

What I'd do is a circle. Take 80 to Tahoe, stay there a couple nights, then take 89/395 south out of Tahoe and go back across the mountains at Tioga pass (120) to Yosemite. Stay there a couple nights, then take 99 or 49 back to Sacramento. Be aware that the mountains can be effing cold in October, so you might want to take some winter gear and/or make sure the camper has a heat source.

 I am not prepared for effing cold. we're currently looking at that last week of sept/first week of october. There are no electrical hookups at yosemite campsites, so we will be cold. oy. 

We are thinking about skipping tahoe. spend 3ish nights in yosemite, 2 in sacramento, and 2-3 in between the two - calaveras state park, wine tasting, panning for gold, train rides, etc. nothing has been booked yet though. 

Just make sure you take warm clothes and the camper is either equipped with a nice warm set of blankets or you have a +20 sleeping bag.  I'm californian now, so cold to me is mid-30s.  LOL  You'll be ok. 

Honestly, where are you going to camp in Sacramento?  I didn't know there were any campgrounds down there, or are you going to use a hotel while there?
In between Sac and Yosemite is some beautiful country, you can't go wrong there.  Make sure you stop in Murphys.  Their main street is A) adorable and B) nearly entirely wine tasting rooms, restaurants, and art galleries.

[mpc]

We just got back from this trip and it was fantastic. We decided to go end of sept/beg of oct just so it wouldn't be quite so cold overnight. We did 2 nights at Calaveras Big Trees State Park - beautiful and almost deserted on a weekday. (We did spend an afternoon/evening in Murphys, thanks for the rec mrs.jacinthe.) Then 3 nights in Yosemite. We camped in the valley and must've gotten really lucky that someone cancelled, because everything was completely booked. We rented bikes and rode around the valley one day which was great. The hike to Taft point was breathtaking. The finally we did 2 nights near Placerville, which doesn't sound nearly as exciting, but put us in a good spot to go wine tasting and apple picking. My DS is obsessed with trains so we took him to the train museum in Sacramento and did the train ride in Jamestown. My DH also did some gold panning in a creek in Jamestown, which felt decidedly less touristy than those places that give you a bucket of dirt to sort through.

Here's the teardrop camper we rented: