Daughter has a week’s vacation in SF before her conference in a couple of weeks. Yosemite is on the holiday plan but she doesn’t know where to go!
Any other suggestions? She’s got Carmel scheduled but not a lot else. Any advice much appreciated 🙂

Hi MaggieBath, you have come to the right place! I’m California born and bred and I’m an outdoor enthusiast.
Yosemite will be lovely and cold — bring warm clothes and hiking shoes — it is just spectacular. Stay IN the valley (very important!!) — there is a moderate simple option at Yosemite Valley Lodge, cabins at Curry Camp (now called Half Dome Lodge) and fancy elegant “grand lodge” at the Ahwahnee (now called Majestic Yosemite Hotel) — (due to stupidity, the National Park service has lost the right to use the old names in Yosemite but we are hoping they can use them again soon!) Make reservations NOW — it is very popular in the fall. If money is no object, try to get a cabin at the Ahwahnee (Majestic) — they are out back, quiet, nicely decorated and magical.
Even if you don’t stay at the Ahwahnee (Majestic) you can eat in their romantic dining room — again reserve asap. You can also have a drink there on the terrace — just incredible. The food in the park is so-so — it’s ok but you aren’t really there for the food!!
The best and really only way to get into Yosemite is by car — so rent a car and drive in — it is a beautiful drive and it gives you freedom to seek out the best places there without suffering on the (very slow irregular) bus.
It will take about five hours to drive to Yosemite from San Francisco and maybe even longer as the road through Mariposa might be impacted by the fire that burned in the area this summer. Check for current road conditions — you can get there from the southern route too (through Fresno).
Because it is a drive and it is so beautiful, I would stay at least three nights. To get to Carmel from there, she will drive back west, to the coast. Again, about five hours — Carmel is cool, windy and possibly foggy, full of wonderful restaurants and beaches and coastal scenery. Right next door is Monterey, with the world-acclaimed Monterey Bay Aquarium and kayaking, fishing etc.
She could stay in either town — they are both great, Carmel is tiny and a bit touristy but fun, Monterey is bigger but also wonderful.
We live just 45 minutes from there and it’s our go-to for restaurant meals — we love Tarpy’s Roadhouse and Passionfish, but honestly there are just many great places to eat. Check Zagats for more ideas.
She will want two or three days there too — and then if she is heading back up to San Francisco, drive the coast highway (Highway 1) which will take you through Santa Cruz (lunch at Gayles) and Half Moon Bay — all the way to SF.
Tell her to have fun!!

Californiagirl, you are reminding me of the greatest of memories when we lived in Cali.! The very best
of climates on earth! The restaurant in Monterey, the “Sardine Factory”, after the novel “Cannery Row”, was
very new to the culinary scene when we lived there. I returned in the 80’s, and it was still a landmark. I
hope it still is! Half Moon Bay was a frequent destination on weekends, and wandering around in the
mist on the beaches was magical. Not a place for bathing costumes, but wild and beautiful, nonetheless.
Do the monarch butterflies still return to the cypress groves in Monterey? We were awed by the magesty
of this yearly migration! Hundreds and hundreds of them. What a sight!

Californiagirl and Allie thank you so much, plenty to think about there. The timings are a useful reminder of the huge spaces in the US. I’m sure they’ll have an amazing time. Thank you again 😁

I’ve passed all the suggestions to Sophie and she says THANKS 🤩 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🤩

Yes, the Sardine Factory is still there Allie, just on the waterfront and it is still popular! The monarch butterflies are still there also, although they fly all the way to Mexico on their migration and the route is less butterfly-friendly than it used to be and their Mexico home is under some development pressure. That migration is one of the miracles of nature — the butterflies that we see in California will not even be the ones to arrive in Mexico, just many generations of butterflies later, which is just amazing to me, that the migration route is passed down through their eggs and their offspring. Nature is the most incredible thing in the world to me.
MaggieBath, yay! I hope Sophie has a wonderful trip. Yes, distances here in the West are just huge — wide open spaces. If you drive from San Diego on California’s southern border to the northern border with Oregon, it will take about 15 hours!

Thank you, Julia! It’s very good to know that some things don’t change 🙂 What a fabulous tour
guide you are! October is an optimal time to see California, so reservations are manditory. Have
Sophie google Big Sur, Maggie. Nature is a constant source of inspiration to me, too, Julia.
As an interior designer (retired) I’ve always said that Mother Nature is the quintessential designer!
Where you are is paradise on earth 🙂 I hope all is going well for your move up the mountain.

Maggie, I hope Sophie has an incredible adventure!

Californiagirl what’s not to love about California? – Sophie will have an awesome time whatever she decides to do. Thanks so much for your help xx