Suggestions for road trip within California

Pick up cans/bottles before you leave SD. If you can swing it, side trip it to Kernvilleand hit up KRBC. Purchase more to go cans/bottles to go. There’s a back way to get to Sequoia from there. Take the Kern River road north. Eventually you’ll end up in Sequoia. Not sure why your thinking about Yosemite? If you never been, then why not? It may not be so busy yet. The NorCal folks can take over from here.

 

If you stay in or pass through Visalia en route to/from Sequoia Nat’l Park be sure to stop at Pita Kabob. Great food and an amazing tap list (31 taps). There are two locations, you want the downtown location on Court Street.

 

If you go this route, Trail of 100 Giants in Sequoia National Monument is nice and fairly quick (think its only 1.25 mile total hiking distance).

 

Assuming you take the 15 to the 215 from San Diego to Joshua Tree, you can hit a few spots from the airport without having to venture more than a mile or so from the freeway. Some combo of Societe, Abnormal, Stone, Electric (from South to North) gets you to the 215. You could also stop at some beer bars (O'Briens, Urge), or bottle shops (Holiday Wine Cellar) along that path. If you're willing to venture a few more miles off the straight line, there's tons of breweries down Miramar Rd, or down the 78 toward San Marcos/Vista.

There are also some decent spots in the desert, but probably not worth detouring off the freeway unless you plan on staying there.

 

San Diego:
1. BottleCraft in Little Italy for a great can/bottle carryout selection and solid draft list
2. Modern Times in Point Loma (love their Devil's Teeth Series to go), and.or
3. Mirimar Road - AleSmith has a great taproom and decent to go selection. Mikkeller is also right there (in AleSmith's original space) as well as Pure Project

Twentynine Palms. I love visiting Joshua Tree NP, have always brought beer from Vegas or Southern Cal when visiting because there isn't much there. Love the Ryan Mountain hike, but would only try in early morning or late afternoon in the blazing June sun.

Sequoia NM / Sequoia Kings NP Kern River Brewing has some very good offerings and are open from 11AM each day.

Have no firsthand San Francisco advice, I personally would visit Anchor and Russian River based on my interest in their beers.

 

Sounds like an awesome trip!

If you decide to pass through Kernville (which my bias suggests that you do), I would also suggest the 99 north route to go to Sequoia (Three Rivers). The trail of 100 Giants is an easy stop and hike. I quick excursion to Dome Rock can also be done in 20 minutes or so. If you are looking for a longer Hike, the Needles is a good destination. Ponderosa lodge is a good spot for lunch or dinner up in this area and has some craft beer.

Three Rivers has a relatively new brewery with what I would consider to be creative beers and is worth checking out (Sierra Subs and Salads is really good and I think you can carry food into the brewery). Wuksachi Lodge in the Park has a nice bar and usually has something interesting available. The bad news is we have a really lousy snowpack this year in the Sierras, which is good news if you want to do any hikes in Sequoia as you won't have to deal with snow.

If you should choose to go to Yosemite, South Gate Brewing is in Oakhurst near the Southern Entrance. If you head from there to the Valley, think about a short hike to Dewey Point near Badger Gap.

Hope this helps and feel free to PM with any other questions about the Southern Sierras.

Cheers,
Eric

 

This is the guy to listen to.

 

screw sequoia and san francisco. go straight to yosemite and spend your time there, no other place in the world like it!

also i wouldn’t call it san fran unless you want everyone to know your not from
CA. cellar maker in sf, modern times and drakes in oakland and field work all around the bay area are worth a stop

have a fun trip!

 

I can't speak for your preferences for wilderness scenery and experience, but Sequioia is an outstanding Park worthy of just as much consideration as Yosemite. Especially the high country. YMMV

 

Also a much less populated NP. I thought Yosemite would be somewhat manageable during the week in late September after kids (and teachers) have returned to school. No such luck. Very nice, but very very crowded. Also why I prefer the Northern Rim of the Grand Canyon, avoid the crowds.

 

Couldn’t disagree more with KevSal on this one. Sequoia NP is absolutely amazing. Yosemite is as well, but sequoia is a place everyone should visit.

 

Lassen’s pretty incredible too. If you’re the type that hates crowded parks/trails, Lassen’s a great alternative. Plus, you get to pass by Sierra Nevada on your way up.

 

Just make sure it's passable. We went to Lassen last year in June and couldn't get past the visitor's center because all the snow. Probably okay this year as snowpack is way down.

 

IMO, though unsure how out of your way you wanna go, I always go to Santa Cruz first before going to SF.

SARA is there, also next day helps getting into city with a short drive.

 

lol ok didn’t mean to put down sequoia, but if you havnt been to yosemite and it’s between the 2, there’s nothin more amazing than going down to the valley and seeing half dome, el cap and 3 brothers. there’s just nothing like it, and every picture of it ever will never do it justice than being there in person

 

Especially in the middle of summer when it’s packed with people wandering around. Best time to go? Winter. Solitude.

 

Yosemite in winter is highly underrated. Watching Yosemite Falls thaw in the morning and hearing the falling ice thunder across the Valley is quite the experience.

 

SARA and Humble Sea!