If you take that route, you can even spend some extra time doing part of the scenic drive around Lake Tahoe. The fastest route from SFO to the start of this trip is via South Lake Tahoe and Carson City. Each day has 2-5 cool things do do and see as well as at least one scenic detour that gets you slightly off 395.
Here’s the 5 day itinerary for your 395 travel. But hiking will be limited and you won’t be able to transit over the Tioga or Sonora passes. If you ski or snowboard, you could do a winter road trip that includes skiing/boarding in Lake Tahoe and Mammoth along with some of the other 395 attractions.
Spring wildflower season starts in late May, but if it’s a late snow year, many of the hiking trails and campgrounds won’t be open yet. Also, we don’t recommend the Death Valley side trip in the summer because the temps are positively volcanic.
Summer is a great time if you like hiking and water sports, but weekends and holidays can be crazy busy, so book ahead. Fall is nice because the summer crowds have died down, but the Forest Service trails and campgrounds are still open. Use our Eastern Sierras fall color guide for more info, but early October is a good bet. The Eastern Sierras are covered in a lot of well-preserved National Forest and when the trees are turning, the whole western side of 395 lights up. The best time for a 395 road trip is in the Fall. Different seasons offer different opportunities for what to do along Highway 395. The road is open year round, unless there is a major snow storm. Let’s get started with some logistics about how and when to plan your trip. You can adjust this 395 road trip to fit a 3-4 day timeframe, but you’ll need to make some hard choices about what you have time for. If you don’t live in California and are flying into Reno, check out this airport guide, which includes information rental cars and which carriers fly into Reno. It assumes that you are starting in SF and ending in LA, although you could do it in the reverse order, or as an out-and-back. This itinerary is a five day road trip from top to bottom. You could cover that mileage in 4 hours, but don’t be in a hurry. It covers 227 miles of Highway 395, from just south of Carson City to where it ends in Southern California near Victorville. This itinerary aims to help you find that moment of amazement as well. This could be you…surveying Mount Whitney from the Alabama Hills. Those yellow leaves slapped me in the face, waking me up to what’s amazing about California’s Highway 395 corridor. So, I was able to perfectly time my visit for fall color.
CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP PLANNER FREE
I had some free time and an itch to fire up the van.
CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP PLANNER FULL
It wasn’t until a visit last fall that my feelings changed from admiring affection to full blown love. I’ve lived in California for decades and been to the Eastern Sierras a number of times, but it took while for it to work its magic on me. This five 5-day Highway 395 road trip will give you everything you need for a full itinerary packed with the best of the Eastern Sierras. Which is why this drive is tops on our list of the best scenic drives in CA. Sure, it doesn’t have the showy seascapes of the Pacific Coast Highway, but hiding in the shadows of the Eastern Sierras are some amazing landscapes, vast acres of pine forest and some pretty funky geology. Eastern California’s Highway 395 deserves much more attention as a top vacation destination.
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