Best places to visit in California for first time visit

[Aheltzel]

I know this is a broad and subjective question, but I'm looking for any advice to help us figure out what to visit next November. We have never been to California and this will most likely be a once in a lifetime trip. I will have 2 weeks in California October 26- November 9, 2017. The group will be myself, my mother and my 4 children (7, 11, 13, 14). The first week of the trip is pretty much determined. We will be visiting family in the San Diego area from October 26-October 29. I hope to visit places like the zoo, Old Town, the USS Midway and the Beach. From there we will head to Disneyland from October 30-November 11. I have a conference and my mother and kids will get to have fun at Disney.
The second week is where I'm looking for advice. I figure that we will have from November 3-9 or maybe the 10th. If you had a week, where would you go? I am not opposed to driving and the kids are used to it. (We have driven 20 hours to Florida with no problem). We are more interested in history, science, national parks and outdoor things like hiking and caves than cities and amusement parks. We are from rural Pennsylvania, so just about anything we see will be a new experience. I don't have a problem flying home out of a different airport, so I don't need to end up back in San Diego. Places that interested my kids included Kings Canyon/Grand Sequoia, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Yosemite(though I was unsure about this due to the time of year), Bryce and Zion Parks in Utah (had considered flying home from Las Vegas).
I realize that we can't visit all of these because they are not close to each, so I'm looking for advice about what we could reasonably see in a week. Thanks

 

[loveswdw]

We did Yosemite and Disneyland for our first CA trip back in October. Yosemite was FABULOUS! Here's what we did:
Landed in Sacramento, drove to In & Out Burger for lunch, drove to Big Trees State Park in Arnold, CA to see the sequoias (so worth the drive!). Drove to Yosemite Valley and spent three nights there at the Yosemite Valley Lodge. After leaving Yosemite, we made the 7 hour drive to Anaheim and stayed 5 nights at the Villas of the Grand Californian. First day was the drive from Yosemite to Anaheim. Then did 3 days at DL/CA. Took one day and drove south to Newport Beach in the morning (to see the Pacific!) then drove up to Burbank to have lunch at Bob's Big Boy then took the Warner Bros. Studio Tour then back to Anaheim. If you can avoid driving through LA, do it. Worst traffic EVER! Hated every minute of that drive through LA. Flew home through John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana.

Our boys are 12 and 8. They loved Yosemite. We did the Valley Floor tour and Glacier Point tour. Did a night prowl with a ranger. And just took in all the gorgeous scenery! We absolutely lucked out with the weather when we were there. Normally in the fall, Yosemite Falls is not flowing due to relying on snow to melt. Usually the Falls runs in the late spring to mid summer. Then it dries up until the next year so we weren't expecting to see the falls running. Well, the weekend before we got there, that area received a 40 hour rain storm. Low and behold, we had running falls during our long weekend there. It was beautiful! Weather was great, too.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I suggest the Monterey Peninsula area (Carmel, Carmel by the Sea, Carmel Valley, Big Sur, Pebble Beach and Monterey). I lived in that area for 16 years (just recently moved this past Summer). It's a beautiful area. If you would like to know more specific things to do/see...just ask. Can tell you best places to go.

 

[SMD]

If you're going to do Joshua Tree, I'd suggest doing that between the SD and Anaheim portions. Maybe invite your SD family and leave SD a half day earlier than you would if you were going straight to DLR.

 

[Jedi Mouse]

In my opinion, Yosemite would be a must see. You'll be kind of between seasons, so the water falls will be dead and the road to Glacier Point will likely be closed, but it's still amazing. The central coast from Monterrey to Pismo Beach would be my other choice. There is an amazing aquarium in Monterrey, Hearst Castle is in San Simeon, the drive through Big Sur is amazing and there are some great little beach towns around Pismo. Both could be done in 5-7 days with no problem; 1 day to drive up from So-Cal, 2-3 days in Yosemite, 1 day drive to the coast, 2-3 days driving back down the coast to So-Cal.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Monterey is a great place to visit.

 

[elaine amj]

We did a week at DLR, a little beach town (Pismo Beach) on the Central Coast and then Sequoia National Park. The beach vibe was super fun (you'll get that in San Diego I am sure) and Sequoia was amazing!!! I considered Yosemite but Sequoia was closer and I liked that it had smaller crowds (our trip was July). We LOVED Sequoia. Other than the one short hike with all the main trees which was pretty crowded, all the other hikes were nice and quiet - even in peak season.

 

[sndral]

Yosemite is a must, IMO. I personally enjoy the park in the fall when the summer crowds have left.
I'm also a fan of the Monterey area. There are a number of parks/hiking options along the Big Sur Coast & in the Monterey area plus lots of beautiful beaches to explore. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is world renowned & you'll spot otters, harbor seals, sea lions & lots of birds from the Aquarium's deck and along the nearby wharf & cannery row. You can whale watch on one of the boats from fisherman's wharf - late Oct./early Nov. you're most likely to see Humpback whales + dolphins, but Blue & Finn whales + transient Orcas are also sometimes spotted.
If you choose to visit Yosemite after SoCal then on to Monterey then to fly home, the closest airport to Monterey (other than the very small Monterey airport) is San Jose followed by San Fransisco.

 

[Aheltzel]

Thank you for all the suggestions. I have been trying to get my kids kids opinions, and they want to see everything, of course. Things they definitely want to see are big trees, Death Valley and the ocean. Not sure if that is possible. I would like to make it Yosemiteor grand sequoia, but worry about possible road closures due to the time of our trip (we were would possibly be there the first week in November). I would really like to fit Monterey in, but don't see how I can.

 

[hsmamato2]

We traveled thru Death Valley in late september with 2 kids, stayed overnight at Furnace creek ranch cabin.... loved it- so cool! on our way in/out we saw so many cool sights! Then we drove up to yosemite (long day of driving) to stay for 3 nights at Camp Curry cabin tents Yosemite was incredible.... I highly recommend it! Why not map out a route between the main places you want to see, and see what is along that general route? IMHO the best way to do a long drive....I prefer a stop every 4 hours or so,for a sightseeing opportunity,etc. if you do yosemite, is there an airport closer to that to fly home from? I also did vegas/Bryce/Zion (on a different trip) and those were incredible places. But you'll be doing a lot of driving,and then backtracking to vegas to fly out if you do that...not my first choice. Yosemite really is a can't miss kind of place.....

 

[bcla]

Yosemite is fine that time of year. The waterfalls won't be full, but there should still be some water flow during late fall from rains and snowmelt. The rock can look amazing with a dusting of snow. It's going to be cold though. I've heard of climbers who did big wall climbs in October thinking that the cooler temps would mean they needed less water. However, one couple from Japan got hit with a sudden snowstorm and died from hypothermia. It's not so bad if you come prepared, but climbers are notorious for being stingy with the weight of their equipment. You can always head indoors. There are fireplaces or fire pits at the Mountain Room lounge and at the Ahwahnee. I think at the latter one can get a s'mores kit.

The one thing I'd note is that the names of the accommodations at Yosemite have been temporarily changed because of a controversy over trademarks. There's a new official concessionaire, and they're taking reservations under the new names until everything gets sorted out via the legal process. The official website operated by Aramark is this:

http://www.travelyosemite.com

The old yosemitepark.com website operated by Delaware North now redirects to Aramark's website. There's no need to book through any other website. Some act as intermediaries, but they offer no additional value and just tack on a premium. Many have cancellation penalties that are worse than the official website.buy a ss