Long-haul road trip planning, Michigan to California

[Colleen27]

We are going to be heading out on an epic road trip to the west coast this summer, and I'm sure it'll be here before I know it so I thought it was time to start digging to the planning. But I only have the vaguest idea of where to even begin, so here I am, looking for tips!

We're going to be driving from Michigan to California, by way of Montana to visit relatives, in July and August. The timeline is still a little up in the air as we wait to hear back from a summer program DD17 may be helping out with, but we will have at least 4 weeks for the trip - three to take the scenic route from Michigan to San Francisco, where we'll be moving DD into her dorm, and a week or so for DD10 and I to head back home.

The problem is, that's a lot of ground to cover and a lot of places we want to see. Working out an itinerary is more than a little daunting! I'm trying to arrange it so we don't do a ton of backtracking, but it is quite the logistical challenge. None of us have ever been out west before, so I have no familiarity with the area, and I'm still working on a list of must-dos that can reasonably fit into the amount of time we have. DD17 is all about the national parks and DD10 is dying to see DLR so I have a few stops already in mind, but it is such a lot of ground to cover that I'm sure I'm missing things. And I'm a little worried about the weather for the trip, how much the heat will effect our enjoyment of some of the places DD17 wants to see (like the Grand Canyon).

Any tips for a first time traveler out west, wanting to pack a whole lot into an extended road trip?

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

A few years ago my husband and I did a road trip to California, we had a little over 2 weeks for it. We really pushed our schedule but it was great. This was our schedule....

Starting Point: Minneapolis/St. Paul MN
Day 1: home.....Rapid City South Dakota
stops: Corn Palace in Mitchel MN, Badlands National park (phenomenal), Wall Drug (forgetable), & Mount Rushmore
Day 2: Rapid City to Cody Wyoming
stops: Devil's Tower (thought it would be lame but loved the area), Buffalo Bill museum, Cody Rodeo (interesting, but really windy and dust kept getting in our eyes so we left early)
Day 3: Yellowstone stayed at Mammouth (Yellowstone was fantastic, one of the most gorgeous and interesting places I've ever seen.)
Day 4: Yellowstone at at Old Faithful Lodge
Day 5: Left early & drove to the back entrance of Yosemite at Lee Vining, Spent the night there entered the park for a little bit and had a little hotel overlooking Mono Lake. It was a long drive with a lot of non-freeway and a bit boring but we aren't used to desert kind of landscapes so it was interesting at times. But we loved the next day entering up high in the mountains and driving to the redwood area.
Day 6: Yosemite (stayed in the park)
Day 7: Gave up on Yosemite and headed into San Francisco. We had planned to spend more time in Yosemite but it was so crowded places we wanted to go didn't have parking, we planned poorly as it was a weekend and after the sparse crowds and bigger spaces of Yellowstone we felt frustrated and decided to move on.
In San Francisco: headed to Golden Gate park and did the Japanese Garden, saw the Painted Ladies (houses from Full House intro), stopped at Industrial Light & Magic (saw Yoda fountain and we were able to check out the Star Wars displays in the lobby), and went to the Walt Disney Family Museum. This was fantastic it wasn't on our SF list because we thought we'd be at Yosemite most of the day and the WD Family Museum was going to be closed our first full day in SF. This museum is a must for any Disney fan. Anyway, that night we went to the Wharf and rode the Cable Cars.
Day 8: San Francisco: Alcatraz and general wandering the city
Day 9: San Francisco to Anaheim (woke up early & beat traffic) Disneyland
Day 10-14 Disneyland
Day 15: Grand Canyon (stayed at El Tovar in the park)
Day 16: Started drive home (the drive took us past Arches National Park, we didn't stop but could see some of the Arches as we drove past). It also took us past Vail Colorado & Denver. We drove all the way into Nebraska and finally stopped for the night.
Day 17: Nebraska to home.

Hopefully that gives you an idea of things you could do. If we drove out West again I would spend at least one more day in Yellowstone, and I would go back to Yosemite but not on a weekend. I might also do Wine Country in the Napa area too, but with kids along it probably wouldn't thrill them. I also might take our route through Salt Lake City and hit some of the National Parks in Utah.

 

[Colleen27]

Oh, I didn't even think of ILM! That would be a really cool stop.

It looks like you were able to fit a lot into a two-week trip. Thanks for sharing that, it makes me worry less about my itinerary being too ambitious.

What time of year did you go? That seems like such a fine line to walk with the elevation changes - when we were thinking we were going to do this trip in June, I was warned that some of the passes might not be open yet for the season and some of the trails had warnings about opening dates. But for other places, August seems like it could be brutally hot.

 

[Jason2015]

Early June might see the most remote passes still closed, especially after a heavy snow winter, but the main passes should be open. (Lake Lodge in Yellowstone has the latest opening date at June 10). Unless there is really weird weather there shouldn’t be any problems with snow or ice in the mountains on any main pass. Also, June might see lower crowd numbers some places. (Though DLR will be insane all summer with Star Wars opening) August will see 100-110 degree temps in the desert Southwest (but it’s a dry heat).

If I was planning this I’d head through SD and hit the Badlands NP, Wind Cave NP, Mount Rushmore, Jewel Cave NPS. Cross Northern WY and hit Devils Tower then head west to Yellowstone, from the east entrance I’d take twoish days in Yellowstone. I’d go counterclockwise from entering (north side of Lake Yellowstone, up to the Canyon, to Tower Junction, on to Mommoth Hot Springs, Dow the west side stoping at the geyser basins and the onto Old Faithful.). I’d head south to Grand Teton and Jackson. From there I’d head south to Salt Lake and then to the Utah 5. From Salt Lake I’d go to Moab and Arches and Canyonlands NPs. Hit Capitol Reef, Bryce, and Zion NPs and possibly Cedar Breaks NM. I’d go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. You could then do the drive the long drive to the South Rim or (I’d go the other way to Las Vegas) From Vegas head to Anaheim and DLR. I’d go up the coast along US 1 to Malibu and then go up the 1 to Monterrey and onto San Francisco.

Other places to consider, Joshua Tree NP, Death Valley NP, San Diego, Yosemite NP, Sequoia/King Canyon NP (if you stay North consider Reno/Lake Tahoe).
Make sure the you get a national park pass, saves a bunch on entrance fees. Bring and drink lots of water-not only can the heat cause dehydration but so can the elevation of the Colorado Platue and the Rockies, also the humidity is insanely low, especially in the summer and that can bring on dehydration quickly as well.

Have fun. No mater what stops you plan it will be an epic journey.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Oh, I didn't even think of ILM! That would be a really cool stop.

It looks like you were able to fit a lot into a two-week trip. Thanks for sharing that, it makes me worry less about my itinerary being too ambitious.

What time of year did you go? That seems like such a fine line to walk with the elevation changes - when we were thinking we were going to do this trip in June, I was warned that some of the passes might not be open yet for the season and some of the trails had warnings about opening dates. But for other places, August seems like it could be brutally hot.

We went in June, I think we left around Father's day maybe a few days before. I know that we are second to last Disneyland day was my birthday which is June 28. I was a little concerned about the passes being closed too but it was open. We did get a bit of snow in Yellowstone for about 30 minutes but it was light flakes and nothing stuck to the ground.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Details:
Camping or staying in hotels? If camping, RV or tent?
Be aware; there is NOWHERE to park an RV @ DL. Even the old campground (Where Mickey & Friends parking structure is now) did not allow tent camping.

If you are RV'ing, We just did this for our trip to the Bay Area over Christmas (from So Cal). The RV is a gas hog and a big liability for everything but sleeping. You can't even park the thing outside of camp sites - not great for travelling around and seeing the sites once in the parks. We found ourselves renting cars once we got to the cities we were stopping to see.

FYI - the Grand Canyon cannot be further away from Montana.

Would probably be best if you let us know what you are considering, but here are a couple of quick suggestions;
Big Sky / Yellowstone
Idaho (Twin Falls is really nice)
All of the National Parks in Utah, especially Zion and Bryce
Yosemite if (BIG if) you can get a camp site on the valley floor
Kings Canyon / Sequoia if you can't get reservations at Yosemite
The California Coast - give yourself some time for that one; don't just drive up through the San Joaquin Valley

 

[Colleen27]

Details:
Camping or staying in hotels? If camping, RV or tent?
Be aware; there is NOWHERE to park an RV @ DL. Even the old campground (Where Mickey & Friends parking structure is now) did not allow tent camping.

If you are RV'ing, We just did this for our trip to the Bay Area over Christmas (from So Cal). The RV is a gas hog and a big liability for everything but sleeping. You can't even park the thing outside of camp sites - not great for travelling around and seeing the sites once in the parks. We found ourselves renting cars once we got to the cities we were stopping to see.

FYI - the Grand Canyon cannot be further away from Montana.

Would probably be best if you let us know what you are considering, but here are a couple of quick suggestions;
Big Sky / Yellowstone
Idaho (Twin Falls is really nice)
All of the National Parks in Utah, especially Zion and Bryce
Yosemite if (BIG if) you can get a camp site on the valley floor
Kings Canyon / Sequoia if you can't get reservations at Yosemite
The California Coast - give yourself some time for that one; don't just drive up through the San Joaquin Valley

A mix of cabin camping and hotels. I doubt we'll do any tent camping - I haven't done that in years and have no particular impulse to start now, especially on a road trip where I'm the sole adult/driver. But we do have a KOA membership, which puts their cabins in the same price range as roadside motels in most places, so that's the "camping" we'll do - cooking over a fire but sleeping in a bed.

We'll either have my Grand Caravan or a rented Ford Transit which is a bit oversized (12 passenger) but still within the realm of normal parking spots. Even my van is big enough to be comfortable for the occasional night when it is just me and my girls if we are stopping somewhere just to catch a couple hours' sleep. My husband made me a platform type thing for the back so we can fit luggage and still have a flat space for an air mattress and I've never felt the need for more than that when we're traveling, but I'm debating renting a larger van because we will have all of DD's stuff she's taking to college plus our luggage and because my van is 9 years old with 160K miles so I'm thinking it might be better to spare it the wear and tear of a cross country drive.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Early June might see the most remote passes still closed, especially after a heavy snow winter, but the main passes should be open. (Lake Lodge in Yellowstone has the latest opening date at June 10). Unless there is really weird weather there shouldn’t be any problems with snow or ice in the mountains on any main pass. Also, June might see lower crowd numbers some places. (Though DLR will be insane all summer with Star Wars opening) August will see 100-110 degree temps in the desert Southwest (but it’s a dry heat).

If I was planning this I’d head through SD and hit the Badlands NP, Wind Cave NP, Mount Rushmore, Jewel Cave NPS. Cross Northern WY and hit Devils Tower then head west to Yellowstone, from the east entrance I’d take twoish days in Yellowstone. I’d go counterclockwise from entering (north side of Lake Yellowstone, up to the Canyon, to Tower Junction, on to Mommoth Hot Springs, Dow the west side stoping at the geyser basins and the onto Old Faithful.). I’d head south to Grand Teton and Jackson. From there I’d head south to Salt Lake and then to the Utah 5. From Salt Lake I’d go to Moab and Arches and Canyonlands NPs. Hit Capitol Reef, Bryce, and Zion NPs and possibly Cedar Breaks NM. I’d go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. You could then do the drive the long drive to the South Rim or (I’d go the other way to Las Vegas) From Vegas head to Anaheim and DLR. I’d go up the coast along US 1 to Malibu and then go up the 1 to Monterrey and onto San Francisco.

Other places to consider, Joshua Tree NP, Death Valley NP, San Diego, Yosemite NP, Sequoia/King Canyon NP (if you stay North consider Reno/Lake Tahoe).
Make sure the you get a national park pass, saves a bunch on entrance fees. Bring and drink lots of water-not only can the heat cause dehydration but so can the elevation of the Colorado Platue and the Rockies, also the humidity is insanely low, especially in the summer and that can bring on dehydration quickly as well.

Have fun. No mater what stops you plan it will be an epic journey.

This is all good suggestions with a couple of notes;
1) If you have to decide between Utah and the Grand Canyon, do Utah. It's much more scenic and accessible, not to mention nowhere near as hot.
2) DO NOT drive Hwy 1 until you get north of Palos Verdes! There are some pretty sketchy neighborhoods south of there and that's not what I would consider a vacation
3) Speaking of Hwy 1, the stretch between San Luis Obispo and Monterrey is amazing, but be aware this will take a full day. The 101 between San Luis Obispo and Gilroy is not bad and is much quicker. Should also mention that the Monterrey Aquarium is nice, as is Santa Cruz. The boardwalk in Santa Cruz is probably the best beach side amusement part still standing.
4) I know you are planning the bulk of your trip to be before you drop off DD17 in SF, but Southern Utah is actually more on-the-way, on your way back. Google map it yourself; it may look like a more direct route to head through Reno on your way east from SF, but you are really only going to save about an hour over driving back south along i-5 and then east on 58 to the 15 into Las Vegas. Also, the 50 through NV is no-man's land. The 70 is a much better choice (see below).
5) While I'm at it, unless you REALLY want to see the casinos, I would get through Las Vegas as quick as possible and stop in St George UT. One exception; Hoover Dam is worth seeing and is a quick side trip from LV.
6) The 70 through Utah and Western Colorado is STUNNING!! Be sure you are driving this part during the day - you don't want to miss it.

Man, tip-of-the-iceberg. What's your tentative plan?

 

[Colleen27]

I think I've got a rough itinerary for the first leg of the trip. Not all of it is west, but I'd appreciate any feedback y'all have to offer.

Day 1: Drive to around Spring Green, Wisconsin. Stop at St. Joseph, MI to stretch/enjoy the beach.

Day 2: House on the Rock before hitting the road. Stop at Corn Palace. Drive as far as Wall, SD area.

Day 3: Badlands NP, Wind Cave and/or Jewel Cave NP.

Day 4: Mount Rushmore before hitting the road. Drive as far as Yellowstone.

Day 5: Yellowstone

Day 6: Yellowstone. Drive up to my uncle's place, near Missoula, MT.

Day 7: I have no idea what we're doing, but my uncle volunteered his services as tour guide for the day. He did ask if my girls are comfortable on horseback, so it should be fun!

After this, the planning diverges into two possible options, which I've just started working on in detail:

If DD17 is selected as an ambassador, we'll push on to Seattle on Day 8. DD10 and I will make the Port Angeles KOA our home base for the 5 days of D17's summer program, get CityPasses, and explore the area. Then we'll hit Olympic National Park before heading south to resume the journey.

If DD17 isn't chosen for the summer program, we'll stay one more day in Montana to take a daytrip up to Glacier NP, then head south toward the Utah parks and the Grand Canyon before going west to the coast. I would probably also add another night in the Yellowstone area if this is the way it works out, since we won't have such a tight deadline for getting across the country.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I thought you were going to SF? If so, this is a fun stop;
https://www.jellybelly.com/california-factory-tours

 

[Colleen27]

I thought you were going to SF? If so, this is a fun stop;
https://www.jellybelly.com/california-factory-tours

Yep, San Fran is the ultimate destination. We're just taking the very long way 'round. This is DD17's graduation trip as well as her dorm move-in - the original plan was flying out to Vegas, renting a car, and spending most of June visiting national parks, but then she settled on a school in SF instead of on the East Coast so it became a cross country drive in July/Aug.

Seattle is just a detour and a bit of a wrench in the works, but my daughter was an outbound exchange student to Japan last summer and when her coordinator emailed us to tell us that no Japan program alumni had applied to be welcome ambassadors for this year's inbound Japanese students, she felt like she had to at least apply. No guarantee that she'll be chosen, because I know the coordinator reached out to a few other program alumni and at least one other state coordinator did the same, and she won't be disappointed if she isn't. But she hated the idea of no outbound alumni being there to greet the Japanese students, so she applied and we'll just see what happens.

 

[DLfan4]

We just did a long-haul drive from Manitoba to California, visiting some of the places you may be going. You may be interested to Check out my Trip Report here:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/c...-it-to-have-a-great-time-trip-report.3728523/

 

[TinkSassy]

We did a similar trip to ajrwdwgirl as we also started in MN. Our difference was that we went south from Yellowstone and over the the Redwoods in CA instead of Yosemite. Then on to LA from there. Vegas is about 3-4 hours from LA with traffic and the canyon is about 3 hours past there. My advice is to build an extra 1/2 day in and out of LA that is "downtime" as if you hit the traffic wrong it can really eat a LOT of time.

 

[Jason2015]

Port Angeles is about 2 1/2 hours away (including a Ferry ride or two) from the Seattle Area. Completely beautiful area but might not be the most practical for exploring Seattle. There is a KOA between Seattle and Tacoma so that could be an option. There are also some camp resorts on the Eastside (Fall City area) that could be an option.

Anyway you go sounds like its going to be an Excellent Adventure

 

[hodad]

Do you know about the amazing road-trip planning resource furkot.com? Add as many sites and overnight stays as you want, set parameters (miles or hours driving per day, earliest departure, mpg, etc) and it will create the optimal route with automated overnight sleeping locations. I never plan a road trip without it.

I took the liberty to input some of your destinations on a road trip from Grand Rapids to San Francisco, with a daily limit of 500 miles. If you visited Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone, Missoula, Glacier, Zion, Grand Canyon, Disneyland, and the PCH through Carmel, Furkot calculates 10 days of driving, plus whatever time you spend at each location.

If you really have four weeks, my recommendation is not to compromise, and see everything, regardless of the summer program results. Great Plains -> Mt Rushmore -> Yellowstone -> Missoula -> Glacier -> Cascades -> Seattle -> Olympic -> Crater Lake -> Lassen -> Yosemite -> Death Valley -> Vegas -> Zion -> Grand Canyon -> Joshua Tree -> Disneyland -> Highway 1 -> San Francisco takes only 13 days of driving!

 

[Lumpy1106]

Do you know about the amazing road-trip planning resource furkot.com? Add as many sites and overnight stays as you want, set parameters (miles or hours driving per day, earliest departure, mpg, etc) and it will create the optimal route with automated overnight sleeping locations. I never plan a road trip without it.

I took the liberty to input some of your destinations on a road trip from Grand Rapids to San Francisco, with a daily limit of 500 miles. If you visited Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone, Missoula, Glacier, Zion, Grand Canyon, Disneyland, and the PCH through Carmel, Furkot calculates 10 days of driving, plus whatever time you spend at each location.

If you really have four weeks, my recommendation is not to compromise, and see everything, regardless of the summer program results. Great Plains -> Mt Rushmore -> Yellowstone -> Missoula -> Glacier -> Cascades -> Seattle -> Olympic -> Crater Lake -> Lassen -> Yosemite -> Death Valley -> Vegas -> Zion -> Grand Canyon -> Joshua Tree -> Disneyland -> Highway 1 -> San Francisco takes only 13 days of driving!

That's good, but Death Valley in the summer is a really bad idea. The road over the Sierra Nevada should be open (it has been a big snow year so maybe not), so cutting over to the 395 and seeing the Mammoth Lakes area would be a good call. NOT a fan of Vegas, so if I were you I'd skip it or stay in Red Rocks just outside Vegas. I'd also substitute Bryce in Utah for the Grand Canyon.

 

[Colleen27]

Port Angeles is about 2 1/2 hours away (including a Ferry ride or two) from the Seattle Area. Completely beautiful area but might not be the most practical for exploring Seattle. There is a KOA between Seattle and Tacoma so that could be an option. There are also some camp resorts on the Eastside (Fall City area) that could be an option.

Anyway you go sounds like its going to be an Excellent Adventure

Thanks for the head's up. I didn't realize it was so far, though I did know about the ferry (which sounds cool - we have a ferry to Canada near here and the kids love it). I'll have to decide if we want to stay closer to the city for part/all of our time there, then, or if younger DD would be happier just camping and leaving the city touring for when older DD rejoins us.

Do you know about the amazing road-trip planning resource furkot.com? Add as many sites and overnight stays as you want, set parameters (miles or hours driving per day, earliest departure, mpg, etc) and it will create the optimal route with automated overnight sleeping locations. I never plan a road trip without it.

I took the liberty to input some of your destinations on a road trip from Grand Rapids to San Francisco, with a daily limit of 500 miles. If you visited Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone, Missoula, Glacier, Zion, Grand Canyon, Disneyland, and the PCH through Carmel, Furkot calculates 10 days of driving, plus whatever time you spend at each location.

If you really have four weeks, my recommendation is not to compromise, and see everything, regardless of the summer program results. Great Plains -> Mt Rushmore -> Yellowstone -> Missoula -> Glacier -> Cascades -> Seattle -> Olympic -> Crater Lake -> Lassen -> Yosemite -> Death Valley -> Vegas -> Zion -> Grand Canyon -> Joshua Tree -> Disneyland -> Highway 1 -> San Francisco takes only 13 days of driving!

OMG, that tool is AMAZING! And your route is pretty close to what I'm coming up with so far, only instead of Crater Lake -> Lassen -> Yosemite -> Death Valley -> Vegas -> Zion, I went Crater Lake -> Craters of the Moon -> Capitol Reef -> Zion. I have no interest in Vegas, especially with the kids, and Death Valley in August just sounds unpleasant. Plus Lassen works better on the way home, even though it means older DD will miss it.

That's good, but Death Valley in the summer is a really bad idea. The road over the Sierra Nevada should be open (it has been a big snow year so maybe not), so cutting over to the 395 and seeing the Mammoth Lakes area would be a good call. NOT a fan of Vegas, so if I were you I'd skip it or stay in Red Rocks just outside Vegas. I'd also substitute Bryce in Utah for the Grand Canyon.

I am planning on skipping Vegas. It isn't directly on the route I've planned so far and nothing about it appeals to me.

The Grand Canyon is one of DD's specific requests so I don't plan on skipping that one entirely, but I am planning more time at the Utah parks (I have Capitol Reef, Zion and Bryce on the rough itinerary).

 

[Colleen27]

So we found out that DD is not going to be a program ambassador in Seattle, which simplifies my timeline but somehow not my route. When I enter the places we want to see, the same route keeps coming up... and I can't see a better way, so I'm just going with it.

Right now, I'm working backwards, finalizing the end of the trip first because DH needs exact dates to put in for the time off of work. So this is what I have from LA to SF:

Sat/Sun, Aug 10-11:
Pick DH up from the airport. Do a little sightseeing in L.A.

Mon, Aug 12:
Disneyland/California Adventure

Tues, Aug 13:
Disneyland/California Adventure. Check out of DL-area hotel and start drive up the coast.

Wed, Aug 14:
Morro Bay and Big Sur. Drive as far as Carmel-by-the-Sea, where we'll be staying with family for a couple of nights.

Thurs, Aug 15:
Monterey Bay Aquarium, Santa Cruz boardwalk.

Fri, Aug 16:
Head into San Francisco and check into our hotel for the weekend. Disney Family Museum, exploring the city.

Aug 17-18:
Parent/family orientation weekend, freshman dorm move-in. DH flies home Sunday afternoon.

Aug 19:
DD17 starts classes, DD10 and I start the trip home.

There are a couple of things I'm still not sure of about this chunk of the trip.

L.A. is giving me planning fits. I'm usually a city girl and I love Boston, Chicago, DC, Toronto, but for some reason I'm having a hard time finding things that really jump out at me as must-dos in L.A. But I don't want to do DLR on the weekend, especially not right after SW:GE opens. DH doesn't want to do all four days at Disney that I'm planning for me and the girls, so right now I'm splitting it with two days (Thurs & Fri) before he arrives and two after. That leaves Sat. & Sun. for exploring the L.A./Anaheim area, with him arriving sometime over the weekend. Any tips on things to do in the area with 10 & 17 year old girls?

I'm also not totally sure if I'm trying to fit too much into this chunk. We know we want the one day in SF as a family before moving DD17 into her dorm, and we know we want at least 1 day at DLR/CA with all of us together (almost solely for SW:GE because DH is a huge fan). I don't want us to feel rushed traveling up the coast, though, because I'd like to do some wildlife viewing and hiking and just enjoying the scenery. It seems like the distances between places are relatively short on that stretch, but is my plan realistic or do I have too much packed in?

 

[hodad]

On Tuesday the 13th, depending on how late you stay at the parks, you're not going to get up the coast until late at night. Then driving through Morro Bay to Carmel in one day won't leave much time for a hike, maybe just the waterfall overlook at Pfeiffer Beach. Do you plan on seeing Redwoods NP earlier on your trip? If not, Big Basin north of Santa Cruz and Muir Woods are your best options for seeing redwoods, either on the 16th or 17th.

 

[Colleen27]

On Tuesday the 13th, depending on how late you stay at the parks, you're not going to get up the coast until late at night. Then driving through Morro Bay to Carmel in one day won't leave much time for a hike, maybe just the waterfall overlook at Pfeiffer Beach. Do you plan on seeing Redwoods NP earlier on your trip? If not, Big Basin north of Santa Cruz and Muir Woods are your best options for seeing redwoods, either on the 16th or 17th.

The 13th is going to be a short park day. Almost everything DH is interested in at DLR is in DL, but a 2 day base ticket is only a hair cheaper than a one-day hopper because we'll be there in peak season. So the plan is just a few hours at California Adventure, right at rope drop since DH will probably still be on Michigan time which will make the early morning easy. Google Maps is giving me drive time of about 4.5 hours (assuming leaving around 7pm) from Anaheim to Morro Bay. Is that unrealistically optimistic?