Heading from Caliente, CA to Placerville -- 395 or West Side

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Bennerob

San Francisco, CA

posts: 7

reviews: 5

Heading from Caliente, CA to Placerville -- 395 or West Side

Jul 21, 2012, 11:24 PM

We are driving from Caliente, CA (near Bakersfield) towards Placerville area -- leaving on a Friday morning and not needing to be in Placerville area until early evening Sunday. Trying to decide whether to stop in Sequoia for a night or two, or make our way up 395 with a stay somewhere along the way (Owens Lake?). Both sound pretty amazing . . . We're traveling with kids (10 and 8), so need activities to supplement the driving -- swimming, hiking, hugging trees, etc.

Not looking to stop in Yosemite as we have plans for visiting Yosemite in October. And, we are frequent visitors to Tahoe, so not looking to spend time there this go around.

Thanks!

Robin

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3 replies to this topic

WuksachiStaff

Sequoia National...

Destination Expert

for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park

posts: 461

1. Re: Heading from Caliente, CA to Placerville -- 395 or West Side

Jul 23, 2012, 2:20 PM

I'm obviously biased, but I would recommend seeing Sequoia, especially if you've never been there before. There are a ton of things to do here that would keep your kids occupied, but among others you can see the following sights:

- See the General Sherman tree; not only the largest tree in the world, but the largest living organism on the planet by volume

- Climb to the top of Moro Rock for an unmatched view of the Great Western Divide

- Drive down into Kings Canyon and experience the deepest canyon in the country at over 8,000 feet deep

That's just the tip of the iceberg as far as what Sequoia/Kings Canyon have to offer, but there are many amazing hiking trails here that would be perfect for your kids, two caves that offer daily guided tours, and free ranger programs to participate in which range from astronomy programs to guided hikes to campfire programs and more. Sequoia really is a place like no other on Earth.

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Bennerob

San Francisco, CA

posts: 7

reviews: 5

2. Re: Heading from Caliente, CA to Placerville -- 395 or West Side

Jul 23, 2012, 3:15 PM

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I believe it does make the most sense to see Seqouia this time around. It sounds absolutely beautiful and there is more than enough to keep us enthralled while we're there. Looking very forward to it!

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suzie-travels

California

Destination Expert

for Lake Tahoe (Nevada), Lake Tahoe (California)

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3. Re: Heading from Caliente, CA to Placerville -- 395 or West Side

Jul 23, 2012, 3:53 PM

While Owens Lake purportedly was something to behold, it no longer exists in its original form since LA sucked the water out of the Owens Lake/Valley beginning in 1924. Now it is mostly dry. You may have menat Mono Lake.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owens_Lake

http://www.monolake.org/

If you did ddrive via 395 you could also stop in to see Bodie, the preserved Ghost Town:

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=509

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