[Closed] 3 weeks in the US, no biking

I have a friend that lives out there and loves the national parks, so they would get a recommendation from him (and me).

Maybe visit "wine country" or consider a drive down the Pacific Highway through Oregon and Washington State?

Was thinking a circular route from San Fran could work, so head East to the parks, then travel trhough them down to Death Valley, and then back to SF using the Coast route.

3 weeks in Cali and you won't see it all. All the national parks are stunning - if you want to stay in Yosemite NP get booking your accommodation now!

I did a similar trip to the one you're thinking last year.

We did about 1000 miles in about 10 days in an RV. Started in San Francisco, drove to lake Tahoe, then on to Yosemite, and then over to Pismo Beach and then up the Pacific coast highway to Santa Cruz and back to San Francisco.

Would have loved to do Joshua tree and death valley but the distances are so big, we constantly underestimated how far it was between places.

I think if I was going to do it again I'd cut out lake Tahoe and and book a camp site in Yosemite and spend more time there if possible.

Traffic in California and around San Francisco was awful though...wasn't fun to drive in, especially in an RV! Did a similar trip a few years before and started in Vegas and did a few nation parks - grand canyon/Zion and that was also amazing, but less busy and easier driving.

Wherever you go you'd have an amazing time, I'd love to go back and see Yellowstone etc.

I'm totally biased, but Utah is amazing. There's total variety in the landscape, from Alpine landscapes, to sand dunes, to canyons with hot springs, to giant cliffs, to desert. It's pretty easy driving, lots of options away from the big freeways too, and there are lots of incredible places to see that aren't the main National Parks. There are cliffs and viewpoints that would be massive visitor attractions in the UK, but barely warrant more than a small layby in Utah! I think you could easily start out in Salt Lake City and the surrounding mountains, drive south through Moab, and then take in the very top of Arizona and fly home from Vegas? That would give time for gentle exploring without too much ground to cover, but a good amount of variety in the landscape? To give some idea of scale, that would be a similar distance to when I did Vegas to Bisbee (southern Arizona) and back up to Phoenix in a week, about 700 miles on google maps, more in reality with stops to explore. That was a lot of point to point driving and not a lot of exploring in between. 3 weeks on that same route and I think I might have felt like I'd seen and absorbed a bit more rather than just briefly stopping.

We drove from LA to San Francisco some years ago via Palm Springs, Vegas Death Valley, Zion, Bryce, Yosemite and more that I’ve probably forgotten about.
I’d be wary about being over ambitious about what you want to see, the distances are vast and I’d be tempted to have a few ‘quiet’ days without driving.
I’d also plan a route to take in a couple of days in San Diego, my favourite US city, pre COVID there were daily scheduled flights to Heathrow

We did a road trip LA-Monterrey-SF-Yosemite-Vegas-Grand Canyon-Vegas.

Stunning scenery, plenty of variety.

WRT Traffic in San Fran, don't stay in the city. Go over the bridge and stay in Sausalito. Get the ferry across to SF for the daytime - cheap and frequent, plus it said right past Alcatraz.

If you are going to Yosemite, I would recommend this: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/14743119

Wild camping permits are hard to get hold of, and this guys sorts everything out for you and gives you the kit as well (saving luggage space).
I did it a few years ago, and it was truly incredible.

The usual advice - unless your 10 year old loves sitting in the back seat of a car staring at a device - don't try and see and do too much. So yes I think your idea to stick with one area is good and 3 weeks is a nice amount of time. Really limit the number of sites / sights / National Park you hope to see and see them properly. I did the loop you are thinking of over ~14 days with family when I was about 14. Looking back it was great experience but felt rushed - as in we spent most of the day sat in a car and a few hours at the major sites. With 3 weeks I think it is a good plan and reasonable distance to do.

Think of an activity to do at least every other stop - kayaking, white water rafting or tubing down a river, hiking and backcountry camping in the wilderness, wine / cheese / olive tasting, horse riding on a ranch etc. It adds costs but also adds memories.

Also really think about time of year. With school holidays - Easter and Christmas there is snow in the mountains which really limits what you can see and do. And in summer the mountains are great (can still be freezing in the mornings in Yellowstone) but Joshua Tree and Death Valley might be unbearable, particularly JT. As stwhannah says, there are tons of interesting sites that are not National Parks or even National Monuments. I love having a look at the BLM, State reserve sites and seeing what you can see on your route. So if you go for the San Fran - Los Angeles via Yosemite and Death Valley, don't tie yourself down to National Parks when there is the whole Sierra Nevada mountains and Mohave preserve to explore! I say this having done a 4-day walk in JT in winter. It was great (although cold and very windy!) really beautiful landscapes, but I am not sure it would hold that much interest to me as a 10-year-old unless you climb. There are as interesting rock formations and desert landscapes with less detour.

I would either stick to:
1. The California - Grand Canyon loop. My itinerary would be something like: San Fransciso (give it 3 full days to recover from jet lag and see some city sites). Hire car and drive to Monterey for 1-2 nights, look at time of year for whale watching or sea kayak to see the sea otters. Yosemite (yes book accommodation asap, it is usually fully cancellable) for 3+ nights. Lots to see and do. Spend 2 nights in the Aspendell/Big Pine/Independence area and find a hike into the Sierra Nevada your whole family can manage. Then drive through Death Valley (too hot for hiking in summer) and stay over in Las Vegas just to see what it's like. Then consider a few nights by one of the lakes / rivers for recreation and a bit of a relax, then choose a National Park e.g. Grand Canyon and spend a few days and consider what walks you can do (note it gets stupidly hot down in the canyon in summer), or spend the money on a big adventure like white water rafting the Colorado River. If you include some of the Indian reservations and Lake Mead you could spend 4-5 days in the Grand Canyon area. Either stick with canyonlands and fly home from Las Vegas or spend 2-3 days driving to the coast via Mohave (joshua trees and slot canyons) and spend at least 3 days resting on the Pacific beaches (anywhere from La Jolla San Diego for amazing beaches, paddle-boarding and whale watching to Malibu or Santa Barbara for people watching and more days and money needed if your kid likes either Disney or roller coasters (Six Flags) around LA).
or
2. Consider a 2 centre / drive holiday - fly in to San Fran or LA and spend 10 days driving between the two. Coastal, marine wildlife, touristy cities, beaches, sea kayak or surf. Then fly to Salt Lake City (cheap flights, longer drive) or Bozeman / Jackson / Idaho Falls and do Yellowstone / Grand Tetons well, plus possibly white water rafting in Idaho (can be expensive) or ranching / cowboy stuff and the Badlands in Wyoming/Montana or Glacier NP. Or fly to Las Vegas or Salt Lake City and do the sandstones loop (Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce), see what else you can fit in including slot canyons and boating on the reservoirs.