Day 2: New Orleans full day
New Orleans works best on foot. The French Quarter grid is compact: about ten blocks by seven, running from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue and from the riverfront back to Rampart Street. Everything worth visiting is within this rectangle or just outside it.
Start at Jackson Square in the morning. The square is the historic centre of the French Quarter: the cathedral to the north, the Pontalba Buildings on the flanks, street artists and tarot readers along the iron fence, the Mississippi River immediately south. St Louis Cathedral (free entry) is one of the oldest cathedrals in continuous operation in North America, built in its current form in 1850. The interior is modest by European standards but the atmosphere is genuine; people come to pray as much as to look.
Walk along the riverfront to the Café du Monde. This is not optional. Beignets are deep-fried dough squares covered in an unreasonable quantity of powdered sugar, served in threes, accompanied by a café au lait with chicory. Everything you are wearing will be covered in sugar. Order two rounds and accept this. Open 24 hours, queues throughout the day; go early morning or late evening for the shortest wait.
The French Market runs several blocks north of Café du Monde along the river. The covered section nearest the café sells local food, Creole spices, hot sauce, and coffee. The section further along becomes increasingly souvenir-focused; the food end is the interesting end.
Royal Street is the more elegant alternative to Bourbon Street for daytime walking: antique shops, art galleries, wrought-iron balconies and architecture that has changed little since the early 19th century. The Historic New Orleans Collection at 533 Royal Street is worth an hour for its rotating exhibitions on Louisiana history and culture.
For food: Arnaud's on Bienville Street is the grand dame of New Orleans Creole dining, open since 1918 and in the same family for four generations. The Friday lunch service was recently restored after a multi-year absence. Shrimp Arnaud in rémoulade sauce and oysters Bienville are the signature dishes. The French 75 Bar adjacent to the restaurant is one of the best cocktail bars in the city. If Arnaud's is beyond budget, Café du Monde handles breakfast, and the po'boy shops on Decatur Street handle lunch: Parkway Bakery is the benchmark, though it sits further north in Mid-City; in the Quarter, Johnny's Po-Boys is reliable and cheap.
For dinner before the evening music: Dooky Chase's in Tremé (one mile from the Quarter) is a New Orleans institution serving Creole cuisine in a dining room lined with African American art, associated with the civil rights movement in Louisiana. Book ahead.
Evening music: Preservation Hall on St Peter Street has played traditional New Orleans jazz since 1961. The venue is tiny, deliberately sparse and very loud; shows run 45 to 60 minutes at a time with a new band for each set. Entry is $20 to $35 depending on the seat type. Arrive at least 30 minutes before the show starts; queues form outside. No drinks are served inside. This is the most historically significant live music experience in the city.
After Preservation Hall: Fritzel's European Jazz Pub on Bourbon Street is the oldest traditional jazz club still operating on the strip, in a building from 1831. No cover charge; buy a drink per set and tip the musicians directly. Maison Bourbon across the street has good swing and Dixieland jazz with a view straight onto Bourbon from the open frontage.
Day 3: Drive west to Austin
Leave New Orleans early. The drive to Austin on I-10 West and then US-290 West covers approximately 500 miles and takes seven to eight hours without significant stops. This is a proper travel day.
The first major feature is the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge: a pair of parallel bridges extending 18.2 miles over the Atchafalaya River and its surrounding swamp, the longest bridge over water in the United States. The swamp is visible on either side as an unbroken canopy of cypress trees with water between them; herons and egrets are common. Take the bridge slowly enough to look.
The drive through southwest Louisiana into Texas is flat, industrial in places and unremarkable until you cross the Sabine River into Texas and the landscape opens into the pine forests of East Texas. By Beaumont and Houston the sky is vast. Houston itself is one of the most sprawling cities in the United States; if you are driving through rather than stopping, budget two hours for the metro area at peak times. If arriving in late afternoon, consider stopping to eat in Houston rather than crawling through it hungry.
Austin is 165 miles from Houston on I-10 West and TX-71. Arrive in the early evening. The South Congress (SoCo) strip is the entry point: the two miles of Congress Avenue running south from the river through independent boutiques, cafés, restaurants and food truck parks is where Austin's "Keep Austin Weird" character is most visible from a car. Find parking near Barton Springs Road (free street parking before 6 pm on weekdays) and walk north.
For dinner: Franklin Barbecue on East 11th Street is the most famous barbecue restaurant in America. It opens at 11 am and sells out by early afternoon most days; the queue starts before 8 am. If you arrive in the evening, Franklin is not an option for tonight. La Barbecue on East Cesar Chavez is the nearest rival without the same queue dynamics. For the first evening without planning barbecue in advance: the Rainey Street bar district (converted bungalows turned bars along a residential street, ten minutes from downtown) is the most atmospheric evening area in Austin and has good casual food at multiple spots.
Day 4: Austin
South Congress in the morning: start at Jo's Coffee for the Austin institution of a breakfast taco and coffee, then walk north. The SoCo food truck parks are concentrated along the strip; the Trailer Park at 1203 South Congress has multiple trucks operating from breakfast. Home Slice Pizza on 415 South Congress is the New York-style pizza benchmark. Torchy's Tacos, which started as a trailer on this strip, is now a chain but the original SoCo location is still excellent.
Barton Springs Pool in Zilker Park is the defining outdoor Austin experience: a spring-fed natural swimming pool 270 metres long, maintained at a constant 20°C year-round and open daily. Entry is around $5. Arrive before 10 am in summer; it gets crowded. The pool sits inside a wider park system; kayaking and paddleboarding on Lady Bird Lake (really the Colorado River, dammed) is available from multiple rental points along the south bank, from around $20 per hour.
The University of Texas campus (free to walk, 40-minute circuit) occupies the centre of the city north of the Capitol. The Texas State Capitol building itself, on Congress Avenue, is free to enter and tour; the dome is the largest in square footage of any US state capitol. Worth 30 minutes.
For the afternoon: East Austin, east of I-35, is the more interesting food and bar neighbourhood for locals. The concentration of chef-driven restaurants, wine bars and craft cocktail spots on East 6th Street and the surrounding blocks has shifted here from downtown. Launderette on Holly Street is the landmark for a sit-down lunch: rotisserie chicken and pasta in a converted laundromat, one of the city's most consistently praised restaurants.
Sixth Street in the evening: the six-block stretch of East 6th between Congress and I-35 is the main student-era bar strip. It is loud, crowded on weekends and relentlessly enthusiastic. The more interesting bar scene is on Rainey Street or around the Banger's Sausage House on Red River Street, which has live music, 100-plus beers and an outdoor patio that suits the Austin climate well.
Day 5: North through the Panhandle
This is a genuine drive day: approximately 650 miles from Austin to Amarillo on US-83 North or I-27 North, taking eight to nine hours. The landscape changes from Central Texas scrubland to the flat, treeless horizon of the High Plains. There is not much out here and that is part of the point. Lubbock is the main city midpoint; stop for fuel and food. Palo Duro Canyon State Park, 25 miles south of Amarillo, is a 160-metre-deep canyon carved by the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River, dramatic and almost entirely unknown outside Texas. If you arrive with daylight, it is worth an hour.
Amarillo itself is a working Panhandle city with no particular charm. The Cadillac Ranch installation (ten Cadillacs half-buried nose-first in a field alongside I-40, covered in spray paint by visitors, free, always open) is worth a 20-minute stop and genuinely strange. Eat at the Golden Light Cantina, the oldest restaurant in Amarillo, for green chile burgers and cheap beer in a honky-tonk atmosphere. Sleep here or push on another hour into New Mexico.
Day 6: Into Colorado and Boulder
Cross into New Mexico on I-40 West; the landscape becomes increasingly arid and the mesas begin appearing. Albuquerque is the main city on this leg; worth stopping for lunch but not an overnight unless time allows. The drive north on I-25 toward Colorado through the New Mexico desert, watching the snow-capped peaks of the Sangre de Cristo range on the right, is one of the quieter beautiful stretches of the trip.
Boulder sits at the base of the Flatirons, a series of tilted sandstone slabs forming the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. The city is a university town at 1,655 metres, noticeably cooler and thinner on air than the plains below. Pearl Street Mall is the pedestrian main street: an outdoor promenade of restaurants, bookshops, bars and street performers between 11th and 15th. Walk it in the early evening.
For dinner on Pearl Street: Corrida is the rooftop Spanish restaurant at the top end of the strip with Front Range mountain views, Spanish small plates and an excellent wine list; popular, book ahead. Frasca Food and Wine on Walnut Street is the city's landmark Italian fine dining if the budget allows. More casually: Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery on 14th Street has 25 rotating house-made beers and solid pub food in a laid-back Colorado atmosphere.
Day 7: Mountains westward
Chautauqua Park sits at the base of the Flatirons immediately west of Boulder, a 20-minute walk from Pearl Street. The Flatirons Vista Trail and the First Flatiron approach both start from the Chautauqua trailhead; the Royal Arch Trail (3.7 miles round trip, strenuous, through dramatic cliff formations) is the best moderate hike with the most dramatic payoff. Carry water; the altitude makes dehydration faster than you expect.
Drive west on US-36 and CO-72 into the mountains, gaining 1,500 metres over the first hour of driving through canyon systems and conifer forest. The route south toward Ridgway passes through Ouray, a Victorian mining town in a bowl of 4,000-metre peaks, accessible only through a series of tight mountain switchbacks on US-550. This is the Million Dollar Highway section: 25 miles of mountain road through Ouray to Silverton with no guardrails on the cliff-edge sections and views down into thousand-metre valleys. It is stunning and requires full attention; do not attempt it in winter without snow chains and experience.
Ridgway is a small mountain town on the Uncompahgre Plateau, 12 miles north of Ouray. It is quiet, photogenic and has a good independent restaurant scene for its size. True Grit Café on Liddell Drive (Ridgway was the filming location for the 1969 John Wayne version) is the obvious dinner choice; the steaks are very good.
Day 8: Enter Utah and Moab
Drive north from Ridgway on US-550 through Montrose, then east on US-50 and south on US-191 into Moab. The transition from Colorado's green mountain landscape into Utah's red rock desert happens suddenly and dramatically; the La Sal Mountains rise in the east while the road descends through increasingly red canyon walls.
Moab sits in a valley at 1,200 metres beside the Colorado River. It is a small town that functions almost entirely as a base for the surrounding national parks. Arches National Park entrance is 5 miles north; Canyonlands is 32 miles south. Check into accommodation and drive to the park entrance for an evening light reconnaissance if you arrive before sunset. The canyon walls turn from red to gold to deep purple as the light drops.
Timed entry for Arches in 2026: As of February 2026, Arches National Park has lifted the timed entry reservation requirement. Visitors may enter at any time during operating hours. However, early morning arrival is still strongly recommended: parking at major viewpoints fills up by 9 am in peak season and the desert heat by mid-morning makes hiking unpleasant. Check nps.gov/arch before your visit as this policy has changed multiple times and may revert.
Park entry: $35 per vehicle, valid for 7 days.
Day 9: Arches and Canyonlands
Arches: Enter at first light. The Balanced Rock pullout is 9 miles from the entrance and is the most immediately arresting stop; a 3,600-tonne boulder sits on an eroded pedestal with the Fiery Furnace fins visible behind it. Continue to the Windows Section: a cluster of arches including the North and South Windows and Turret Arch that can be walked in a 1.6-mile loop. These are the best arches for a close approach and the morning light comes from the east, which is ideal.
Delicate Arch requires the most effort and is the most worthwhile. The trail is 4.8 km round trip from the Wolfe Ranch trailhead, gaining 160 metres over slickrock with no shade. Take it at sunrise or the final two hours before sunset; never at midday in summer. From the trail end you round a canyon wall and the arch appears without warning above a natural amphitheatre, standing completely isolated with the La Sal Mountains behind it. The sunset light on the stone is the image. Allow 2.5 to 3 hours round trip.
Canyonlands Island in the Sky: Drive 32 miles south from Moab on US-191 and UT-313 to the Island in the Sky district. Mesa Arch is a 0.8-km round trip from the trailhead parking, easy, and one of the most photographed arches in Utah because it frames the canyon below at sunrise: the interior of the arch glows orange while the 600-metre cliffs drop into the Colorado and Green River confluence below. Arrive before dawn for the classic image. Grand View Point overlook at the southern tip of the mesa is the widest canyon panorama on this route: 360-degree views into the canyon system below from 1,800 metres. Stand there for ten minutes and let the scale register.
Day 10: Grand Canyon
Drive south from Moab on US-191 through Monticello, then west on US-163 through Monument Valley (the John Ford western landscape of mesa and red desert, worth slowing down for even without stopping) and south through Navajo Nation land into Arizona. The road between Mexican Hat and Kayenta is some of the emptiest and most cinematic driving on the whole route.
Turn south on US-89 and then west on AZ-64 toward the Grand Canyon South Rim. The approach through the Kaibab Plateau gives no indication of what is about to appear; the canyon is invisible until you step up to the rim and it opens below you in full scale. Allow this moment to work without rushing it. The canyon is 1,829 metres deep at its deepest point and 16 kilometres wide at the South Rim. Even with photographs in mind, the first view is always surprising.
The Rim Trail runs 21 km from Hermits Rest to South Kaibab Trailhead along the canyon edge; the sections between Mather Point and Yavapai Point (easy, 45 minutes) give the best panoramas for time spent. Mather Point is the most visited viewpoint and crowded by mid-morning; walk 10 minutes in either direction for significantly less company.
Descending into the canyon: The Bright Angel Trail descends from the South Rim and is the standard route for non-technical hiking. The National Park Service strongly advises against attempting to hike to the river and back in one day; the elevation change is 1,450 metres and the canyon floor temperature in summer can exceed 48°C. Day hikers are advised to turn back at Indian Garden (roughly halfway down), allowing four to six hours round trip. Carry a litre of water per hour minimum and carry salty snacks to replace electrolytes.
Sunset from the South Rim: Hopi Point (accessible by the free park shuttle) gives the widest western view and the best sunset angle.
Overnight at one of the lodges inside the park or in Tusayan (immediately south of the park entrance). Xanterra runs the park lodges; El Tovar Hotel on the rim is the most historic and the most expensive, but booking months ahead is required.
Day 11: Hoover Dam and Las Vegas
Drive west on I-40 and then north on US-93 toward Nevada. Hoover Dam is 30 miles south of Las Vegas on the Nevada-Arizona border. The dam was built between 1931 and 1936, employing 21,000 workers during the Depression, and at completion was the world's largest concrete structure and the largest hydroelectric power station. The observation deck on the dam crest is free; the guided tours into the dam's interior cost $15 to $30 and take 30 to 60 minutes. The view from the bypass bridge, opened in 2010, looks directly down at the dam face 220 metres below.
Las Vegas is 30 miles north. The city materialises from the desert floor: there is nothing, then there is everything. Drive straight to the Strip rather than downtown. Park at any of the major casinos (self-parking is free at most, including MGM Grand and Caesars Palace) and walk the length of the Strip from the Mandalay Bay at the south end to the Stratosphere at the north: approximately 4.5 miles, passing through the Bellagio fountain shows (free, every 15 to 30 minutes from 3 pm), the Venetian canal district (free to walk), the High Roller observation wheel (pay per ride) and the Fremont Street Experience if you continue to downtown.
The food scene in Las Vegas is more serious than its reputation suggests. Joel Robuchon at the MGM Grand is the most Michelin-starred restaurant in the city. For something less extravagant: Esther's Kitchen in Arts District (Italian American, very good, reserve ahead), Lotus of Siam on East Sahara (widely regarded as the best Thai restaurant in North America, family-run since 1999, the northern Thai dishes rather than the tourist-facing menu).
Day 12: Death Valley crossing
Leave Las Vegas early. Death Valley National Park is 130 miles west on I-15 and CA-127. Enter the park from the east through Shoshone; the descent into the valley floor takes you below sea level before you have quite registered it happening. The park fee is $35 per vehicle, valid for 7 days.
Furnace Creek at -54 metres below sea level is the administrative heart of the park: the visitor centre, the Borax museum and the only petrol station in the valley. Fill the tank here regardless of what the gauge says. The temperature in summer regularly exceeds 50°C; the park has recorded the highest reliably measured air temperature on Earth (56.7°C in 1913). June to August visits require starting all activity before 7 am and being inside or in the car by 10 am. Spring (March to May) is the ideal window, with wildflowers in good years and temperatures in the 20s and 30s.
Zabriskie Point is 5 miles east of Furnace Creek: a short walk to a viewpoint above eroded badlands in mustard and brown that glow at sunrise. Drive there before dawn if conditions allow. Badwater Basin is 17 miles south: the lowest point in North America at 85.5 metres below sea level, a vast expanse of sodium chloride salt flats that crack into hexagonal patterns in the heat. Walk out onto the salt flats for 10 minutes; it is disorienting in the best way.
Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, 19 miles north of Furnace Creek, are accessible by a short walk from the roadside and are the most photogenic at sunrise or sunset.
Exit the park west over the Panamint Mountains on CA-190 and descend to Ridgecrest and then CA-14 South toward Mojave. The drive into Joshua Tree comes in the early evening.
Day 13: Joshua Tree
Joshua Tree National Park sits at the junction of the Mojave and Colorado Deserts, each with different flora and geology. The park entrance on CA-62 (Twenty-nine Palms Highway) takes you into the higher, cooler Mojave section where the Joshua trees grow; these are actually a species of yucca plant, their distinctive silhouette a function of how they branch only after flowering.
The Cholla Cactus Garden trail (0.4 km loop, easy) is the most otherworldly single stop in the park: a dense field of chollas whose spines catch the morning light. Skull Rock along Park Boulevard has a brief boulder scramble through giant rounded granite formations that look assembled by hand. Cap Rock in the centre of the park is a 1.6 km loop through boulder formations and some of the better Joshua tree concentrations.
The park's boulder fields are as significant as the trees; the formations are used for rock climbing throughout the year and the variety of routes makes it one of the most popular climbing destinations in California. Even without climbing, scrambling through the boulders at places like Hall of Horrors or Saddle Rocks takes an afternoon.
Keys View at 1,581 metres is the park's main panoramic viewpoint: the Coachella Valley below, the Salton Sea in the distance, the San Jacinto Mountains and, on clear days, the Mexican border ranges to the south.
Drive west through the park on Park Boulevard to the 29 Palms entrance and then south on I-10 toward Los Angeles in the late afternoon. Arrive in LA for the overnight.
Day 14: Pacific Coast Highway to Big Sur
Highway 1 through Big Sur fully reopened in January 2026 following the Regent's Slide landslide closure that ran from early 2024. The complete coastal drive is available again; always check the Caltrans QuickMap (quickmap.dot.ca.gov) before departure as closures can occur without notice after heavy rain.
Start the drive heading north from LA on Highway 1 through Malibu: the first stretch of coast where the Santa Monica Mountains drop to the Pacific. Malibu's beaches (Zuma, El Matador) are worth a short stop. Point Dume State Beach has a short clifftop walk with views north to the Channel Islands on clear days.
Ventura and Santa Barbara are 60 and 95 miles from LA respectively. Santa Barbara is one of the more elegant small cities in California: Spanish Colonial Revival architecture following a 1925 earthquake rebuild, a waterfront with a working harbour and the Santa Barbara Mission. Allow 90 minutes in Santa Barbara for the State Street walk and the harbour. The wine region in the Santa Ynez Valley is 40 minutes inland from Santa Barbara; if not stopping there, Highway 1 continues north along the coast.
San Luis Obispo and Hearst Castle are 200 miles north of LA. Hearst Castle (ticketed tours, book in advance at reservecalifornia.com) is the opulent hilltop mansion of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, completed over 28 years with 165 rooms and three guest houses, overlooking the ocean from the Santa Lucia Mountains. Tours last 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on type; the Experience Tour is the most comprehensive for a first visit.
Big Sur begins approximately 50 miles south of Carmel. Bixby Creek Bridge at mile marker 60.3 north of Cambria is the most photographed structure on Highway 1: a concrete arch bridge from 1932 spanning a creek gorge 79 metres above the Pacific. Pull over before the bridge for the full view. McWay Falls in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park drops 24 metres directly onto an otherwise inaccessible beach cove; park at the Overlook Trail trailhead and walk 0.8 km to the viewpoint. Point Sur Lighthouse (guided tours, book ahead) sits on a 90-metre volcanic rock connected to the mainland by a sand bar.
Drive into Carmel by evening. Carmel-by-the-Sea is a small, expensive and very beautiful village at the foot of the Carmel Valley with a white-sand beach and an extraordinary concentration of galleries and restaurants for a town of 3,000 people.
Day 15: Carmel to San Francisco
Carmel Beach in the morning: white sand at the foot of Ocean Avenue, flanked by Monterey cypress trees, cold water, sea otters visible in the kelp beds offshore. Walk south along the beach to Carmel River State Beach for the wider stretch.
Monterey, 5 miles north: the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Cannery Row (book tickets online, busy at weekends) is one of the finest aquariums in the world, anchored by an open-ocean tank and a kelp forest exhibit, worth three to four hours. The 17-Mile Drive through Pebble Beach (toll road, around $12 per vehicle) passes the Lone Cypress and several Golf courses, worth taking as a scenic loop if time allows.
Santa Cruz is 45 miles north: the Santa Cruz Boardwalk (the oldest operating amusement park on the West Coast, open seasonally) and the wide beach give the trip a completely different energy from the Carmel restraint you have just left.
San Francisco is 75 miles north on Highway 17 and I-280 or coastal Highway 1. Arrive in the afternoon. The Golden Gate Bridge is on the northern approach from Marin if you are coming from the north (consider the day's loop this way: Monterey, Santa Cruz, then Highway 1 north to SF for the Golden Gate approach). Park in the Marina district or Union Square and walk. The city works best without a car; Uber and Muni are the right options for the evenings.
Day 16: San Francisco to Sequoia National Park
San Francisco to Sequoia's Giant Forest is approximately 280 miles southeast on I-580, I-5 and CA-99, then CA-198 east into the park. Allow five to six hours. The Central Valley section of I-5 and CA-99 is flat, agricultural and unremarkable but fast.
Sequoia National Park: No timed entry system operates at Sequoia in 2026; arrive and pay at the entrance station ($35 per vehicle, valid 7 days). The Giant Forest Museum near the Lodgepole area is the starting point. The Congress Trail is a 3.2 km loop through the densest concentration of giant sequoias in the world, including the General Sherman Tree: the largest tree by volume on Earth at 1,385 cubic metres, 84 metres tall and approximately 2,200 years old. The scale is genuinely difficult to calibrate. Walk around the base several times and consider that the lowest branches begin 40 metres above your head.
The drive on the Generals Highway from the Giant Forest to the Grant Grove area (approximately 35 miles) passes through continuous sequoia groves with multiple pullouts.
Overnight near the park entrance in Three Rivers or inside the park at the Wuksachi Lodge (the main park accommodation; book months ahead for summer).
Day 17: Sequoia to Yosemite National Park
The drive from Sequoia to Yosemite Valley is approximately 4 hours on CA-99 North and CA-41 into the park. Yosemite requires an advance timed entry reservation during peak season (April to October). As of 2026, the timed entry system has been maintained for this period. Book through recreation.gov before your trip; slots go quickly in summer, and arriving without a reservation can mean being turned away at the entrance. Check the current system status at nps.gov/yose before finalising plans.
Park entry: $35 per vehicle, valid 7 days.
Yosemite Valley is 7 miles long and roughly 1.6 km wide, carved by glaciers into vertical granite walls. Half Dome rises 1,444 metres above the valley floor at the eastern end. El Capitan, the largest exposed granite monolith in the world, is visible from the Valley View pullout 2 miles inside the western entrance. Look for climbers on the face with binoculars; it is possible to spot them on the vertical granite above.
Yosemite Valley Floor Loop: the best introduction to the valley is the 11-mile loop that circles the valley floor. By car it takes 45 minutes; by bicycle (rentable at Yosemite Valley Lodge and Half Dome Village) it takes two hours and is the better option for stopping at viewpoints without traffic.
Yosemite Falls Trail (11 km round trip, 646 metres elevation gain, four to six hours) reaches the top of North America's tallest waterfall. The lower falls viewpoint (2.4 km return, easy) gives the best frontal view.
Glacier Point Road at the end of the day if the road is open (typically late spring to early autumn): the viewpoint at 2,200 metres looks directly east to Half Dome, north to Yosemite Falls and down into the full length of the valley. It is the single best photographic position in Yosemite.
Overnight inside the park at one of the campgrounds or lodges (all require advance booking, months ahead in summer) or in Mariposa 45 minutes west.
Day 18: Yosemite to San Francisco
Morning walk before the valley fills: Mirror Lake trail (8 km round trip from the valley floor, flat, through reflective granite-fringed lake toward Half Dome's base) or the short walk to Valley View for the El Capitan framing at dawn. Leave Yosemite by 11 am.
The drive back to San Francisco on CA-120 West and I-580 takes approximately three hours; the Altamont Pass section through the wind turbine corridor of the Diablo Range is one of the stranger stretches of California driving. Arrive in San Francisco in early afternoon.
The city's walkable north end covers the afternoon: Chinatown on Grant Avenue (the oldest in North America), North Beach (the Italian neighbourhood where the Beat Generation was based; City Lights bookshop on Columbus Avenue is the landmark), the waterfront at Fisherman's Wharf and the walk across the Fort Mason headland for the Golden Gate Bridge view from the eastern anchorage. Coit Tower in North Beach has lift access to a viewpoint above the city. The Ferry Building on the Embarcadero is the food market for a final bite.
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