You can see four California National Parks in one long road trip! This driving itinerary covers Pinnacles, Kings Canyon, Sequoia and Death Valley. Our family of five drove it — with two large dogs in tow.
Copy our 4-National Park California road trip itinerary
Our famiy of five took an epic California National Park road trip, from the Bay Area down to Death Valley, hitting Pinnacles, Kings Canyon and Seuoia National Parks on the way. Here’s how we pulled off this epic California road trip, and why winter is the ideal time to go.
Our California National Parks itinerary, day by day
Day 1: Leave home as early as possible, drive 2 hours to Soledad, Cal., just outside Pinnacles. Check into Motel8 (right next to Motel 6!), crate our dogs in the room, and drive to the Western Pinnacles entrance for a couple hours of hiking before dark.
Day 2: Check out, drive to the Eastern Pinnacles entrance, and since dogs are not allowed on national park trails, either split up or find a fire road to walk. Drive 3.5 hours to Dunlap, just 20 minutes from Kings Canyon. Stop for groceries on the way.
Day 3: Explore Kings Canyon
Day 4: Drive 1.5 hours to explore Sequoia. (Roads connecting the two parks are closed in winter.)
Day 5: Leave as early as possible and drive 6.5 hours to rental house at Delight’s Hot Springs in Tecopa, California. Stop for groceries on the way.
Day 6: Explore Death Valley
Day 7: More Death Valley
Day 8: Drive 9 hours home.
One thousand, one hundred and seventy nine miles, plus a few hundred extra for back-and-forth between the parks and our lodgings. What do you think of our itinerary? Too ambitious? Insane? Leisurely?
Tomorrow, I’ll share how things started out.