It's that time of year again to start planning our summer trip ending with the JC...err GV fly-in. This year we are planning on swinging down through northern CA, SW OR, then on up to ID. I need some help planning from those from the area or who have made the trip before. Here is what I need to know:

1) Where is the best place to fly into at Tahoe? We want to camp on the lake for a night. I think there is a campsite close to Tahoe on the south end of the lake. Do they fill up quickly and require reservations?

2) We want to day trip into Yosemite. What's the best airport to fly into? Are rental cars cheaper going into some place like Mammoth or Bishop? I realize any option will require a drive.

3) We would like to see the redwoods. Tentative plan is to overnight in Crescent City and drive from there. I know there are a lot of places to access them from, so if you know of a better plan, I'm not set on Crescent City.

If you know of anything else we shouldn't miss, let me know. Our route of flight basically takes us from the Bay Area up to Gravelly Valley. Then up the coast for a ways (Shelter Cove) before heading up to Crater Lake and the Cowboy Dinner tree, then on to Idaho. Should be a great trip!

Thanks!
Cory

Last year we flew down to Mariposa and rented a car with Bryan and his girl friend. From there it's a short drive into Yosemite. I heard the cars weren't going to be available much longer but it might be worth it to call and ask.

Thanks Rob. That was the original plan. Was the rental via the FBO? Or was a rental agency on site?

Airport website says no more rental cars available at MPI.

Another option is a scheduled bus (YARTS) that you can catch from Mariposa that'll take you into the park. We've thought of doing that a few times but it hasn't worked out timing-wise.

For the redwoods Ukiah and Fortuna are good options since they are both already on US 101. I don't know about car rentals at either. You would avoid the fog at Ukiah, Fortuna gets some but not like CC which is out on a point in the water...otherwise known as a fog magnet. As airports go all three are fine.
When you find the redwoods find a wide spot with no other cars, stop and walk 100 feet into the forest and lay down. Looking up for a few minutes will give you the weirdest feeling, kind of a cross between vertigo and LSD. but in a good way.

Hey Cory,
Have you been to the Cowboy Dinner Tree Inn before? It's a great place!
I think they are only open Thur-Sun, with reservations needed. You can usually make them the same day.
You can also overnight there.
The guy across the street will let you use his strip, I can get his number if you need it, might be on airnav?
I bet he would let you camp there also.
After eating there you will have a hard time making it much further than your plane.

Only place I know to fly into Tahoe is the South Lake airport (unless you have floats, of course). I don't know what is available in terms of camping there, but it is close enough to walk into town and to the lake. Truckee is too far to walk, but I believe has rental cars available, and you could drive to the lake fairly easily. There are a couple of campgrounds near the lake on the west side (Sugar Pine Point is one).

If you can't get into CC, the airport at Gasquet (0O9) is a decent place and you should be able to call Thrifty and get a rental car delivered.

Crescent City can be a foggy SOB.

Simple approach into KCEC, and everything you need for car rental and places to camp.

For Yosemite, if you want to go to Tuolumne Meadows, Lee Vining is the closest airport, but I don't know about rental cars. Bishop definitely has car rentals, and Mammoth probably does, and the drive up is spectacular, to say nothing of the flight. If you want to see Yosemite Valley, though, those probably aren't the best choice - it's a long drive through the park, and rangers do like to pull people over for even a little speeding. Fresno or Mariposa are close-ish. Pine Mountain Lake (Groveland) is also close-ish, but I doubt you can get a car there.

In redwood country, you have Redwood National Park up north and Redwood State Park down south. Both are incredible. Fortuna is the closest with car rental to the state park. Garberville is right in the thick of things and is great in its own right, but I don't know about renting from there. Ukiah is way too far, although there is a nice brewery/cafe there. Shelter Cove is beautiful, but all the redwood forests around there are filled with angry pot growers with guns. For the national park, Mckinleyville/Arcata is the closest airport, I think, though Crescent City isn't far, either. Both have bad weather a lot. Eureka might be worth trying; it's not much farther (but then, neither is Fortuna).

yosemite - even tuolomne is a LONG way away from bishop or mammoth - you want to enter from the west portal if you are interested in seeing the valley proper

As far as going to Yosemite, depending on your timing you might be able to find someone who is based out of Oakdale who might be willing to loan you a minivan. It's twice as far time wise as Mariposa is from Yosemite but rental cost would be free.

Oh, hey! I'm based in Oakdale. I'm going to GV this year too so the timing might work out. Shoot me a PM.

Cory-

South lake is your best option for Tahoe and camping. Lots of options but reservations in advance are pretty much mandatory. Also, the camping is about 10-15 minutes depending, from the airport. Camp Richardson is OK, DL Bliss would be my choice but it is a bit further, say 20 minutes. Camp RIch would be great for you and your crew for certain and has more amenities, along with boat and kayak rentals, restaurant etc.

Yosemite option for me would be Mammoth and rent a car as the drive is beautiful. Mariposa is good but about as far. You enter on the other side of the park from there. Personally I like entering the park from the east side as the scenery and hiking options are endless.

PM me when your getting close. I have a car you can use if you end up flying into Truckee on the north side of the lake.

AKT

Bridgeport is on the east side of the Sierras, and like Lee Vining is beautiful to fly around but can have some high density altitudes and wicked winds above the Sierras. The car rental agencies on the eastern side are individualistic - talk to them in person not through a company website. The route between Lee Vining and Pine Mountain along the Tuolumne river with Half Dome to the south is balm to my soul and perhaps my body because I can certainly feel much better just thinking of it.

I personally like Truckee and have avoided South Lake Tahoe, but then I haven't been interested in camping, and have heard too many stories about pilots not properly respecting South Lake Tahoe. Truckee to North Lake Tahoe is very close. I went to the Reno air races last year and I found KRNO to be very welcoming.

Booneville, D83, and Little River, KLLR, (should be easy to rent a car there), are not far from Gravelly Valley. You should be able to get a Redwood fix here. If you want to show "some love to an out of the way airport", swing by Ocean Ridge, E55, at Gualala and drop something in their tiedown box - this private airport is soliciting donations. The view along the coast is sensational.

Another option for the redwoods is to land at Willits, CA (O28). It is out of the fog belt, and there is a steam train that runs between Willits and Fort Bragg, CA right through the redwoods. It is a pretty spectacular ride with a stop in the middle of the forest. Willits is a cute little mountain town that seems to have made the transition from logging to a tourism based economy fairly well.

You can use my van that I keep at Little River anytime. Not much to look at but it runs good.
The airport sits on a bluff so stays semi fog free. PM me if ur interested. Mike

RoughAir wrote:You can use my van that I keep at Little River anytime. Not much to look at but it runs good.
The airport sits on a bluff so stays semi fog free. PM me if ur interested. Mike

Hey Mike,

Thanks for the offer. I'll PM you when we get closer if it looks like an option.

rjb wrote:Bridgeport is on the east side of the Sierras, and like Lee Vining is beautiful to fly around but can have some high density altitudes and wicked winds above the Sierras. The car rental agencies on the eastern side are individualistic - talk to them in person not through a company website. The route between Lee Vining and Pine Mountain along the Tuolumne river with Half Dome to the south is balm to my soul and perhaps my body because I can certainly feel much better just thinking of it.

Realistically, what kind of drive is it from the east side to Half Dome?

aktahoe1 wrote:Cory-

South lake is your best option for Tahoe and camping. Lots of options but reservations in advance are pretty much mandatory. Also, the camping is about 10-15 minutes depending, from the airport. Camp Richardson is OK, DL Bliss would be my choice but it is a bit further, say 20 minutes. Camp RIch would be great for you and your crew for certain and has more amenities, along with boat and kayak rentals, restaurant etc.

Yosemite option for me would be Mammoth and rent a car as the drive is beautiful. Mariposa is good but about as far. You enter on the other side of the park from there. Personally I like entering the park from the east side as the scenery and hiking options are endless.

PM me when your getting close. I have a car you can use if you end up flying into Truckee on the north side of the lake.

AKT

Kevin,

Thank you for the offer. I'll PM you as it gets closer. I'm not set on camping at the lake. I just want to take the kids down to play for the day. I've never been there. Only seen it from a distance. I don't suppose Truckee allows camping on the field? I have a friend that said King's Beach is nice, as well as another one that had some cool boulders on it. I don't recall the name.

svanarts wrote:As far as going to Yosemite, depending on your timing you might be able to find someone who is based out of Oakdale who might be willing to loan you a minivan. It's twice as far time wise as Mariposa is from Yosemite but rental cost would be free.

Oh, hey! I'm based in Oakdale. I'm going to GV this year too so the timing might work out. Shoot me a PM.

Scott,

Also thanks for the offer. I'll also PM you as it gets closer and if it looks like it is doable. We will be down there the week before the GV fly-in.

OregonMaule wrote:Crescent City can be a foggy SOB.

Rob and all, thanks for the info on local weather. This carries a lot of weight since I may not have my plane up to snuff for IFR by then and will be flying a flight of two with another pilot who may not be IFR rated at that time. So if we can hedge our bets by visiting less fog prone airports, that is good.

Shelter Cove came on our radar not necessarily for the redwoods, but because it was featured in AOPA Pilot a few years ago and it looked like a cool place to visit. Ocean Ridge might be a stop too.

Terry wrote:Hey Cory,
Have you been to the Cowboy Dinner Tree Inn before? It's a great place!
I think they are only open Thur-Sun, with reservations needed. You can usually make them the same day.
You can also overnight there.
The guy across the street will let you use his strip, I can get his number if you need it, might be on airnav?
I bet he would let you camp there also.
After eating there you will have a hard time making it much further than your plane.

Hey Terry,

Yes we have been there and have been really wanting to get back! We went a few years ago and stayed at Rob's place in Madras. We plan to either stay on his strip if we can, or at Silver Lake. I've got his contact info. We were going to go over for Dee's birthday last year but it didn't work out. We can't wait to get back!

Oregon180 wrote:Another option is a scheduled bus (YARTS) that you can catch from Mariposa that'll take you into the park. We've thought of doing that a few times but it hasn't worked out timing-wise.

Interesting option. We will look into it. Thanks!

Thanks again for the info guys! I'm getting excited for all the flying we will do this summer!

Flyhound wrote:Another option for the redwoods is to land at Willits, CA (O28). It is out of the fog belt, and there is a steam train that runs between Willits and Fort Bragg, CA right through the redwoods. It is a pretty spectacular ride with a stop in the middle of the forest. Willits is a cute little mountain town that seems to have made the transition from logging to a tourism based economy fairly well.

This sounds like a great time for the kids! Thanks for the info!

You can't drive to half dome. You have to drive to the village at the bottom of the valley - which is 2 1/2 to 3 hours from Mammoth Lakes airport - if you don't get stuck behind all the RVs. Tioga pass road is beautiful, goes through Toulomne meadows - but the flight over would be even better.

Once you get to the village - Half dome can be viewed by driving another hour up to glacier point. If you want to hike to half dome - from the village - it's a big day - like 10 hours of hiking with 5000ft of el gain at 14-16 miles round trip depending on whether you summit the cables route or not. Just getting to the base is a big deal - way too much for little kids and a lot of adults.