Road Trip Plan - What do you think ?

[jander]

Coming from San Francisco, I need to go to Alamo NV, and I want to hit up Death Valley as well as Loan Pine and Bishop. 

Day 1 - Speed run from SF to Vegas 9ish hours
Sepend a day or so in Vegas
Day 3 - Vegas --> Alamo --> Vegas. 
Day 4 - > drive to Death Vally Inn, via BadWater Basin, on CA-178 - Badwater Basin
Day 5 - Spend One full day in THe park, go visit somthing, go hiking
Day 6 leave - CA-190 to CA-136 to Lone Pine, to SF ?  How long of a drive would that be?  What Pass should I take?  Is this 2 days of driving, and if so, do I just spend the night in Reno ?

This will be in October, so we could go home via Yosemite, all the passes should be open.  I am mostly curiuous about driving home from Death Valley, what would you do if you wanted to go up 395?

[Max Rockatansky]

Really any of the passes in the Sierra Nevada be fine heading west from Death Valley by October.  Tioga Pass is likely going to be the most efficient way of getting back home to SF. 

If you want to try something off brand Sherman Pass Road and western CA 190 are near Owens Lake where you'll be emerging from Death Valley.  The Sherman Pass route is paved but fairly twisty compared to taking Tioga.  Even if you took Sherman Pass from the Lone Pine area it isn't an all-day trip heading back to San Francisco.

If you're looking for a two day thing there is all sorts of awesome roads in the eastern Sierra.  Horseshoe Meadows Road, Whitney Portal Road and Onion Valley Road are all pretty top tier.

[gonealookin]

Day 6 leave - CA-190 to CA-136 to Lone Pine, to SF ?  How long of a drive would that be?  What Pass should I take?  Is this 2 days of driving, and if so, do I just spend the night in Reno ?

This will be in October, so we could go home via Yosemite, all the passes should be open.  I am mostly curious about driving home from Death Valley, what would you do if you wanted to go up 395?

Depending on the exact timing in October, there can be some spectacular fall colors to see.  One of the best spots is Convict Lake, just a short side trip up from US 395 near the Mammoth Lakes airport.  There are also some natural hot springs to explore close to there, in Long Valley; the cooler weather in October is great for soaking in some hot water.

If you choose to make it a two-day trip, another excellent fall colors spot is Hope Valley, in Alpine County around the western intersection of CA 88 and CA 89.  You don't need to go all the way to Reno; Carson City has cheap hotels, or South Lake Tahoe for a little more money, and from Hope Valley you would cross over Carson Pass and down CA 88.

[jander]

 Sherman Pass is fully paved and drivable in a Jetta ?  That might be the thing to do.  Thats kind of awesome, I didn't know about that pass. 

[Max Rockatansky]

Sherman Pass is fully paved and drivable in a Jetta ?  That might be the thing to do.  Thats kind of awesome, I didn't know about that pass. 

Fully paved all the way and I once got a janky Chevy Sonic through it.

[Sub-Urbanite]

I suggest going directly from SF to Death Valley, spending a day + night there, then going to Vegas. You can go to Alamo on the return, take the ET Highway, cross over to 395 on US 6, then choose your pass from that point.

[jander]

I appriciate the idea on that one.  As far as I can tell there is no real place to stay in Alamo (we are going to vist City, by Michael Heizer).  I've never done the ET Highway, or been to Rachel, but I've been to Tonopah.  The Belvada is a legit hotel.  I've never been to Lone Pine or Bishop, so that is the preferred route I think.

THanks for the idea though. 

[Sub-Urbanite]

If it's not too late - I did the City tour and stayed in Vegas. There's a tiny hotel in Alamo but it's also an easy 90-ish minute drive away. We got back to Alamo just after sunset and it wasn't that bad.