Las Vegas to Yosemite
Designed by
Bay Magic Tours
- Incentive trips
- California
- National parks
7 people · 7 nights · Early fall
This is the trip we plan for a team that has just spent three days at a conference in Las Vegas and deserves something very different afterwards. Once the sessions wrap at Aria, the group picks up its rental cars and drives west: into Death Valley, up the Eastern Sierra on Highway 395, over Tioga Pass into Yosemite, and on to a last night in Menlo Park, about half an hour from San Francisco International. It is a self-drive week, and we take care of the hotels, the order of the nights and the timing of each day, so the group can simply enjoy the road.
Las Vegas 3 nights
The week begins with the work. The group spends three nights at Aria for the conference, and the reward trip starts the morning after the last session. We keep everyone in one hotel for all three nights, so there is nothing to think about between the conference and the departure day. The group arranges its own rental cars, and we plan the rest of the route around them.
Where you stay
Aria Resort & Casino
The conference hotel on the Strip, and the one base for the group's three nights in the city.
Included
- Three nights at Aria, Las Vegas
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Photo: Pexels -
Photo: Ronald Beadenkopf
Death Valley 1 night
The first leg of the reward trip takes the group out of the city and into Death Valley National Park, about two and a half hours from Las Vegas. We suggest a scenic drive from the Furnace Creek area that takes in Badwater Basin and Dante's View, two of the park's great sights, before the night at the Ranch.
Where you stay
The Ranch at Death Valley
One night inside the park, so the group wakes up in the desert with the next drive ahead.
Included
- One night at The Ranch at Death Valley
- A scenic drive from Furnace Creek to Badwater Basin and Dante's View
- More touring in Death Valley the next morning, before the drive to Mammoth Lakes
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Photo: Stephen Leonardi -
Photo: Pexels
Mammoth Lakes 1 night
This is one of the most scenic drives of the week. Heading west out of Death Valley, the group passes the Panamint Mountains, then joins Highway 395, the Eastern Sierra Highway, through the Owens Valley. The Sierra Nevada rises along the whole western side of the road, and just west of the town of Lone Pine you can see Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the continental United States. The drive takes about two and a half to three hours, and the group reaches Mammoth Lakes in the afternoon. Mammoth is California's largest ski resort and, outside the snow season, a center for mountain activities of every kind.
Where you stay
The Westin Monache Resort
The mountain night in Mammoth Lakes, between the desert and the high road into Yosemite.
Included
- One night at The Westin Monache Resort
- The drive along Highway 395 through the Owens Valley
Optional
- The scenic gondola ride to the top of Mammoth Mountain, with hiking and panoramic views
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Photo: Soly Moses / Pexels
Tioga Pass
We like the group on the road at 8:00 for this day. From Mammoth the route follows the Eastern Sierra to Tioga Pass, the highest mountain pass in California at more than 3,000 meters, and the Tioga Pass entrance to Yosemite is about an hour away. Inside the park, Tuolumne Meadows is about twenty minutes from the gate, and Tenaya Lake is a lovely place for a picnic lunch. Both are good places to stop for photos. From Tuolumne Meadows to Yosemite Valley is about an hour and a half, and in the afternoon the group drives on to Tenaya Lodge in Fish Camp, near the park's south entrance.
Included
- The drive over Tioga Pass
- Stops at Tenaya Lake and Tuolumne Meadows
Optional
- A picnic lunch at Tenaya Lake
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Photo: Pexels
Yosemite Valley 1 night
The Valley gets its own morning. We reserve the group on the two-hour Yosemite Valley Floor Tour, led by park naturalists in an open-air park tour vehicle. It takes in Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil Fall and the views of El Capitan and Half Dome, with some time to walk the trails and explore the park's museums and history.
- Leave Tenaya Lodge for Yosemite Valley
- Yosemite Valley Floor Tour
- Leave Yosemite for Menlo Park
Where you stay
Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite
On the south side of the park in Fish Camp, about ten to fifteen minutes from the south entrance and an hour to an hour and a half from Yosemite Valley.
Included
- One night at Tenaya Lodge
- The Yosemite Valley Floor Tour
Optional
- Time at the Ansel Adams Gallery after the tour
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Photo: Igor Passchier -
Photo: Juan Montes
Menlo Park 1 night
The last night is at The Cottages in Menlo Park, about thirty minutes from San Francisco International Airport. The group arrives from Yosemite in the evening, has breakfast at the hotel the next morning, and makes the short drive to SFO for the flight home.
Where you stay
The Cottages
A last night close to the airport, with breakfast included and free parking for the cars.
Included
- One night at The Cottages
- Breakfast
