jwc500
Mesa, AZ
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I am planning our 2012 our forced family fun summer vacation and would like feedback on how many days I should plan when exploring Kings Canyon, Sequoia and Yosemite. I have three kids ages 6 -11 so I plan on trying to see most of the “wow” locations within each park. Is two days at each park sufficient? Should I plan on more days at a particular park? Also any advice on a good RV parks to serve as a hub would be appreciated. We will be traveling in a 38ft class A. I have looked at Sequoia RV Ranch and Yosemite Lakes. Are there other I should consider?
Thanks
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Francesca Knowles
Port Hadlock, Washington
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"forced family fun"...I love it!
We call our annual family trip "Camp Hell"...and everybody has a good time in spite of themselves!
Good luck with the planning...
" Not every mind that wanders is lost. " With apologies to J.R.R. Tolkien
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Two Hands
California's Central Coast
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Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park is beautiful, Yosemite National Park is spectacular. You will probably want to spend the majority of your time there. Make your reservations today or as soon as the reservation window opens. Check out the National Park Service web sites for information. Have a great trip.
2011 Fleetwood Southwind 32VS
2009 Ford Edge
Retired Law Enforcement
U.S. Army 1965-1973/RVN 1968-'69
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PapPappy
Wilmington, NC
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At least you know that eventually,
Forced Family Fun will be looked back on with Fond Feelings
As mentioned, they will have fun, in-spite of themselves.
Bill & Claudia / DD Jenn / DS Chris / GS MJ
Dogs: Sophie, Abby, Brandy, Kahlie, Annie, Maggie, Tugger & Beau 
RIP: Cookie, Foxy & Gidget @ Rainbow Bridge.
2000 Winnebago "Minnie" 31C, Ford V-10
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The Pets
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Chock Full o' Nuts
GA
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PapPappy wrote:At least you know that eventually,
Forced Family Fun will be looked back on with Fond Feelings
As mentioned, they will have fun, in-spite of themselves.
I agree. We took our two kids, 12 & 14, on a 2 month long, 6000 mile cross country trip a few years ago. At the time, the 14yo(DD) wasn't thrilled but she didn't complain(much  ) She was mighty glad when we got home--she really missed her friends. DD swore she would NEVER leave home again.
Well, she graduated HS and the first thing she did was organize a camping trip for her and 4 BFFs. Next summer she wants to go out to Washington state for some camping. And eventually she wants to get a little trailer and tote it from Georgia to Texas to Arizona to California to...you get the picture. 
Best of luck to you. Some of the best family trips I can remember involved 5 sweaty kids and a Saint Bernard in a canvas tent in the middle of summer.
"Those who dwell...among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life."--Rachel Carson, environmentalist, 1956
2009 Ford F250 XL
2006 Dutchmen 25F
Me & DH in non-parenting mode!
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pbarnett85
Lemoore, CA
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Great parks to see! I live two hours from them all and go every year if I can. Yosemite is probably the biggest park of the three. Lots to see there. You can spend a day in just the valley alone, so at least two days there if not more. Two days in Sequoia and Kings should be plenty. Keep in mind that it's about a days drive between parks with the MH. The reason I say this is because even though Kings and Sequoia are connected, its a twisty road with a length restriction of 21' I think. So you might want to go back down and around between parks.
Yosemite is better but driving a MH in the valley is going to be "fun" lol. Are you going to have a TOAD with you? It might make a lot of this driving easier since you could leave the MH as base camp and go see the sites.
When all else fails, grab a bigger hammer. IYAOYAS.
2000 Aljo 2610BH
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lmsteck
Northern California
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There is a lot to see in Yosemite, but if you only go to the Valley. you can see all of it in a day if you just want to drive through and see the sites. If you want to ride your bike around the valley loop, 2 days is good. (Your going to need more time if you want to see anything else in the park. We like to stay a week.) Hiking anywhere from the valley is straight up, not sure if you want to do that, though you can take a shuttle up to Glacier Point($), which has beautiful views of the valley, and hike down the 4 mile trail, then catch the shuttle back to the day use parking.
As far as RV parks, you can still get reservations in the valley for the summer, they become available 5 months in advance, but they are very difficult to get and there are no hook-ups. There is also, Yosemite Pines which we have stayed at many times, it's off of HWY 120 just past Groveland. There is also Yosemite West/Mariposa KOA off of HWY 140. Never stayed there though. We've never come in on HWY 41 so not sure what kind of accommodations they have there.
Just wanted to add, Yosemite Pines is great for kids!
* This post was
edited 01/05/12 02:38pm by lmsteck *
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thewaggonerfamily
SE Michigan
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Bwahahahaha! That's what we call it around here, too. My teenagers have shortened it to "triple F". Good luck with your triple F planning. We don't go places anymore, we are always going for Forced Family Fun.
Scott & Katie
Katherine 19, Christian 17, Johannah 14, Nicholas 9, Genevieve 8, Matthew 4, Andrew 2 and Amy the Wonder Lab
Chevy 2500 12 passenger Express
Old Rig #1:1983 Fleetwood Prowler
Old Rig #2:1990 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx
New Rig: 1997 30' Skyline Nomad
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DesertSpooners
Tucson
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We visited Yosemite for the first time during June 2009. We drove a 19 foot Class B. We entered the park from the west after leaving the Bay Area. We camped in the Stanislaw (Sp?) Park. You should know a few things we discovered:
1. The spigots had all been sawn off at the campgrounds (Stanislaw) so we could not fill our holding tanks.
2. In California, you have to get reservations about 6 to 7 months in advance. We camped in some less than desirable spots, but we love the remote campsites.
3. The roads are very narrow and parking spots are few and far between.
4. There was a limit of 22 ft. on the length of the rv when you go south out of the parks. The road was a series of switchbacks.
5. Groceries are very expensive in small towns. Stock up for the trip BEFORE you get in the park areas where there are no grocery stores or gas stations.
After having said all that, we had a great time because we had an rv short enough to park in a regular spot. We also had all of our food and supplies with us. Our kids are grown so just the two of us went on this trip. The views were spectacular.
I would like to see some ideas from campers who actually traveled through with a larger rv. We now have a 23 ft. Winnebago and would like to drive through again. This time, we want to drive through Tioga Pass.
Still having fun!
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RexxRacerX
Omaha, NE
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I love the "Forced Family Fun" that is just awesome!
I do not have any insight into Yosemite, but it is on our to do list eventually for our family.
Please come back after your trip and tell us how it went and any pitfalls you encountered.
2010 Toyota Tundra Crew Max 5.7
2012 Keystone Hideout 30BHDS
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