Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
California: Death Valley, the Eastern Sierra and Yosemite
8 days from Las Vegas to San Francisco: two nights in Death Valley, the Alabama Hills, Manzanar, Mono Lake and Bodie on Highway 395, then over Tioga Pass for two nights in Yosemite.
8 days · Las Vegas to San Francisco · up to 12 guests
Artists Palette on Artists Drive, Death Valley National Park Photo: Vulturesong, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Death_Valley_National_Park_-_HCP_-_October_06,_2022_-_016_-_Artists_Palette.jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 8 days, 7 nights
- Start and end
- Las Vegas to San Francisco
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Moderate
Short walks of 1 to 5 km most days, on salt flat, sand, gravel trails and the flat Yosemite Valley floor, with optional longer hikes of up to about 5 km and 300 m of climb. Death Valley walks run early and late to avoid the heat. Bodie sits at about 2,550 m and Tioga Pass at about 3,030 m, so go slowly at altitude; you can sit out any walk.
- Meals included
- 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 1 dinner
- Room of your own
- + CAD 735 (estimated price)
- Season
- Late May to June and September to October
Highlights
Why this trip
- Sunrise at Zabriskie Point, then the hot middle of the day off before sunset on the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
- Badwater Basin, 86 m below sea level, seen from Dante's View first and then on foot
- The Alabama Hills at sunset, with Mount Whitney behind the boulders
- Manzanar, where Japanese Americans were held in the Second World War, with time to read and listen
- The tufa towers of Mono Lake in the late light, and the ghost town of Bodie at opening the next morning
- Over Tioga Pass to Tuolumne Meadows, Tenaya Lake and Olmsted Point, then down into Yosemite Valley
- A naturalist-led walk on the valley floor and Glacier Point in the late light
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 735 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Las Vegas
Harry Reid International Airport to your hotel in Las Vegas
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Las Vegas
Fly into Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), a short drive from the Strip, where a driver meets you in arrivals and takes you to the hotel.
Evening
The day is free until the early evening, so land when it suits you; the exact meeting time comes with your final itinerary. Las Vegas sits in the Mojave Desert, and the light and heat here are a fair preview of tomorrow. In the evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing: how we pace the Death Valley days around the heat, what to pack for altitude on the Eastern Sierra, and how the mornings work. Then we walk out together to a welcome dinner nearby. Afterwards you are free to see the fountains or the Strip after dark, but we leave after breakfast tomorrow, so most guests keep it short.
Included
- Pick-up at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner
Free time: Free until the evening briefing
Into Death Valley: Dante's View and Badwater
Las Vegas via Pahrump and Death Valley Junction to Dante's View, Badwater Basin and Artists Drive, then Furnace Creek
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Death Valley
- Drive about 3 h
Morning
We leave Las Vegas after breakfast and cross the desert west through Pahrump into California, about two hours of driving to the edge of Death Valley National Park. Our first stop is Dante's View, about 1,670 m up in the Black Mountains and cooler than the valley, where you look straight down on the white salt pan of Badwater Basin with the Panamint Range rising beyond. Then we drop to Badwater itself, 86 m below sea level, the lowest point in North America, and walk out onto the salt crust before noon, with a stop at the jagged salt of the Devil's Golf Course.
Afternoon
Lunch is a sit-down meal at Furnace Creek, and the hot hours of the afternoon are yours at the hotel inside the park. When the light starts to soften we drive the one-way loop of Artists Drive past Artists Palette, where minerals stain the hills pink, green and cream.
Included
- Death Valley National Park entry
- Dante's View over Badwater Basin
- Walk onto the salt flat at Badwater Basin, 86 m below sea level
- The Devil's Golf Course
- Sit-down lunch at Furnace Creek
- Artists Drive and Artists Palette in the late afternoon
Free time: Hot middle of the afternoon free at the hotel
Activity: Short walks of up to about 2 km on flat salt crust. It can be very hot even in June and September: bring a hat and plenty of water.
Zabriskie at sunrise, the dunes at sunset
Furnace Creek to Zabriskie Point and Golden Canyon, then the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Death Valley
- Drive about 1.5 h
An early start, because Death Valley is best at the edges of the day.
Morning
We are at Zabriskie Point, a few minutes from the hotel, before sunrise, as the first light turns the folded yellow badlands gold and Manly Beacon catches the sun. Those who want a walk then go down into Golden Canyon with the guide while it is still cool, between pale walls towards the red cliff of Red Cathedral; everyone else heads back for a slow breakfast.
Afternoon
Late morning we stop at Harmony Borax Works, where the twenty-mule teams hauled borax out of the valley in the 1880s, and then lunch is at Furnace Creek. From late morning to late afternoon the heat makes walking unwise, so the time is free: the pool, a nap, or the visitor centre.
Evening
Around an hour before sunset we drive to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells and walk out among the ridges as the shadows lengthen.
Included
- Sunrise at Zabriskie Point
- Harmony Borax Works
- Sit-down lunch at Furnace Creek
- Sunset walk on the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
Easier option: Watch sunrise from the Zabriskie Point overlook, a short paved walk from the car park, and go back for breakfast; at the dunes, stay near the edge where the sand is firm.
More active option: Golden Canyon to Red Cathedral with the guide straight after sunrise, about 5 km return with about 150 m of climb, finished before the heat.
Free time: Late morning to late afternoon free at the hotel
Activity: Walking only early and late. Dune sand is soft and tiring; walk as far as you like and turn back when you choose.
Over Towne Pass to the Alabama Hills
Furnace Creek over Towne Pass via Father Crowley Vista Point and Olancha to Lone Pine and the Alabama Hills
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Lone Pine
- Drive about 3 h
Morning
After breakfast we leave Death Valley to the west, climbing over Towne Pass and down into the Panamint Valley, then stop at Father Crowley Vista Point above Rainbow Canyon, a deep volcanic gorge of dark lava and coloured ash.
Afternoon
The road crosses the dry bed of Owens Lake, drained in the early 1900s to supply water to Los Angeles, and reaches Lone Pine in time for a sit-down lunch, about three hours of driving in all. The Sierra Nevada stands straight up behind the town, and Mount Whitney, at about 4,420 m the highest peak in the lower 48 states, is on the skyline. The early afternoon is free in town; the small Museum of Western Film History tells how the boulders outside town became the backdrop to decades of westerns.
Evening
In the late afternoon we drive into the Alabama Hills, walk the short loop to Mobius Arch and stay for sunset, as the light turns the Sierra crest pink.
Included
- Father Crowley Vista Point above Rainbow Canyon
- Sit-down lunch in Lone Pine
- Alabama Hills: Movie Road and the Mobius Arch loop
- Sunset on the Sierra Nevada and Mount Whitney from the Alabama Hills
Optional experiences
- Museum of Western Film History in Lone Pine (pay locally)
Easier option: Watch sunset from the van-side viewpoints on Movie Road instead of the arch loop.
Free time: Early afternoon free in Lone Pine, and the evening after sunset
Activity: The Mobius Arch loop is about 1 km on sandy trail with a few rock steps.
Manzanar, Bishop and Mono Lake
Lone Pine to Manzanar, Bishop and Mammoth Lakes, then Mono Lake South Tufa and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Mammoth Lakes
- Drive about 3 h
We are at Manzanar National Historic Site when the interpretive centre opens at 9 am, about fifteen minutes north of Lone Pine. During the Second World War more than 11,000 Japanese Americans, most of them US citizens, were forced from their homes and held here behind barbed wire. Your guide gives the background, and then there is unhurried time in the centre, in the reconstructed barracks and at the cemetery monument, which survivors and their families still visit on the annual pilgrimage; we ask guests to treat it as a place of memory.
Afternoon
From there we drive north up the Owens Valley to Bishop for a sit-down lunch and on to Mammoth Lakes, arriving in the early afternoon with time free in the village. In the late afternoon we drive about forty minutes north to the South Tufa area of Mono Lake, at least 760,000 years old and saltier than the sea, and walk the boardwalk loop among its limestone tufa towers as the low light turns them gold.
Evening
We are back in Mammoth for dinner, about three hours of driving in all.
Included
- Manzanar National Historic Site: the interpretive centre, the reconstructed barracks and the cemetery monument
- Sit-down lunch in Bishop
- Mono Lake South Tufa walk in the late afternoon (fee included)
Easier option: At Mono Lake, walk the first, flat part of the boardwalk loop near the car park and watch the light from the shore.
Free time: Early afternoon free in Mammoth Lakes, and the evening after Mono Lake
Activity: About 3 km on foot across the day on level paths and boardwalk. Mammoth Lakes is at about 2,400 m: drink water and take it easy.
Bodie at opening, then over Tioga Pass
Mammoth Lakes to Bodie, then Lee Vining, Tioga Pass, Tuolumne Meadows, Tenaya Lake and Yosemite Valley
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Yosemite National Park
- Drive about 5 h
Evening
This is the one long day of the trip, about four and three quarter hours of driving, and it is long for a reason: Bodie and Tioga Pass both sit on the eastern side of the Sierra, so we see both on the way to Yosemite rather than add a night. We leave Mammoth Lakes at about 7:15 am and drive north past Mono Lake to Bodie, about an hour and a half, the last 5 km on a graded dirt road, to arrive as the park opens. Bodie is a gold-mining town at about 2,550 m kept in a state of arrested decay, its houses, church and saloons left as they were, and we walk its streets for two cool morning hours, well before its earlier closing time in autumn. Lunch is a sit-down meal in Lee Vining. Then the road climbs to Tioga Pass, at about 3,030 m the highest road pass in California and the east gate of Yosemite. We walk in Tuolumne Meadows, stop at Tenaya Lake and Olmsted Point, and reach Yosemite Valley around 5 pm. No stretch is longer than about an hour and a half.
Included
- Bodie State Historic Park entry and a morning walk through the town
- Sit-down lunch in Lee Vining
- Tioga Pass and Yosemite National Park entry
- Tuolumne Meadows walk towards Soda Springs
- Tenaya Lake and Olmsted Point
Easier option: At Bodie, stay on the level main streets near the car park; in Tuolumne Meadows, walk the flat first part of the trail and wait by the river.
More active option: In Tuolumne Meadows, scramble up Pothole Dome with the guide, about 1.5 km return with about 60 m of climb on granite slabs.
Free time: Evening free in Yosemite Valley
Activity: About 4 km on foot across the day on level dirt streets and easy trails. Bodie is at about 2,550 m and Tioga Pass at about 3,030 m; the air is thin and mornings can be near freezing.
Yosemite Valley on foot, then Glacier Point
Yosemite Valley, then Tunnel View and Glacier Point
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Yosemite National Park
- Drive about 2 h
At 8 am, before the valley car parks fill, a local naturalist guide walks the valley floor with us. We start at Lower Yosemite Fall, at the foot of Yosemite Falls, which drop about 740 m in three steps. They run fullest in late May and June; by September and October they are often a trickle or dry, so the autumn walk centres on the meadows, Half Dome and the river. We cross Cook's Meadow with Half Dome above, and follow the Merced River. Along the way you hear how glaciers carved the valley, how the Ahwahneechee people lived here, and how the valley was first protected in 1864; the park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Afternoon
Lunch is in the valley, then the early afternoon is free. At about 4 pm we drive out past Tunnel View, with El Capitan and Bridalveil Fall framing the valley, and up to Glacier Point, about 975 m above the valley floor, where Half Dome and Vernal and Nevada Falls catch the late light.
Evening
Back in the valley we sit down together to a farewell dinner.
Included
- Guided Yosemite Valley walk with a local naturalist: Lower Yosemite Fall, Cook's Meadow and the Merced River
- Lunch in Yosemite Valley
- Tunnel View
- Glacier Point in the late afternoon
- Farewell dinner
Optional experiences
- Bike hire on the valley's flat paths (pay locally)
Easier option: Join the first half of the valley walk and ride the free valley shuttle back.
More active option: In the free early afternoon, walk the Mist Trail to the top of Vernal Fall, about 5 km return with about 300 m of climb on steep stone steps, wet with spray in spring.
Free time: Early afternoon free in the valley
Activity: The valley walk is about 5 km on the flat.
Across the Central Valley to San Francisco
Yosemite Valley by Highway 120 through Groveland and Oakdale to San Francisco
- Breakfast
- Drive about 4.5 h
Morning
Take a last early walk by the Merced River while the valley is quiet, then after breakfast we leave Yosemite by the Big Oak Flat Road and Highway 120. The road drops through the foothills to the old Gold Rush town of Groveland, where we stop for coffee and a short walk along its main street, then runs out across the flat orchards and farmland of the Central Valley, past Oakdale. The drive is about four and a quarter hours, the second longest of the trip, so we leave at about 9 am and keep it moving. Crossing the bay into San Francisco we drop guests at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) from about 2 pm, and then at a central point near Union Square for those staying on in the city. Your guide checks your onward plans before saying goodbye.
Evening
If you have never seen San Francisco, a night or two here after the trip is easy to add, and we can suggest a hotel and a guided walk that takes in the Golden Gate Bridge.
Included
- Coffee stop and short walk in Groveland
- Drive to San Francisco with your guide
- Drop-off at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) or near Union Square
Optional experiences
- Extra nights in San Francisco with a guided city walk that includes the Golden Gate Bridge (on request, priced separately)
Activity: Book a flight from SFO leaving after about 6 pm, or stay on in San Francisco.
- Las Vegas1 night
- Death Valley2 nights
- Lone Pine1 night
- Mammoth Lakes1 night
- Yosemite National Park2 nights
- San Franciscoend
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: Late May and June bring full waterfalls in Yosemite, snow on the high peaks and hot days in Death Valley; September and October bring cooler desert days, golden aspens on the Eastern Sierra in October, and Yosemite's waterfalls low or dry. Watch for coyotes and ravens in Death Valley, migrating birds at Mono Lake and mule deer in Yosemite.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers who want the desert and the high mountains in one trip, not two
- Photographers who want sunrise and sunset in Death Valley and the Alabama Hills
- People interested in the history of the West, from mining towns to the wartime incarceration at Manzanar
- Travellers who want hotels every night, with no camping
- Solo travellers who want a small group and a fair single price
Not for you if you want
- Anyone who cannot handle heat: Death Valley can reach about 40 C even in our months
- Travellers with breathing or heart conditions that altitude of about 3,000 m makes worse; ask your doctor
- A trip with time in Las Vegas or San Francisco: both are arrival and departure points
- Travellers wanting long, strenuous hikes every day
- Winter or midsummer dates: the route only runs in late spring and autumn
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
7 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Las Vegas1 night
- Death Valley2 nights
- Lone Pine1 night
- Mammoth Lakes1 night
- Yosemite National Park2 nights
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 7 nights: 1 in Las Vegas, 2 inside Death Valley National Park, 1 in Lone Pine, 1 in Mammoth Lakes and 2 in Yosemite Valley or at El Portal by the park gate
- Hotels of a 3-star-plus standard with private bathrooms; we name each one when we confirm your dates
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) and drop-off at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) or near Union Square
- A private air-conditioned van with seats for 14, for at most 12 guests, and a professional driver
- The free Yosemite Valley shuttle where the park requires it
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide for the whole trip, who leads and narrates rather than drives
- A local naturalist guide for the Yosemite Valley walk
- Travel details before departure: hotel names, the final day plan and your meeting time
Activities
- Entry to Death Valley National Park and Yosemite National Park, including the surcharge for non-US residents where it applies
- Dante's View, Badwater Basin, the Devil's Golf Course and Artists Drive (Death Valley)
- Zabriskie Point at sunrise, Harmony Borax Works and the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes at sunset (Death Valley)
- Father Crowley Vista Point (Death Valley)
- The Alabama Hills and Mobius Arch at sunset (Lone Pine)
- Manzanar National Historic Site (Independence)
- Mono Lake South Tufa entry (Lee Vining)
- Bodie State Historic Park entry (Bodie)
- Tioga Pass, Tuolumne Meadows, Tenaya Lake and Olmsted Point (Yosemite)
- Guided Yosemite Valley walk with a local naturalist (Yosemite)
- Tunnel View and Glacier Point (Yosemite)
Meals
- 7 breakfasts
- 6 lunches on days 2 to 7: all sit-down
- Welcome dinner in Las Vegas and farewell dinner in Yosemite
Not included
- International flights to Las Vegas and home from San Francisco
- US visa or ESTA
- Travel insurance
- Meals not listed: 5 dinners and the day 8 lunch
- Drinks
- Tips for the guide, driver and restaurants
- Optional activities such as bike hire in Yosemite and the Museum of Western Film History
- Extra nights in Las Vegas or San Francisco
- Personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 735 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the price include?
Seven nights in hotels with private bathrooms, 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 2 dinners, the airport pick-up in Las Vegas and drop-off in San Francisco, a private van with a driver, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, park entry to Death Valley and Yosemite with the non-resident surcharge where it applies, Bodie, Mono Lake South Tufa, the naturalist-led Yosemite Valley walk and every visit in the day plan.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests in a van with seats for 14, so there is room for day packs, everyone gets a window, and everyone can hear the guide at Manzanar, on the dunes and on the valley walk.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group for all 8 days, with a separate professional driver so the guide can talk rather than drive. In Yosemite a local naturalist guide leads the valley walk. We name your guide when we confirm your dates.
When can I go, and why only then?
Late May to June and September to October. Tioga Pass, the only road across the Sierra into Yosemite on this route, is open only from about late May or June to about November, and Death Valley passes 45 C in midsummer. If snow keeps the pass closed on a late-May date, the detour is about 8 hours, and we confirm a revised plan with you before you travel.
How hot is Death Valley on this trip?
Hot, even in our months: Furnace Creek can reach about 40 C in June and September and around 30 C in October. That is why we walk only at sunrise, in the morning and near sunset, and spend the middle of each day at a hotel inside the park with a pool. Bring a hat, sun cream and a refillable bottle.
How fit do I need to be?
Moderate. Most walks are 1 to 5 km on flat salt, sand, gravel or the valley floor. Optional hikes, Golden Canyon and the Mist Trail, are up to about 5 km with 300 m of climb. Bodie and Tioga Pass are high, at about 2,550 m and 3,030 m, so we walk slowly there. You can sit out any walk.
How long are the drives?
Six of the eight days have about three hours of driving or less. Day 8, Yosemite to San Francisco, is about four and a quarter hours. Day 6, Mammoth Lakes to Yosemite by way of Bodie and Tioga Pass, is the one long day at about four and three quarter hours, broken by Bodie, lunch in Lee Vining, Tuolumne Meadows and Olmsted Point.
How do you visit Manzanar?
With care. Manzanar is where more than 11,000 Japanese Americans were held during the Second World War. We arrive at opening, your guide gives the background, and then there is unhurried time in the interpretive centre, the reconstructed barracks and at the cemetery monument. It is a place of memory, not a photo stop, and we treat it that way.
I am travelling solo. What do I pay?
You travel on the same trip and the same terms as everyone else, with a room of your own for a single supplement from CAD 735, about 17 percent of the price. We show that figure before you book, so there is no surprise at checkout. Ask us if you would like to share a room with another solo guest.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip comes as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose within the season, from CAD 7,785 per person. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the same hotels and route.
Do I need a visa for the USA?
Most visitors need either a US visa or an approved ESTA under the Visa Waiver Program before they fly, and Canadians need a valid passport. Rules depend on your nationality, so check them before you book flights. We need your passport name exactly when you book.
How does booking work?
The small group starts from CAD 4,325 per person sharing a room, with taxes. Send your preferred dates as an enquiry. We check availability and provide the final quote, itinerary and booking terms before you accept. No payment is taken when you send the request. We send hotel names and the day plan when we confirm, and again before you travel.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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