7 Days: Los Angeles, the Central Coast and Yosemite

Why pair Los Angeles with Yosemite

Most seven-day extensions out of Los Angeles head toward the desert — Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, or a Southern California grand tour that loops through Palm Springs and Joshua Tree. This route goes the other direction: north along the coast, then up into the Sierra Nevada. Instead of another desert landscape, the back half of the week trades palm trees and boulevards for granite cliffs, alpine meadows and waterfalls. It suits travelers who want the city-and-beach side of a Los Angeles trip up front, then a genuinely different kind of scenery to close out the week, rather than more of the same climate and terrain stretched over seven days.

The trade-off is time behind the wheel. Getting from the Los Angeles basin to Yosemite Valley is a real drive — on the order of five to six hours depending on the route and time of year, not a quick hop — and this itinerary is built around that fact rather than glossing over it. A rental car is necessary for the entire week: Yosemite has no meaningful public transit connection from the LA basin, and the Central Coast stop in between is really a driving break, not a detour.

Day 1: Arrival and Hollywood

Land at LAX (or one of the smaller alternative airports — Hollywood Burbank in particular can save driving time if you’re staying near Hollywood), pick up the rental car, and settle in. Spend the afternoon and evening around Hollywood Boulevard: the Walk of Fame, the TCL Chinese Theatre forecourt, and the general texture of the district before the crowds build later on. If jet lag allows, an early dinner nearby is a gentler way to start than trying to pack in a full sightseeing day straight off a flight.

For orientation, Hollywood is a district inside the City of Los Angeles, not a separate town — unlike Santa Monica or Beverly Hills, which are their own incorporated cities within the same urban area. That distinction matters less for sightseeing than for expectations: there’s no single walkable “downtown” to LA the way there might be in a smaller city, so plan each day around a cluster of nearby sights rather than trying to cover the whole basin on foot.

Day 2: Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatory

The Hollywood Sign can’t be reached on foot from the road below — there’s no path up to its base for casual visitors. Instead, it’s viewed from marked viewpoints and trails in Griffith Park and the surrounding hills. A guided option removes the guesswork of finding a good vantage point and parking:

a guided hike up into Griffith Park for closer Hollywood Sign views

Griffith Observatory itself is free to enter, and its exhibit halls and grounds cost nothing — but parking is the real constraint, especially around sunset and on weekends, so arrive earlier in the day if you can. The planetarium show inside is a separate, paid, timed ticket. Round out the day with a broader look at the city from the seat of an open-air tour rather than fighting traffic yourself:

an open-air bus tour through Hollywood and Beverly Hills

For more detail on this pairing, see the dedicated Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatory guide, or the compact one-day Hollywood and Griffith itinerary if you want to adapt the pacing.

Day 3: Santa Monica and Venice

Move to the coast. Santa Monica is an independent city, not a Los Angeles neighborhood, built around its pier, beach and the pedestrian stretch of the Third Street Promenade. A short walk or bike ride south leads to Venice Beach and its boardwalk and canals. A single tour can cover both the pier and a Hollywood Sign viewpoint from the western side of the basin:

a combined Santa Monica Pier and Hollywood Sign tour

Remember that the Pacific Ocean here runs cold year-round — this isn’t Mediterranean-style warm-water swimming, even in summer, which surprises visitors expecting otherwise. If time allows, an afternoon drive up the Pacific Coast Highway toward Malibu previews the coastal road you’ll be on again in a couple of days. See the Santa Monica and Venice Beach day plan for a closer breakdown of this pairing.

Day 4: Drive north to San Luis Obispo

This is a genuine driving day: the Pacific Coast Highway and inland Highway 101 both connect Los Angeles to the Central Coast, and the choice between them is really a question of scenery versus speed — see Pacific Coast Highway, north or south for how to think about it. Either way, budget most of the day for the drive itself, with stops rather than a race to the destination.

San Luis Obispo sits roughly midway between Los Angeles and the Bay Area and makes a natural overnight break — a walkable downtown, a mild coastal-adjacent climate, and none of the crowd pressure of the big theme parks or beaches further south. It’s a deliberate change of pace built into the itinerary, not just a fuel stop.

Day 5: San Luis Obispo and the Central Coast

Spend the morning exploring on foot — the historic mission, the creekside downtown, and the surrounding hills. A guided nature outing gets you into the Santa Lucia range without navigating unfamiliar trailheads yourself:

a guided Santa Lucia nature tour by Hummer

For a slower midday, a downtown food-and-drinks outing is a good way to sample the area before getting back in the car:

a downtown San Luis Obispo brunch and drinks food tour

Use the afternoon to start working east and north toward the Sierra Nevada foothills, positioning for the push to Yosemite the next morning. This region rewards a slower pace than the LA basin — see the Central Coast and Santa Barbara four-day guide if a future trip wants to spend more time here specifically.

Day 6: Into Yosemite

The drive from the Central Coast into Yosemite is the longest single leg of the week — treat it as most of a travel day, with an early start. Overall, figure on roughly five to six hours of driving from the greater Los Angeles area to reach the park under normal conditions, and build in margin rather than cutting it close.

One seasonal point worth planning around: access to some of Yosemite’s higher-elevation roads can be restricted in winter depending on snow conditions, and closures vary year to year rather than following a fixed calendar date. This itinerary doesn’t promise year-round road access to every part of the park — check current conditions before finalizing a winter or early-spring version of this route. Once inside, focus the rest of the day on Yosemite Valley itself: the classic viewpoints, a short walk to one of the waterfalls if they’re running, and simply taking in a landscape that looks nothing like the coast or the desert extensions covered elsewhere on this site.

Day 7: Yosemite and the return

Use the morning for a longer walk or a second viewpoint before starting back — Yosemite rewards at least a half-day beyond the arrival evening, and cramming the park into a single afternoon undersells it. Begin the return drive with enough daylight margin to avoid finishing the week on unfamiliar mountain roads after dark.

Depending on flight timing, the return leg can either head straight back to Los Angeles for a same-day departure or include one more overnight if the schedule allows — this itinerary assumes a same-day return but flags the option for those with more flexible plans. Before flying out, see the how many days in Los Angeles guide if this trip is a template for a shorter or longer version next time.

Practical notes for this route

Leg	Approx. drive time	Notes
LAX to Hollywood	30-45 min	Traffic-dependent
Hollywood to Santa Monica	30-45 min	Worse at rush hour
Santa Monica to San Luis Obispo	3.5-4.5 hrs	Via PCH or Highway 101
San Luis Obispo to Yosemite	5-6 hrs total from LA area	Longest leg of the week
Yosemite return to Los Angeles	5-6 hrs	Budget a full day

A rental car is required for every leg of this route — there’s no practical rail or bus alternative between the Central Coast and Yosemite. Fill up before leaving larger towns, since services thin out on the mountain approach roads. For general prep, the best time to visit by zone tool and a packing list are useful before locking in dates, especially if snow at elevation is a factor.

FAQ: Los Angeles to Yosemite in a week

Is seven days enough for Los Angeles and Yosemite?

It’s workable but tight: roughly three days around Los Angeles and the coast, a night in San Luis Obispo to break up the drive, and two to three days for Yosemite itself, including the drive there and back. Travelers who want more unhurried time in either place should consider extending the trip.

How long is the drive from Los Angeles to Yosemite?

Figure on roughly five to six hours under normal conditions. It is not a short side trip, and this itinerary does not treat it as one — the Central Coast stop in the middle of the week exists partly to break that distance into two more manageable driving days.

Is Yosemite accessible year-round from Los Angeles?

Yosemite Valley itself is generally open year-round, but some higher-elevation roads within the park can be affected by winter snow, with closures that vary by year rather than a fixed date. Check current park road conditions before finalizing travel dates, particularly for a winter or early-spring version of this trip.

Do I need a car for this whole itinerary?

Yes. Los Angeles, the Central Coast and Yosemite are not connected by a practical public transit route for this kind of itinerary, and a rental car is necessary from Day 1 through Day 7.

Can I skip San Luis Obispo and drive straight to Yosemite?

You can, but it turns two long driving days into one very long one. Breaking the trip at San Luis Obispo keeps each driving leg more manageable and adds a genuinely different Central Coast stop to the week.

What should I pack differently for the Yosemite portion?

Temperatures and conditions in the Sierra Nevada can differ sharply from the coast and the LA basin, especially at elevation. Layers, sturdy footwear and a check of current weather and road conditions before departure are worth the extra planning time.

Is this itinerary better than the Los Angeles and Las Vegas week?

It depends on what kind of landscape you want. The Las Vegas extension trades toward desert and city lights; this route trades toward a mountainous national park. Neither is objectively better — they’re different back halves of a Los Angeles week.