When is the best time for a US West Coast road trip?
On a route from the Pacific coast across the desert to the Grand Canyon, the same month can be cool in one place and scorching in another. We put the cost of a two-week road trip for two side by side with the daytime highs in five places along the way.
- Cheapest in season: April and October. A two-week road trip for two at the standard level costs about $6,550.
- Most expensive: July and August, about $7,130, or 9% more.
- Most pleasant along the whole route, with no desert heat and no mountain chill: April, May and October.
- Death Valley averages daytime highs above 104 °F in June, July, August and September.
| Month | Road trip: 2 weeks, 2 people | San Francisco | Las Vegas | Death Valley | Grand Canyon | Yosemite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | $6,160 (off-season) | 58 °F | 58 °F | 67 °F | 44 °F | 48 °F |
| February | $6,160 (off-season) | 60 °F | 63 °F | 74 °F | 46 °F | 51 °F |
| March | $6,290 (off-season) | 62 °F | 71 °F | 83 °F | 54 °F | 57 °F |
| April | $6,550 | 63 °F | 78 °F | 91 °F | 61 °F | 63 °F |
| May | $6,680 | 64 °F | 88 °F | 101 °F | 70 °F | 70 °F |
| June | $7,000 | 66 °F | 99 °F | 111 °F | 82 °F | 80 °F |
| July | $7,130 | 66 °F | 104 °F | 117 °F | 85 °F | 89 °F |
| August | $7,130 | 68 °F | 103 °F | 116 °F | 82 °F | 89 °F |
| September | $6,680 | 70 °F | 95 °F | 108 °F | 76 °F | 83 °F |
| October | $6,550 | 70 °F | 81 °F | 93 °F | 65 °F | 71 °F |
| November | $6,290 (off-season) | 64 °F | 67 °F | 77 °F | 53 °F | 56 °F |
| December | $6,290 (off-season) | 58 °F | 57 °F | 66 °F | 43 °F | 46 °F |
Amounts converted at the European Central Bank rate of .
Work out the cost of a road trip for your route and dates
Seasons along the route
April and May are a good time for the whole route: Death Valley is still bearable, and Yosemite and the Grand Canyon see daytime highs from the 60s to the low 70s °F. Tioga Road over Yosemite's high country usually opens only in late May or June, but our routes enter the park from the west, through Mariposa.
July and August are peak season, with the highest lodging prices. Death Valley averages highs of 116–117 °F, and the Park Service notes it often tops 120 °F in the shade; Las Vegas is around 104 °F. San Francisco, meanwhile, stays cool at about 66 °F.
September is still hot in the desert, while October brings good weather along the whole route and lower prices than summer.
November to March is the cheapest time, but we do not recommend the route then: there is snow in the mountains, winter driving conditions at the Grand Canyon (the South Rim is open all year, the North Rim is not), and San Francisco and Yosemite get the most rain. The calculator still prices winter trips, but when it looks for the cheapest month it only considers the April–October season.
We price the route the same way as the calculator: lodging is our estimate, the car follows rental prices, gas follows the weekly EIA prices, and the parks pass follows the NPS fee. Temperatures are NOAA's 1991–2020 climate normals. The sources are listed on the road trip page.