SE and SW are both good in spring (March - early May), later than that and you run the risk of heat and/or humidity.

NE would be best in fall.

San Francisco to Austin is quite a long trip. Austin is very much the outlier in that grouping you listed. For that matter, San Francisco is a bit of an outlier as well.

Agreed that SF is a bit of an outlier, and is West-West, rather than Southwest. The best time to visit here is September and October (that's generally the warmest weather with little chance of rain).

San Francisco almost never gets hot - above 80. It is often foggy in late June to Sept 1 or so. Best time is Mid Sept through Oct. March & April may get some rain - but not much.

Stu Dudley

I plan to do it this way:

Southeast: March/April
Southwest: May/June
Northeast: October next year

What do you guys think? StuDudley? SF7307? There's only so much time to fit everything in. Should I switch Southwest to September/October and do Northeast in November?

The Northeast in November would be pretty cold for me (though I'm from the Southeast and not used to the NE's winters).

Southeast in the spring is good. I'd go more toward April than March, just because the weather in March has a decent chance of swinging from 70s back to 30s or 40s with minimal notice. (The spring is also our best chance of severe weather - not to say that you'll definitely run into tornadoes, but if you're not from a tornado-prone area, I'd brush up on how to handle it just in case.)

I based my recommendations on where you'd be spending the majority of your time. The SW portion covers such a huge area that it's hard to find an ideal time for all of it. The desert southwest is best in spring.

I suggested fall for the NE because of the fall colors. November will be too late.

Who said november? I'm confused

Southeast: April/May
Southwest: May/June/July
Northeast = September/October

Does that look better? I'm just afraid AZ/austin will be sooooo hot in june/july? Anyone?

You did, in your last post:

Should I switch Southwest to September/October and do Northeast in November?

The SE and NE look fine to me. Can't comment on the Southwest.

My fault. OK. Can anyone else comment on my SW plan?

May/June is usually fine in San Francisco - although some fog may appear near the coast in June. When we lived in Laguna Beach in Southern Calif, there was often fog on the coast in June, but 200 yards inland - it would be clear. Only about a 1% chance of rain in Southern Calif in June, and about a 2-4% chance on any day in San Francisco in June. Many years we get 0 rain in SF in June. About 20 years after the LA Dodgers moved to LA from NYC, they had a June "rainout" - for the first time in June (probably never had a July rainout).

"Climate change" had made our weather harder to predict, and it has deviated from "normal" for the last 3-5 years May is good too - slightly higher chance of rain but less chance of fog.

Things to do in the SF Bay Area:
http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/san-francisco---stu-dudleys-recommendations.cfm

We have had some wonderful "leaf peeping" trips to Vermont around Columbus day.

Not a fan of Texas or Lost Wages. IMO, a lot less to do in NW (versus SF Bay Area) - unless you are an avid & adventuresome outdoors fan.

Stu Dudley

It's a bit hard to give solid advice without knowing what you're planning on doing/seeing on these trips.

I recommended NE in fall because of fall colors, but if that doesn't interest you then going in fall isn't real important. Likewise, I recommended the SW in spring because the flowers should be blooming in the desert and it won't be hot yet, but if you aren't a big hiker, then the actual month isn't as important.

I guess the question is whether to SE or SW first - and that all depends on the amount of outdoor activities you wish to do, and whether you'd be more comfortable in hot/humid weather or really hot/dry weather. Because either way, you'll have to visit one of those 2 areas in May/June.

If I had to choose, I'd go SE first, then SW because I can handle dry heat better than humidity, and having lived in Mississippi for a couple years, I know that I would prefer getting out of there by the end of May.

If this is one massive road trip, it would make a lot of sense to go from the SE to Austin and then continue on to the rest of the SW. That however means you'd hit San Francisco last which would increase the chance of fog. Bumping everything up a month so you start in March would be ideal in my opinion. You might hit some cold temps in March but I'd rather put on a jacket in Florida in March then sweat in Arizona or Vegas in July. All depends on what you prefer for yourself, there's really no way to hit everywhere at the ideal time.

WhereAreWe:

Great reply. Is there any way to private message you?

Regarding your questions:

1 - I don't mind the heat but prefer not to be dying
2 - I am an outdoor person, I am actually going back to SF just to hike one trail where I first injured my knees, because I couldnt finish it....
3 - What if I leave in February? Should I do SF, AZ, Utah, Nevada, Austin first? Then March/April hit the Southeast?
4 - Your idea to go from SE to Austin to SW is actually a good idea, however, I was going to home home in between the trips and recharge, especially because I have an office, employees, and i'm sure nothing will go as planned while I'm gone

If you don't like dying heat then forget SW in June and July. Any reason you can't spread these trips out over a year and a half? In general spring and fall are beautiful just about everywhere.

It's also hard to reply about the "southeast" especially if it includes Florida since north Florida will be cooler than south Florida when you are planning to visit.

If you can start in February I would still start in the SE. Fewer bugs and less humidity the earlier you go there. Start as far south as you can and work your way north.

Since San Francisco is such an outlier and you just want to hike that one trail, why not just pick the perfect month for that hike and go then instead of trying to fit it into the rest of your SW trip? I've never been to SF but the others are saying it's best in September/October. So if that's the case, just take a few days/a week from the NE part of your trip and fly to San Francisco, hike the trail and then go do the NE.