Has anyone road-tripped to Yellowstone from San Francisco?

I've driven the leg from San Francisco to Salt Lake before, and I can tell you that your impression is correct. From the east shore of Tahoe to the west shore of the Salt Lake, the territory looks about exactly the same. Unless you want to drive hundreds of miles out of your way, there's no way around -- not many options in the desert. If you're good at night driving, that's probably your best option. You won't miss anything in the dark.

I did the drive from SF to Salt Lake in one day (lots of driving). I agree that if you can, try to time the leg between Tahoe and Salt Lake right after dinner. You won't be too tired and you can cover quite a bit of ground without having to entertain the kids. After Salt Lake, the rest of the drive is beautiful. We might try to make the drive ourselves actually. When are you guys going?

Wow, yes I agree with the other commenters. Northern Nevada is pretty sparce. If you timed it right from Salt Lake city to drive into the night and could make it all the way to Reno before stopping, there are family friendly hotel options there. I just did a review of The Nugget (which you can find here: http://pitstopsforkids.com.s27494.gridserver.com/?p=578) and will be reviewing The Atlantis in a few weeks. Both of those hotels have fun indoor pools, so you could get in late, have a late morning, let the kids swim, then make the relatively easy drive the rest of the way to SF.

I think you can do this for sure! Yes, Northern Nevada and Western Utah are BORING but if you just power through, the rest of your trip will be great. As for other National Parks within a one week vacation of SF... Oh my... you touched on my favorite subject.... Okay- Lassen is a great NP and you can get there in one day. Add Crater Lake NP to your itinerary and thats a great trip. Or go up the coast and hit Redwoods NP and then go up to Olympic in WA. This is also doable in a week (you will drive alot but it will be gorgeous). To the east in the Sierras you have Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon. What a week that would be. Also in Socal you could go the desert route and hit Death Valley, Joshua Tree and then throw in Channel Islands on the way back up for good measure. There are so many great parks in the West and I have never found a National Park that I didn't love. I hope this helps!