Between Palm Springs and Anaheim?
 

Dear So. Cal Fodorites and those familiar with the area....

Can anyone think of something to see or do for an afternoon between Palm Springs and Anaheim? After two nights/three days in PS, I'm sure we'll have covered it all. We'll also have explored Joshua Tree earlier.

So heading towards Anaheim, are there any little must-see gems along the way? Museums? Shoppes? Wacky or wild restaurants? While we leave lots of wiggle room in our itinerary, i don't want to miss anything that might be on the way, either.

Thanks in advance, guys!

I've lived in this region most of my life and can think of a only few things on that route.
If you travel Interstate 10 to Hwy 60 to Hwy 91 to Anaheim ( in my opinion, the best way to get there) there is an indian casino (Morango) at Cabezon along with our two famous concrete dinosaurs. Also at the Cabezon offramp is the Desert Outlet Stores and Hadleys Fruits and Nuts.
In Riverside off the 91 you can visit the Mission Inn, beautiful and interesting with a good restaurant.

Depending on your interest in history, The Nixon Presidential Library and Museum is in Yorba Linda.

If you took a slightly roundabout route, you could come across the Cleveland National Forest on Cal-74 between Lake Elsinoe and San Juan Capistrano(a nice, scenic drive in itself) and make a visit to Mission San Juan Capistrano, one of a string of early California missions, founded by Junipero Serra in 1776.

From there, the artist's colony/beach community of Laguna Beach is close at hand and Newport Beach and the harbor is just up the coast. Have fun!

Thanks for the replies, guys!

Logandog: is the Mission Inn related to the Mission at San Juan Capistrano?

Dwoodon: we've toured Nixon's library (and LOVED it....Reagan's is awesome, too!) but i love the idea of the Mission...how serious of a drive is it from Anaheim? We've toured the Santa Barbara mission, but thats it. And then, approx. how far is Laguna Beach from the mission?

Thanks again, guys!!

Hey dwoodon, can you tell me the approx. mileage and / or time it will take to reach the mission from PS? I get varying numbers from my AAA map vs. mapquest.

Thanks!

to the top, please!

It's a little over 110 miles, or 2 hours without traffic delays. The route I will give you avoids toll roads:

Get on I-10 W (to Los Angeles). About 18 miles down the road, bear left onto CA-60 W. Another 22 or so miles down, take the CA-91 W (to Beach Cities).

Another 30 or so miles down, bear left to get on CA-55 (to Newport Beach). ABout 7 miles down, merge onto I-5 S (to San Diego).

You're in the home stretch! In another 21 miles or so, take the Ortega Highway exit-- turn right to head to SJC. When you get to Camino Capistrano, make a right, and a quarter mile down the road you're there!

Hope this helps.

The route I suggested was across Hwy-74 to see the Cleveland Nat'l Forest on the way to San Juan Capistrano.

The route would be I-10 to I60, I-60 to I-15, I-15 to Lake Elsinore, then Cal-74 to San Juan Capistrano. That would total 126 miles and would take 2.5-3 hours not including stops.

Laguna Beach is about 14 miles up the Coast Hwy from the Mission and Anaheim is about 26 miles from Laguna Beach. Take Laguna Canyon Rd (Cal 133) to the I-5 (not I-405 which you get to first) then I-5 north to Anaheim.

My suggestion would be to reserve at least 3-4 hours for Mission San Juan Capistrano and for Old San Juan Village across the street.
When Pres. Nixon was at the Western White House, his favorite place to dine was El Adobe in the heart of San Juan. I also recommend it highly.
Have a great trip.

Hey guys, THANK YOU!

What exactly is El Adobe? Is it a home that can be toured? Is there anything to see in san clemente....wasn't it the summer (?) home of pres. nixon?

This sounds like the PERFECT 'bridge'day between PS and Wally-World. We love exploring missions, presidential homes and libraries etc.

We can also be beach bums ;) so which beach will be best for a lil people watching with two teens, newport or laguna?

Thanks again, guys; i really appreciate your help!

Hey guys, you got me so excited (!!! ;) that i missed the word "DINE" in regards to El Adobe!

Still would like more info on the beaches and san clemente.

So OKAY!!!!! We are THERE! Thanks, again! :)

San Clemente has some wonderful white sand beaches and is a favorite for everyone from teenie-boppers to families to us matured, grey-haired folks. (I was going to say old farts but I'm not sure Fodors would approve).

In addition, there is a nice pier with a good sea food cafe on the land end and a food/drink stand on the far end. The older downtown area spreads along PCH and on the street running down to the pier (I forget the name but it is marked with a directional arrow to the pier).

The western White House was on the ocean front at the south end of San Clemente but is now a private residence and there is nothing there to identify it or to see.

For your question about which beach will be best, with teens, I'd probably pick the Newport strand and Balboa Island. The strand also has a pier with a Ruby's 50's Diner at the end, there are long stretches of white sand, and the water is pretty tame unless there is a current or recent storm. Just a short (2-3 minute) walk from the pier, the whole family can enjoy the Balboa fun zone and take a ride across the bay on the dinky little ferrys connecting the strand with Balboa Island. It's a hoot!

Have a great visit to our Paradise on the Pacific!

Thank you SOOO much! This is EXACTLY the kind of thing we're looking for on this trip. We've done all the CA nat'l parks and so much of the hollywood-malibu-etc stuff of LA that this will be a great change.

I'm a lil confused about the route tho, from san juan capistrano to newport bch...would you recommend the 73?

Again, MANY thanks! We love california; its always the highlight of our wild-west adventures!!

The Mission Inn in Riverside is really pretty cool http://www.missioninn.com/

The dinosaurs at Cabezon are cheesy but fun and have been featured in loads of movies, commercials and mtv videos. If you go there, stop in at Hadley's and have a date shake. Another weird but interesting place is the Edward Dean Museum near Beaumont and Cherry Valley. They have a great collection of bizarro insects and wildlife. The windmill tour at the entry to the Palm Springs area is also sorta cool---another spot that shows up in movies and car commercials a lot. Enjoy.

Ellen - I would not suggest the 73. It's probably as fast or faster than the following route but nowhere near as scenic.

From Mission San Juan, go south on Camino Capistrano To Del Obispo (about 1/4 mile). Turn right and follow that all the way to Pacific Coast Hwy (about 3 miles). Turn right on PCH and follow it into Laguna Beach (about 10-11 miles.

Along the way, you'll find a big farmer's market (on Del Obispo); pass thru Dana Point where you can explore the marina area if you wish; you'll pass the world famous Ritz Carlton at Laguna Niguel; see lots of neat views of the Pacific; and see several areas of multi-million $ houses along both sides of POCH.

Have fun.

Ellen-Sorry. I missed the Newport Beach part of your question on directions. 73 will be a faster way to get from SJC to NB but, again, not as scenic. I would recommend my original directions to Laguna Beach then just continue north on PCH thru Newport Coast, Corona Del Mar, and into Newport. The stretch between LB & NB is about another 10 miles.

Thanks dwooddon ~ we'll definitely take the scenic route. Also, do the 'dinky' little ferries run until dark?

PSLocal: What / where exactly is the 'windmill tour'? I'd like to check it out.

Thank again everyone, for all your help!

Also PS Local.....thanks for the tip on the Cabazon Dinos! We will DEFINITELY stop there and add that to our list of unique sites...you remember from our 'movies' :) ...
the worlds tallest thermometer, biggest ball of string etc etc

hehehe

Thanks, again!

Ellen - Unless they've changed their hours, the Balboa Island Ferrys run 24/7 through the summer and from 6:30AM-Midnight weekdays and 6:30AM-2:30AM Fri-Sat through the winter. If you'd like to look at example, copy the URL below and paste it into your address bar:
http://www.transit-rider.com/ca.oran...slandferry.cfm.

Let us know how you enjoyed your trip.

Ellen:

Information and the telephone number for tours of the windmills can be found at:

http://www.wintecenergy.com/wintours.html

Best wishes.

Thanks again, guys! This is another three-week wild west adventure, but I think this 'transition' day may turn out to be one of the best. I'm really looking forward to it!

PSLocal, you have NO idea how PERFECT that windmill tour will be for my two guys, (clark & rusty) :) Thank you soo much for the heads up!