martinewezel

I’m planning an off the beaten path trip to South California in March. At least off the beaten for European tourists. I noticed there is a big difference in temperatures there at that time of the year. One of the spots on my wish list is the “Rim of the World” tour. Perhaps we could rent something by the lake. Idyllwild looks quite cute too. I did a search on March temperatures and snow in the area, and found differing reports. As we live in a rainy, chilly country, we would appreciate good weather, without snow during our vacation. Hope someone can tell me what kind of weather I might expect in the mountains.

gigib

March is typically our wettest month, with snow very likely in all the mountains. Even though Idyllwild sits above the desert, it is very cold in March.

How about the desert? It can still be very cold, but at least it's likely to be dry.

lvk

March can be chilly, wet and snowy in the Southern California mountains. It can be very foggy, too, on that Rim of the World highway.

I would suggest the desert areas of Palm Springs. This is definitely different terrain that Europeans are generally exposed to. It is also considerably warmer & dryer than the mountains.

The area is surrounded by the San Jacinto mountains, so you get the best of both worlds. You can ride the Palm Springs aerial tram for your mountain experience. There are hiking trails at the top. www.pstramway.com

Joshua Tree National Park is a nice day trip from PS. The Living Desert Zoo and Botanical Gardens are also very interesting.

RBCal

Southern California is in the midst of a drought and almost no snow and rain fall this past season. The snow also almost immediately melts except at the highest elevations. Lake Arrowhead is lower in elevation than Big Bear. However, if you are looking for warm weather the mountains will be cool during the day (5 to 10 Celsius) and cold at night (-7 to 0 Celsius).

paula1470

RBCal-Well at least we can be hopeful we'll get rain next year!

lvk

And snow, Paula, don't forget the snow!

martinewezel

Thanks for your tips. Perhaps we’d better not stay in the mountains then. We plan a 10-days vacation. We first would like to visit friends who live in San Diego and spend the other 7 days somewhere else in South Ca.
Palm Spring seems to be a better option. Especially with the cable car. Thanks Lvk! Hope there is more to do in the valley than playing golf. I’ll search for info on the net. Calico and Joshua tree National Park are also on our wish list.