ljf1958

Hi all,

Each summer we head to a mountain destination for hiking and outdoor fun. We all enjoy it but it is my husband's favorite thing to do. (Aspen, Aspen, Sun Valley, Whistler, Bryce Canyon/Zion have been our last 5 summers). We teamed the Whistler trip with a brief stay in Victoria and Bryce with a brief stay in Vegas.

This year, I would like to give my husband his regular mountain get-away but the kids and I would also really like to visit Los Angeles (Disney and my daughter may do a film camp in LA are why we are honing in on LA). I had originally thought about Tahoe and LA - but the distance is too far to drive between the two. Are there some other fun mountain destinations that are closer to LA?

Ideally, we love to hike and fish and bike and poke around in little towns - if there is a nearby ski resort offering summer mountain activities, that would be a huge bonus. Or a cool national/state park??

I would anticipate a mid-August trip with about 6-7 days in the mountains and 3-4 days in the LA area.

Thanks for any suggestions you may have.

Lisa

qwovadis

www.lonepinechamber.org Whitney Portal area best for me

Dow Villa Hotel where John Wayne's ghost is supposed to stay

Yosemite.com Ahwanee or Wawona my fav for Park totally awesome

Do reserve way ahead little over 4 hours away from LA

qwovadis

www.395.com you could do both in the time you have also...

PeaceOut

Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake are two San Bernardino mountain towns which are the closest to LA. Big Bear has snow skiing hills, too. They are small, with lots of tourist shops and restaurants.

On the other side of these mountains is the Mojave desert, which will be hot in Aug, but you night be interested in driving down there for a day. Apple Valley is where Roy Rogers lived, and there's a museum there. Since it is his 100th, they probably have some stuff going on there. His palamino horse, Trigger, is stuffed and on display there. (I personally just had to see Trigger!)

toncasmo

mammoth lakes area is gorgeous and not as far as some of the other suggestions

PeaceOut

Mammoth Lakes and Yosemite are not close to LA.

Jean

"Mammoth Lakes and Yosemite are not close to LA"

... especially if it's an L.A./Disneyland trip.

I agree with the Big Bear and Arrowhead suggestions.

ljf1958

Thanks all! I checked Arrowhead and Big Bear and they sound perfect for us! I must admit I got super excited to read about Yosemite-but you are correct, it is almost 6 hrs from LA!!

I will look into Mohave desert - that could be interesting

Last thought, should we consider Sierra Nevada mountains at all? I had trouble identifying a built up resort area in SN as exists in Arrowhead and Big Bear.

Thanks again!!

ljf1958

One more thing, lone pine looks interesting too. I will check that out - probably at the max range of our driving efforts.

Jean

The Lone Pine area (in fact, most of the drive from L.A. up Hwy. 395 to Bishop) is VERY interesting and could easily occupy you for a week, but it's nearly as far as Yosemite and puts you even farther from Disneyland. Disneyland is not in L.A. and can be a long drive from anywhere in L.A. at certain times of the day. (Where is the film camp?) Most people find it easier to spend a night near Disneyland to allow for a full day there.

Another idea would be to stay in L.A. a day or two longer, do some hikes in the Santa Monica Mountains, do the film camp, Disneyland, and then go to Catalina for a couple of days (ocean fishing, biking, scuba, kayaking, more hiking, etc.) before flying out of LAX.

http://www.nps.gov/samo/planyourvisit/things2do.htm

http://www.catalinachamber.com/island/activities

ljf1958

Oh, neat idea. There is also hiking on Catalina island I noticed. Film camp is at universal. I had considered staying in Santa Monica anyway at one of the beachfront hotels - I presume we would very close to the SM mountains by staying in Santa Monica.

I do think Lone Pines will be too far as I hadn't considered traffic slowing us down.

ljf1958

Jean,

I am now even considering stays and hikes along highwy 1 instead of heading inland. We have about 9-10 days and could probably take in some gorgeous nature-filled scenery in a relaxing sort of way.

Many possible options. Thank you all

spirobulldog

Sequoia National Park is really awesome. Hwy 1 would offer something for everyone though.

bigtyke

The Roy Rogers museum was moved to Branson in 2003 and closed last year. There was a big auction of his memorabilia last July.

PeaceOut

Thanks for the update, bigtyke.

I like your idea to maybe stay near the coast, because the San Bernardino mountains near LA are lovely, but really nothing like Aspen, Whistler, etc. where you have already visited. The coast north of L.A. has SO much to see and do. In fact, I recently made the drive from L.A. to Marin County, mostly on highway 1. (See my report on the hotel we liked in San Simeon.)

Have fun planning your trip! When you settle on your locations, we can help you find hotels, etc. I stay in Santa Monica/Marina del Rey rather frequently.

Tomsd

Been to every place discussed above - several times each - and by far - would recommend Yosemite. It's really about 5 hours from LA - and much more of a memorable place than the others. People come from all over the world just to go to Yo, even if the waterfalls are not in full force in August.

Second choice would be to drive up Hiway 1 and see the Danish community of Solvang - above Santa Barbars and visit Hearst Castle - but no real mountains there.

Tomsd

You could also go over to Las Vegas - and see the Mt. Charleston there (12,000+ ft) and even take in the Grand Canyon if you are not adverse to doing some driving, or go by helicopter.

Tomsd

BTW - where are you guys from?

Tomsd

Uno Mas: You could also fly from LA to Reno and then get over to Lake Tahoe, which is just incredibly beautiful. One of the three bluest lakes in the world, the other being close to where I grew up in Oregon, Crater Lake, and the 3rd being Lake Baikal in Russia.

Any of the places mentioned, Yo, Solvang/Hearst Castle, Vegas, Tahoe, are fun choices and the kids would probably like all of them.

Forgot - just north of Hearst Castle/San Simeon (3 and a half? hours from LA)is a beach where the Elephant seals have come to call home. Pretty amazing, with the females around 3,500 lbs and the big males more than twice the size. Not sure if the big boys are around in August though. The little town of Cambria is very cute, nice places to stay/eat, and the nearby wine country of Paso Robles is a trip - with French styled Chateaux/B & B places at the wineries.

ljf1958

Hi all,

Thanks for all of your comments. While I would love to see Tahoe - I think the drive is too far (with no appealing overnight stopovers) and don't want to buy 5 plane tix to Reno (or from Reno if we were to fly there first). We are from Chicago and have a 12,9 and 8 year old.

I feel the same way about Yosemite. I would lOVE to see it but don't want to give up the other things I am considering to make it happen and can't afford any extra time.

Also, this past summer, we flew in and out of Vegas while visitng Bryce and Zion - spent 2 days in Vegas - great trip but dont' want to do again.

I am now seriously considering Hwy 1. We have done so many mountains - we love hiking - why not hike amidst different scenery?

I am thinking about flying into San Fran and staying for 2 days (but not doing Tahoe - just because I would want to stay in Tahoe for 3-4 days and wouldn't be able to fit that in with everything else).

Driving down Hwy 1 and stopping at Monterey/Big Sur area - 4-5 days. Here we get our nature fix. We hike among redwoods and the ocean (right?) and relax by the pool, visit the aquarium and the quaint town?

Then we drive to LA for 4 days with a possible detour to Catalina then fly home.

Along the way, would also plan to stop at Hearst Castle/Cambria/Solvang for a couple of hours each.

What do you think?

My questions would be:

1. Does the timing seem OK? We want a relaxed pace and as little driving as possible. I think we are only doing 2-4 hours every few days.

2. Where to stay in Monterey? Would like to stay on beach - meaning can walk out of hotel and onto beach (hopefully not like a 10 minute walk to beach). Would like amenities too. Looked at Big Sur and saw some cabin resorts which also look interesting (Big Sur Lodge and Treebones) but think we would prefer to be near the beach at Monterey at a resort with a nice pool for 4-5 days instead of a cabin in the woods.

3. Where to stay in Santa Monica/LA? Was thinking about either Loews or Shutters. Again, would love to be able to walk out to the beach, roller blade and bike along a boardwalk, walk to food and shops, - not need a car (except for trip into Hollywood/Disney). Venice Beach sounds amazing.

4. Staying on Catalina sounds cool - also sounds like neat hiking there but don't want to pack and unpack much more than we are already doing and don't want to stay 100% on Catalina (instead of in Santa Monica). Would a day trip be sufficient to relax and get to know Catalina?

5. On our drive from MOnterey to LA (or is it San Fran to Monterey?), Could we spend spend the day stopping and checking out Hearst Castle, Solvang and Cambria each for a couple hours or is that too much for one day?

Thanks again for everyone's input. I love these boards - I never plan anything without checking them.

Lisa