We are planning a trip to Brazil, from Australia, probably in April or May , and intend to stop for a week after landing at LAX, to break up the long trip. We'd drive to Vegas for a few days, but then I'm wondering whether San Bernadino might be a central place to stay for four days, as we'd love to be near snow, and maybe even do a day trip to San Diego from here (3 hours one way?), as well as being able to get back to LAX on the last day.
We have been many times to the beautiful National Parks, but don't intend to buy the yearly pass this time. Rather, the drive itself and the the scenery will be the holiday in this part.

We've stayed in both Cedar City and Flagstaff a couple of times before, and loved them both. How would San Bernadino area compare?
Would appreciate a Californian viewpoint. Thank you.

No, no, no. There is nothing lovely about the city of San Bernardino. At all. There will be no snow there in April or May. In the San Bernardino mountains, there are the "resort" towns of Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake. Pretty, but still no snow in April or May. It is not a good place to base yourself, as any drive to and away from there would require a drive up and down winding mountain roads.

Either of these places, about 2 hours away from LAX, would make a better base:

San Diego- since you want to visit there, anyhow. If you like mountains, there are some smaller ones in eastern SD county.

Palm Springs - hot in May, but pretty moderate in April. www.pstramway.com for a mountain experience. Joshua Tree National Park is also nearby.

Trust me, you don't want to stay in San Bernardino. It may be relatively close to the mountains and high desert, but it's really of no interest to tourists. It's nothing like Flagstaff or Cedar City. Also, the mountains of Southern California rarely have any snow left by April or May.

Not sure what your objective is while staying in Southern California. You could do a couple of days in Palm Springs (take the tram up to Mt. San Jacinto, where you might see a little snow), and then go on to San Diego before heading back to LAX.

Lvk - looks like simultaneous thoughts!

LOL Azzure. And we didn't even get into the crime statistics!

Yep, I graduated from UC Riverside and was happy to leave the "Inland Empire" behind!

I saw the title and was REALLY wondering.

In my old job, one of our filed offices was in Ontario and the manager lived on San Bdo. The first time I visited her at home she took me on a "guided tour" of her home town. The highlight (not kidding here) was the truck wash!!

That plus city hall and a couple of burger joints was it. Now, she was semi-teasing - but there really WASN'T anything else.

If you're not going to stay in LA, come to San Diego. There's a lot more to see and do than Palm Springs.

Take this seriously - rarely is there this much of a concensus of opinion!!

I could tell you about my cousin who lives in San Bernardino. She was doing yardwork in her backyard, and was accidently shot in the foot by some next door neighbors who were feuding. And she lives in a fairly nice part of San Bernardino (relatively speaking!). But that really doesn't add anything new to the general consensus that San Berdoo is best avoided!

Oh, come on guys it's not that bad!
There is a fine mental hospital and several very nice strip bars in San Bernardino. Just don't go out to the parking lot alone.

Whoooie - what a slam!

FYI - it snowed in the mountains this Memorial weekend so it Is possible to have snow in May, just not likely.

Carrabella, I do understand your location planning and if you are flying out of LAX and don't want to spend 2-3 hours driving to San Diego or Palm Springs, I still wouldn't recommend San Bernardino. Rancho Cucamonga is a much nicer area, slightly closer, and you can take day trips to the desert, the mountains (snow is unlikely) or the "city" (meaning LA or San Diego. You could also stay in Riverside, also a much nicer area and I personally love staying at the Mission Inn. I would have to agree if you are looking for a destination, San Diego might be a better choice (I wouldn't choose Palm Springs) but if you are looking for a central spot to travel from, Riverside or Rancho Cucamonga are both freeway close.

P.S. The District Attorney has closed the strip joints in San Bernardino - they are in the surrounding cities or county area now!

Thanks for the information and for the laughs - I get the message!

We think we'll therefore go from LA to Primm the first night(we love this odd-ball truck-stop casino complex because of the views of the desert, and because there's nothing like it in Oz, maybe anywhere) and go from there to Cedar City and maybe Torrey in Utah for a few days, staying in Primm again on our way back to the airport.
We were also planning a few days in Washington on the way back, but have just found out United now only allow one stopover, using frequent flyer points. This will make it a mighty long trip - Sydney to LA, LA to Chicago, Chicago to Rio with no chance for a hotel in between. They must be trying to make it unpleasant, so we don't use FF points for really long haul flights, I think.