We're flying into Phoenix and then driving to L.A. and back. My dd informed me that she wants to go to the mountains. I don't think that Mt. Camelback in the middle of Scottsdale is quite what she has in mind, having been to the Rockies a couple years ago. I haven't been to L.A. in over 20 years and when I was there, I didn't have a car so didn't venture out of the city. Any suggestions? I will be traveling with 14 y.o. twins (b/g). I have health issues, so can't do anything too strenuous, unfortunately. We'll have a rental car. We have about a week to spend in CA. I thought about Yosemite but that seems like an awful long drive when I have to start & end in Phoenix, so would prefer something closer to SoCal.
I reccomend big bear lake. You get the lake, there is a great wildlife rehabilitation center that is really nice and the small fee to get in helps them a lot.plus other activities.
You can definitely hit up Big Bear or Wrightwood.
I used to live in Orange County and we would go to Big Bear once in a while. It was about a 2 hour drive. There isn't too much to do up there, but it's a nice day trip. I'm not sure how long the drive is from LA though. Have fun!
Since you're driving from PHX to LA you could stop in Palm Springs and do the aerial tramway. The mountains at the top are beautiful, trails aren't strenuous, and the tram is fun.
Ditto Big Bear. Yosemite and mammoth are 5 to 6 hour drives. Big bear is pretty tame and boring, but still a fun moutain trip if she is just wanting to see the mountains. Have fun!
I don't know where in LA you will be, but Big Bear is about a 3 hour drive, Wrightwood about 2 hours. Either one can be half hour shorter if you have good traffic conditions. You can drive up Angeles Crest Highway, which is right in town and up the mountain maybe an hour. Or Mount Baldy is another good option, only an hour as well.
Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead are nice. There isn't a whole lot to do there though. Eat and shop at overpriced stores. Weekend traffic in the mountains can be horrendous. I used to commute from Orange County to Lake Arrowhead twice a week. Whenever I left Lake Arrowhead on Friday afternoons and saw the long line of cars trying to get into the Lake Arrowhead area, I concluded that they were all crazy.
If you've been to the Rocky Mountains, the San Bernadino Mountains might be a bit of a disappointment. Maybe you can drive around the cliffs of Malibu. Take a tour of Pepperdine University. Even walking around the Griffith Park Observatory could be a nice C. of pace with good views. I hear nice things about La Canada and Sierra Madre. The Angeles National Forest can be quite scenic. And it's not too far from L.A.
I'm just trying to save you from unnecessarily sitting in your car for hours. I was just in So Cal two weekends ago. Just trying to get out of L.A. on the Hollywood Freeway took me forever!
Good luck and have fun!
You can definitely go to the local mountains, about a 1.5-2 hour drive from LA. Look into Big Bear Lake and Lake Arrowhead and see which one you like better. It can be done as a day trip or you could spend a night or two up there. I think you'd be happy going either place.
Yosemite is too far (more like 5-6 hours) to do as part of a trip to LA. You'd be exhausted.
Have fun!
Camelback Mountain is not a "real" mountain per say.... it has hiking trails going up and down it, but is not your "typical" mountains, like the Rockies, .... it really is just a giant hill(s) in the middle of the cities, plus it is over 100 degrees during the summer. You can take a little bit of a detour and go from PHX to Flagstaff, which is less an 2 hours north, or Payson which is on the way to Flagstaff, but it is beautiful up there. Hope you guys have fun!
There are so many fun things to do in LA it seems that trying to fufill a kids desire to go to the mountain son this trip might not be the best plan.
If I were you I'd enjoy all LA has to offer, maybe stop in Palm Springs and save the mountains for another trip. A week is not that long, espeically if you plan on relaxing a bit.
