[Bedlam]

So I'm going to California in December and need some tips on what to do and see as I've never been there (or to the US at all for that matter, I'm from Sweden dammit!)
I'm invited to a wedding in LA on the 30th Dec, so me and my girl are heading over and will be staying from the 18th until the 7th of Jan, and will be spending Christmas and new years with our friends over there but other than that, we're on our own.
So what is there to do in Cali in the winter? My lady isn't into rinding, unfortunately, so that's out... Hiking is nice, but from what I can find a lot of the parks (Joshua tree, Yosemite, Sequoia...) seem to have snow and require chains or snow tires, something I doubt our rental car will be equipped with?
The preliminary plan for now seem to be starting out with arriving in LA, driving north to SF and spend a day or two there, driving Highway 1 down to LA again and spend 24th - 2nd in LA, head to Vegas and see the grand canyon and then head back to fly home on the 7th (Looking at the possibility to jump directly onto our connecting flight from Phoenix to London instead of going back to LA if that would be better?)

Please guide me wise monkeys!

 

[eric strt6]

Joshua Tree will not have snow it is way to low and out in the desert. Yosemite is hit and miss with snow. Hwy 1 through Big Sur is spectacular , Fly out of Phoenix after the Grand Canyon taking a detour through Sedona and the Red Rocks on the way.

 

[JohnE]

Hit the beach...shouldnt be too cold for a walk along. Dont expect to go swimming tho...

Catch Portillos Hot Dogs near Knotts Berry for some true American artery hardening. At least walk Rodeo Drive if you get chance for some truly sickening American style excess. Hollywood Blvd can be fun, and Santa Monica Pier is a must also.


And oh yeah, hookers and blow.

 

[mandown]

Where in LA? It is an expansive place that covers quite a range, and some use "LA" to mean any place between San Diego and Santa Barbara.

 

[Bedlam]

Thanks for the tips, keep'em coming!
Bouldering in joshua tree seems nice, you're saying it might be possible?

More specifically in LA would be somewhere close to Costa Mesa, that's where my friends family lives.

Yeah, I'm thinking that hollywood is probably interesting, as well as some of the usual suspects in tourist stuff. Me and the lady are also celebrating that it's 10 years since we first met on dec 27th, so we're planning on hitting Six Flags Magic Mountain that day.

 

[DirtyMike]

Sounds like you already have a solid plan then, six flags is always fun, jt is fun, beach is close catalina for a day is nice, really too many things to say for sure

 

[kazlx]

Costa Mesa is about a 30-45 minute drive from LAX. Joshua Tree is maybe 2.5 hours from Costa Mesa. You can easily go out there in the winter. Like Eric mentioned, it's in the desert. It might be crisp at night, but there won't be any snow. In all honesty, there won't be any snow anywhere unless you drive up to the mountains. There's a good chance you could be here during your trip and wouldn't know it wasn't spring. Very worst case, you might get rained on.

There are plenty of places to go an walk around. Disneyland is close if you're into that sort of thing, maybe with the lady.

I live about 10-15 minutes from Costa Mesa, so if you want to rent a bike and hit the trails for a ride, let me know. There are plenty of local places to rent a proper trail bike from.

 

[eric strt6]

bouldering in JT is awesome we used to hit it every new years for drunken bouldering and midnight top roping by headlamp

 

[gonefirefightin]

forget so cal, go to tahoe

 

[Zark]

Where in LA? It is an expansive place that covers quite a range, and some use "LA" to mean any place between San Diego and Santa Barbara.

No one in santa barbara considers themselves in LA.

 

[Bedlam]

Lot of nice tips, thanks!
I'll def look into bike rental, maybe I can hook my lady up with our friends for half a day or something and head out for a ride.. Seems like a waste to go without riding!

 

[kazlx]

Check out the Path in Tustin. They have plenty of bikes to rent. I'm sure there are other places as well.

 

[jonKranked]

No one in santa barbara considers themselves in LA.

jokes on them

 

[WestCoastHucker]

No one in santa barbara considers themselves in LA.

maybe you missed the part where he said "between"....

 

[maxyedor]

You're going to have a tough time riding in Orange County, so many damn trails in the area that it'll probably take you the better of your trip just to figure out which one you want to ride.

In LA, the Getty Center, and Getty Villa are rad. Petersen Automotive museum, LA Farmer's Market, Hollywood, Santa Monica Pier, Malibu, Beveryly Hills, La Brea Tar Pits, and while it mite not be the coolest thing ever, I've always liked China Town and Little Tokyo.

In the OC, Disneyland is the obvious spot, I think it sucks, mainly because I don't like people, and there are a whole lot of them there. Newport/Huntington for beach scenery, Laguna beach and Laguna Canyon for upscale beach and people/car watching, cool art too. Car&Coffee in Irvine on every Saturday morning, if you like cars, it's a must, everybody I've taken has had their mind completely blown.

San Diego has the zoo, wild animal park, Gaslamp district, and Sea World.

Tiajuana is awesome, in a very dirty sort of way.

You're also not too far from Death Valley, Big Sur, Carmel/Monterey, Santa Barbara, Glamis Dunes, Salton Sea, Slab City, Big Bear, Calico Ghost town, Vegas, Ensenada, and a million other cool spots you could see over a long weekend.

 

[Pesqueeb]

Sequoia

My dad worked for the Park Service and I did most of my growing up in this park. It is absolutely one of my favorite places on earth. In Dec you will need chains to get anywhere near the big trees or any of the other major destinations. Same goes for Yosemite. While Yosemite certainly has some pretty wild things to see, IMHO the crowds there are out of hand, even in the winter. Also keep in mind that from LA you're looking at a minimum 5 hour drive to Lodgepole, or the Yosemite Valley. Winter in the Central Valley also means fog. As in the type of fog where you cant see the hood of your car from inside your car. It can last for days like that.

I spent a couple years in my early 20's in the Santa Barbara area. If I ever suddenly find myself with more money than I know what to do with, I would probably move back there and never leave. Plenty to see and do, or you could just lay on the beach all week. Lots of riding, beer and wine of unbelievable quality and quantity. People (girl) watching in SB is like no other place I've ever been, so maybe don't take the girlfriend.

Else wise I feel like maxyedor lays out the greater SoCal area quite well and second most of his suggestions, except for TJ. If your older than 21 there is absolutely no good reason to go to Tijuana.