Sometimes L.A. gets to be a lot, the smog and the noise. The great thing about Los Angeles is that it is perfectly geographically positioned so that you be somewhere completely different in a short amount of time. I use L.A.’s geography to my advantage. I can climb mountains, visit the snow, stand in the middle of a grove of trees older than my great-grandmother’s mother, and see billions of stars in the desert, all in a few hours. This page is dedicated to day and weekend trips from Los Angeles. From neighboring Palm Springs to jaunts to Las Vegas.
Although I love Los Angeles, it is nice to see what else California has to offer, from eating ebelskiver in a Danish village in the mountains or benefiting from a gift of a mathematical formula for healing from the Venusians in the middle of the desert.
The day and weekend trips page will be a constantly growing list of guides.
Palm Springs
Palm Springs is where I tend to go when I have a few days off. Maybe the desert calls to you too. My guide to Palm Springs is filled with places to stay, things to do, and things you probably do not realize about this desert city.
This is a helpful guide to figuring out where to stay–hint a lot of travel and house rental sites say that the property is in Palm Springs when it is in Desert Hot Springs, La Quinta, and other towns that are inconvenient to the downtown area.
Miles from Los Angeles: 108
Ojai
One of my favorite places to escape Los Angeles is to the little mountain town of Ojai. It has great food, art, and several opportunities for wine tasting.
Find out more about this town, nestled in the Topa Topa mountains.
Miles from Los Angeles: 83 miles
Catalina Island
Catalina Island had been staring me in the face for many years. One day I decided to go.
The city that most people have access to is the beach town of Avalon. Here you will find a good mixture of tourist shops and access to hiking and nature.
Miles from Los Angeles: 55 (But you need a boat)
Las Vegas
COMING SOON
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