Resort/Vacation areas outside LA (Los Angeles, San Diego: ski resorts, condo, hotels)

[hbhb]

I asked this question on the forum earlier in the year but the discussion got away and turned into something else all together, never really answered my questions. I'm not asking for LA/NY comparisons or which is better. I understand I'm not going to find the same exact thing here out West. I'm mainly just looking for that same atmosphere more than anything. I would even appreciate information if such an area used to exist but has since faded away.

OK, so I recently moved to LA from NYC. Back east it was very much a tradition to spend some vacation time during the summer or even just weekends in the fall up in the Catskills. This basically consisted of about a two hour drive north toward rural upstate New York. Lots of summer camps, vacation bungalows, quirky resorts, motel strips, etc. Slow seasonal type towns. If you've ever heard of Borscht Belt than you know what I'm talking about. Some film references are the settings of Dirty Dancing, Sweet Lorraine, A Walk On The Moon. Those are direct references to the same areas I visited. Most recently Taking Woodstock had a bit of it, with the motel the movie was based around. Or even areas of Pennsylvania like The Poconos. Definitely a lazy summer atmosphere. Lake George in NY is another example.

Is there anything like this outside of Los Angeles? In the old post people didn't seem to grasp the idea of limiting it to a 2-3 hour drive, tops. Some people were recommending areas north of SF!

I did end up visiting Oak Glen in San Bernardino around Halloween. That had a tiny bit of the vibe with all the orchards and the old school houses. I even saw some abandoned restaurants and some summer camp signs. I was a bit bummed at how close it was to condo complexes and such. I'm looking for a much deeper trip, away from the strip malls.

I went on youtube and found some of the local commercials that I remembered as a kid hoping they might help but a lot of them were for the more big hotel orientated resorts. I did find this travelogue video which I think might explain a bit of what I'm looking for out here. Obviously it's dated but if you get it, you get it.

At the very least, enjoy the retro ad!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3tYxLR5jiI

[californio sur]

Santa Catalina Island is a great resort in Avalon; you can take the ferry over in less than a hour and stay in hotels right across from the beach. They don't even allow cars so people use little golf carts since the hillsides are very steep. Also Laguna Beach & Laguna Niguel are great for a weekend but expensive. Santa Barbara and Montecito as well as the Santa Ynez valley have very famous resorts on the beach, golf courses or horse ranches. Ojai Valley is well worth a stay but hot in summer. The San Bernardino ski resorts or lakes are great. Palm Springs, Borrego Springs, La Quinta, Palm Desert are perfect during winter but unbearable during summer. La Costa in San Diego county is very famous; also Coronado Island & La Jolla. Even the Mission Inn in Riverside is quite nice.

[BRinSM]

remember that LA is not like NY and outside the coast, we are surrounded by mountains and deserts. anyways, santa barbara, solvang, and pismo (a bit further than 3 hours) are options up the 101. as mentioned you also have palm springs to the east. san diego is to the south as well as different places in mexico that some people still swear by despite the recent uptick in drug violence. i think a couple places that you might really like are julian and idyllwild and are not nearly as popular as the other places i mentioned. you may also like some of the desert towns along the colorado river. besides that, you are looking at a much further drive up to san simeon, carmel, monterrey, cambria, mammoth, tahoe or wine country. your options are fairly limited within 3 hours.

[BacktoBlue]

San Diego- duh.

[laurenk10599]

Nice areas close to LA that you can escape to are Santa Barbara, Ojai, and Palm Desert. Each of these areas offer a quiet and relaxing enivironment where you can get away from it all. Also if you like wine tasting you have the ability to do that too. If you want to head South La Jolla is a nice area in San Diego on the coast that is lovely for visiting as well. There are great resorts in the Laguna Beach area of Orange County where you can stay at some of the best resorts in Southern California.

Hopefully this helps!