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The mountains surrounding Los Angeles are a play area and weekend getaway for the resident of Southern California. Of course it isn't exactly like the Catskills as we have a different climate, but the mountains here are beautiful forests to get away from it all. The mountains have national forests, quirky resort towns, lakes, hiking, summer camps, winter camps, ski resorts, bike trails, and acres of untouched wilderness. Here are some pics:
San Bernardino Mountains
Big Bear Valley and Lake
Bonita Falls
In addition to the mountains (many other mountain getaways aren't far either like Sequoia National Park, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Palomar Mountains, etc...), other great weekend getaways include Catalina Island (45 minute ferry ride) and the beautiful deserts like Joshua Tree National Park, Palm Springs, Anza Borrego, etc...
Avalon Harbor on Catalina Island (the real beauty is a snorkel/scuba experience under water!)
Head out for some weekend camping at Joshua Tree or one of the other deserts
Have fun exploring the areas surrounding L.A.!! This is just a small sample of the things to do. We have ocean, deserts, valleys, mountains, islands, forests, resort towns, lakes, etc... surrounding us!
Here is a satellite map to put things in perspective:
-The gray obviously hugging the coasts and then spreading inland is the urbanized area of development of greater Los Angeles. You can see San Diego at the very bottom. That distance from downtown L.A. to downtown San Diego is 120 miles.
-All the green shows the mountains that surround Los Angeles. As you can see, we are literally surrounded by mountains. Ocean is on the west, mountains are on the north and to the east.
-Catalina Island is the middle island closest to the Palos Verdes Peninsula. You can get there from the Port of L.A. and Port of Long Beach. The Channel Islands start in the top left corner and you can get there from Ventura or Santa Barbara. The bottom island is San Clemente island and is used by the military.
-On the other side of the green mountains, you can see the vast deserts of Southern California that then stretch all the way to the border with Arizona and Nevada. The Salton Sea is on the right side of the image.
-The green to the north of the Salton Sea is the desert resort cities of Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indio, etc...
-Anza Borrego Desert is just west of Salton Sea, Joshua Tree National Park is north of the Palm Springs area.
There are so many places to get away and enjoy the beauty of nature. If you like nature California has some awesome places. Nothing in California to compare to the Bronx. The weather is fantastic in Los Angeles.
Asking this question about LA is like asking for a decent desert near NY.
We are comparing two topographically different areas altogether and this is one of those instances where there is no match because these two regions are not twins.
Also, in my experience, LA is so naturally stunning all by itself, people don't usually feel the need to leave town in order to be close to beautiful nature.
That's why people live in Malibu and the like-to have the best of all worlds.
In the East we have numerous resort areas in the country. Around New York City they include the Catskills, the Poconos, the Berkshires and the Adirondacks.
I assume there are resort areas in the Los Angeles area. Like New York with plenty of people and mountains (although much higher), why is it we never hear of these areas in Southern California?
In the East we have numerous resort areas in the country. Around New York City they include the Catskills, the Poconos, the Berkshires and the Adirondacks.
I assume there are resort areas in the Los Angeles area. Like New York with plenty of people and mountains (although much higher), why is it we never hear of these areas in Southern California?
The resorts surrounding L.A are well known among Californians and a bit of our hidden secret. There are tons of resort towns along the coast, in the mountains, the deserts, etc... The type of topography that can be accessed within an hour drive is unmatched by any metropolitan area in this country. Honestly, we don't hear much or anything about the New York resorts. We sort of do our own thing out here in California and hence you guys out East probably don't hear much about our local resorts likewise. We are pretty isolated here in So Cal from other major cities not in CA. Even San Francisco is 380 miles away. Las Vegas is 270 miles and Phoenix is 370 miles away. Those are the CLOSEST major cities to L.A. besides San Diego. Hence L.A. is sort of surrounded by the "Wild West." the Mojave Desert between L.A. and Las Vegas is over 100 miles of almost NOTHING. You don't get that out East where it seems like a little town is almost everywhere.
Within 270 miles of NYC would be Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Baltimore, Syracuse, Hartford, etc...
Hence we sort of have a bit of a bubble. We have all our local resorts and attractions we visit, but people outside of L.A. have to fly or drive hundreds of miles to visit them. Once they are here, most people visit the city itself, amusement parks, and maybe Yosemite during their limited stay because they are on vacation. Most people combine San Francisco and L.A. into one trip often, leaving limited time in both cities.
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California is gorgeous
