trip ideas/routes for areas west of L.A (Joshua Tree)

dbrum

dbrum

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Just got my first rig.

Need advice on where to go for a weekend trip (Friday to Sunday kind of thing) from L.A area. This would be in August when son is flying in with a close friend of his for a weekend overland trip.

Looking for suggestions on where to go, where to start and maps/routes. I'm a novice overland driver, but have many years experience doing this on enduro bikes and just getting into the truck overland scene. Don't want to go anywhere I would not be able to get out of on my own and have 2 late teen kids with me need to be mindful of. Looking for light trails, nice scenery we can camp on (RTT + ground tent). Ideally run into some ghost towns and also some interesting places in say Joshua Tree area to see some of the areas residents and take some pics and buy some souvenirs.

Any pointers or where I can get more of this info?

thanks
 
Nope, only part of SoCal I know is Death Valley which I did on bikes only.
 
I spent a few days in Death Valley in January and three days in Joshua Tree in March. Live in San Diego so get out to Anza Borrego area pretty frequently. Joshua Tree is for the most part very easy four wheeling and a bit touristy. We did happen to take a side trail with no idea where it would take us and we ended up in a really cool area with many deserted mines, great views, some old structures that look to be re-inhabited part time by some folks who appear to be doing some mining. This area made the trip for us as most of the rest of JT is pretty touristy with 4wheeling that's not much more than dirt roads. Happy to get you some waypoints etc if you're interested. As for Anza Borrego, there is a pretty wide variety of wheeling there but for the most part not very technical. Upper Coyote Canyon is a nice trail with campsites at the end/top. Running the sand washes between Fonts Point and Ocottillo is pretty fast and fun (not technical). There is a 4x4 testing ground called Truckhaven with climbs and about 12 manmade obstacles that you can have fun with and test your skills and your rig. Getting hot out there at both JT and AB so be prepared for that. Again, happy to get you more details on any of these...
 
If you're looking for somewhere to go in August, maybe check out the area around Big Bear Lake. J-Tree and everywhere around there will be ridiculously hot by then. The north side of Big Bear lake is full of fire roads for light overlanding and plenty of campgrounds or you can even back country camp up there.



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I'd advise doing the Road to Big Bear from Pioneer town. Camp 1 night in Joshua tree, run the trail (fairly easy) up to Big Bear and then camp up there for the second night. I did it last fall it was great!
 
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August in the dez is not super awesome...just saying. Maybe get near the coast or a big body of water.
 
Thanks Covello - great suggestion. Anyone has waypoints to use for this route would be appreciated. Have a garmin Montana for trail maps and will get something big like Maptia or some other tablet mapping tool as well.


2000 Land Rover Discovery ii
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For the tablet or phone Gaia is a great app. I've been using it for about a year now and I'm completely happy with it.


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Really good points on going to AB or JT in the summer time, August can be very dangerous in both those places when the temp goes up!

"I have AC" you say. Your car could overheat rendering you stuck and in bad shape, especially alone.

Take a look at the small thread on the Pioneer Town Trail. It includes the .gpx file you need.

I also made a video on a trip I took through there recently, on YouTube.

It's a good trip, lots of camping when you get up into the valley, as well as some more serious roads to explore when you're up there.

Dan.
 
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