10 Nature Retreats to escape Los Angeles

10 Nature Retreats to escape Los Angeles

Joshua tree by Dietmar Rabich from Wikimedia Commons

Los Angeles is a fantastic city to live in or visit, but sometimes you just need to go away. The city’s numerous motorways may transport you to a range of vacation places, many of which are accessible in a matter of hours.

Perhaps you would enjoy the desert sunshine and mid-century modern aesthetic of Palm Springs, the snowy outdoor sports and spectacular natural beauty of Mammoth Lakes, or the fresh seafood across the border in Rosarito Beach. All these destinations are easy getaways from LA. You can even escape to an island: Catalina Island is only a 90-minute boat ride away.

With all these options, what are you waiting for? Find a great city escape with our list of the best weekend getaways from Los Angeles.

1. Palm Springs

Wind farm Palm Springs by Visitor7 from Wikimedia Commons

Palm Springs has been a favourite dessert escape for nearly 100 years, despite being only 100 miles (and around a two-hour journey) from Los Angeles. The area, which receives roughly 350 days of sunshine per year, is densely packed with resorts and golf courses and is particularly popular in the winter.

The Coachella Valley is made up of the cities of Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, and Rancho Mirage, which surround Palm Springs.

Palm Springs has the world’s greatest collection of preserved mid-century modern structures, both residential and commercial. On one of the Palm Springs Historical Society’s walking excursions, you may learn more about the architecture. Modernism Week, a week-long celebration of the design style, takes place every February in the city, with activities, parties, talks, tours, and film screenings. The Palm Springs International Film Festival, which is accessible to the public, attracts movie aficionados every January.

2. Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara California by Dori from Wikimedia Commons

Santa Barbara is a beautiful beach city located just under 100 miles north of Los Angeles. There’s a bustling downtown section with great shops and restaurants, as well as lovely beaches and a boardwalk. The area is properly referred to as the “American Riviera” because of the turquoise Pacific, vast, curving beaches, and hillside houses that give it a South of France atmosphere.

The city’s Funk Zone, a redeveloped former warehouse district near the waterfront, is now a popular place to spend an evening at one of the many great restaurants, art galleries, and performance spaces. 

Belmond El Encanto is a beautiful luxury resort in the Riviera area in the hills above Santa Barbara, ideal for treating yourself or someone special. The property, which has been open since 1918, has been completely renovated and now offers luxurious casita and bungalow accommodations. A world-class spa and gourmet fine dining are available, with stunning views of the city and the ocean beyond.

3. Rosarito Beach

Rosarito beach by Cesar Bojorquez from Wikimedia Commons

Take a trip to Rosarito Beach in Mexico for a real Mexican experience. It takes roughly three hours to drive from Los Angeles and only 15 minutes from Tijuana.

This beach resort features a vast, broad beach as well as a variety of tourist accommodations. It serves great, genuine Mexican cuisine as well as amazing fresh fish. Visit Baja Studios, where Titanic was filmed, and then stop by the little fishing community of Puerto Nuevo for a delightful side excursion.

To get to Rosarito, park on the American side of the border (there is a huge parking lot), cross into Mexico and then take a cab or a rideshare car. Most rental vehicle contracts forbid driving into Mexico, and most American auto insurance policies do not apply in this country. A line of taxis waits on the Mexican side of the pedestrian border crossing, and the fee to Rosarito Beach is roughly $30 per vehicle load (not per person).

4. Catalina Island

Catlina Isand by Brian MacIntosh from Wikimedia Commons

Many tourists to Southern California are unaware that there is a lovely island resort just 26 miles off the coast of Los Angeles. Catalina Island is a great spot to get away from it all, yet it’s only a 90-minute ferry voyage from the mainland.

There are several fishing and diving opportunities, as well as beautiful beaches, good food from a variety of restaurants, and numerous natural sites to explore. Sea kayaking off the coast amid whales and sea otters is a terrific way to soak up the sun and get a fresh viewpoint of the island.

Skip the normally packed public beach in downtown Avalon and head to the Descanso Beach Club, which is located down the seaside promenade beyond the famed casino complex. This restaurant and beach club hires out beach cabanas and sun loungers with waiter service. There’s also a popular beachside café restaurant with water sports rentals right on the sand.

5. Laguna Beach

laguna beach by Levi Clancy from Wikimedia Commons

Many tourists to Southern California are unaware that there is a lovely island resort just 26 miles off the coast of Los Angeles. Catalina Island is a pleasant, 90-minute boat voyage from the mainland, and it’s the perfect spot to get away from it all.

There are several fishing and diving opportunities, as well as beautiful beaches, good food from a variety of restaurants, and numerous natural sites to explore. Sea kayaking off the coast amid whales and sea otters is a terrific way to soak up the sun and get a fresh viewpoint of the island.

The island’s Zip Line Eco Tour is a set of five ziplines that take you down into a canyon for some high-speed, high-altitude action.

Skip the normally packed public beach in downtown Avalon and head to the Descanso Beach Club, which is located down the seaside promenade beyond the famed casino complex. This restaurant and beach club hires out beach cabanas and sun loungers with waiter service. There’s also a popular beachside café restaurant with water sports rentals right on the sand.

6. Mammoth Lakes

Twin lakes Mammoth by Eeekster from Wikimedia Commons

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This seaside community in Orange County, about an hour south of Los Angeles, is known for its arts scene, outdoor lifestyle, and some pretty stunning beaches. In addition to having several art galleries, Laguna Beach holds the yearly Pageant of the Masters and Festival of the Arts in July.

The Pageant of the Master’s event (now in its 85th year) brings iconic works of art to life with full-size, three-dimensional, staged performance art installations populated by actual people in makeup, body paint, and/or costumes. Consider a large Mona Lisa stage set with an actor costumed as the painting’s subject posing within it.

7. San Diego

San Diego is a three-hour trip from Los Angeles and has year-round pleasant weather as well as a diverse choice of attractions. The downtown region, particularly the rebuilt Gaslamp District, features a booming restaurant scene, some fantastic music venues, and a variety of unique shops.

The San Diego Zoo, located in Balboa Park, is enormous, with the majority of the species kept in replicas of their natural habitats. It’s a terrific family attraction since kids can engage with and learn about the animals in a variety of ways. In Escondido, about an hour away, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park offers a drive-through animal adventure. You’ll witness rhinos, giraffes, gorillas, elephants, and more while riding in an African safari-style vehicle.

8. Joshua Tree

Joshua Tree National Park, in particular, is a huge desert expanse of about 800,000 acres. It takes around an hour to drive from Palm Springs or a little under three hours from Los Angeles. The Mojave Desert and the Colorado Desert are two separate desert ecosystems here.

The park is filled with beautiful flora and fauna and amazing geological scenery. You go to Joshua NP to hike, spend a night or two in one of the park’s scenic campgrounds, or climb some rocks. It’s a popular place for car camping.

Just outside the park, the little town of Joshua Tree is home to an unusual mix of hippy shops, natural healers, and roadside eateries.

9. Ventura

Ventura is a little seaside town approximately an hour north of Los Angeles that makes for a fantastic weekend vacation. It boasts a charming downtown area, suitably focused on Main Street, in addition to clean, incredibly wide, uncrowded beaches.

The majority of the architecture from the 1920s and 1930s has been conserved in downtown Ventura, giving it a beautiful, old-school atmosphere. A long wooden pier stretches into the water, with beaches on both sides, in the seaside region. There is a huge harbour, and a boat journey to one of the Channel Islands National Park’s adjacent deserted islands is a fascinating environmental adventure.

10. Big Bear

big bear by Ian D. Keating from Wikimedia Commons

This mountain resort in the San Bernardino Mountains provides winter skiing and snowboarding as well as summers outdoor adventure enjoyment. Most of the area’s ski resorts keep a lift or two operational for mountain bikes throughout the summer, and there are hundreds of miles of trails for riders of all abilities. Hiking in the magnificent woodlands is also an option. Horseback riding is also popular.

Big Bear Lake is a fantastic place to go fishing and boating. A winter visit, of course, allows you access to hundreds of ski slopes of varying difficulty, as well as snowboarding, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling.

A brief visit somewhere else than the home is an excellent opportunity to try new things, and who knows, you could discover a new favourite dish or pastime.