Looking for some areas maybe south of where I am (bay area, ca) to take the family and explore. Any recommendations for areas for this time of year? I'm mostly just trying to avoid snow since it's usually just us out and about.
Where to go this winter?
- Thread starter Dustin
- Start date
Yeh I've been thinking about the Mojave/Death Valley area. Seems like it might be a good time of the year to go (no heat).
Influencer I
You should look into the Mojave road trip that's coming up next year.
OB 1643
OB 1643
Pathfinder II
Influencer I
Off-Road Ranger III
If you like a mix of overlanding and some tourist stuff, the area around Barstow CA is nice. Look at Owl Canyon Campground, Rainbow Canyon for some cool geologic formations and then the "ghost town" of Calico for some tourist entertainment.
Pathfinder I
If you are looking for great overloading type of adventures, take the advice of many on here and head south to one of the many desert locals. The upside to desert trips in the winter is no bugs, no hot weather and amazing sunset/sunrises. The downsides to the desert in the winter time is the cold, cold, cold nights, the increased camping traffic at major spots(including hot springs) and not enough daylight hours to enjoy(stars are amazing though). I personally like to try and play around Mono Lake and the Inyo Craters before the big snow falls. There are a great many hot springs in the area as well as further south near Bishop. Good luck and happy trails!
I'm late to the party, but the Mendocino National Forest is my fav of favs. Its about 2 hours north of Santa Rosa and east of Willits.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/mendocino/
Once you get there you'll find an almost limitless amount of forest roads to explore. Road conditions vary from some paved roads to easy dirt roads, to more challenging unpaved roads, and OHV trails. There's also several camp grounds, the most popular being Letts Lake in the South East region of the forest.
Higher elevations can and will present snow this time of year. Water crossings like Bear Creek will most likely be impassable, so be careful and keep aware of your surroundings.
This group made some poor choices ranging from only taking one vehicle up there in bad weather and not knowing when to turn around:
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/6506004-181/three-4-wheelers-stranded-overnight-rescued
https://www.fs.usda.gov/mendocino/
Once you get there you'll find an almost limitless amount of forest roads to explore. Road conditions vary from some paved roads to easy dirt roads, to more challenging unpaved roads, and OHV trails. There's also several camp grounds, the most popular being Letts Lake in the South East region of the forest.
Higher elevations can and will present snow this time of year. Water crossings like Bear Creek will most likely be impassable, so be careful and keep aware of your surroundings.
This group made some poor choices ranging from only taking one vehicle up there in bad weather and not knowing when to turn around:
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/6506004-181/three-4-wheelers-stranded-overnight-rescued
