Top-Rated Weekend Break Getaways from San Diego. When you choose it's time to escape the cozy weather condition and also gorgeous beaches of San Diego, the surrounding area supplies an almost endless range of alternatives. From treking via the tough canyons of Joshua Tree National Park in the Mojave Desert to fishing off the coast of Baja Mexico, it's all just a short repel.
Natural wonders, like the giant redwoods of Sequoia National forest are quickly available, as are urban adventures like exploring the blowing up food scene of DTLA (Downtown Los Angeles).
Southern California's substantial freeway network, integrated with some cautious planning, can also allow for 2 extremely various experiences in a single day. Fairly easily, it's feasible to surf at Pacific Beach in the early https://www.pearltrees.com/tommybb morning and also invest the mid-day snowboarding in the mountains of Huge Bear.
Plan your journeys with our checklist of the best weekend trips from San Diego.
1. Catalina Island
Catalina Island
Just 26 miles off the coastline and also with routine Catalina Express catamaran service leaving from Dana Factor, this escape is just two hours from San Diego (a 90-minute boat flight plus thirty minutes to drive to Dana Factor).
Catalina Island is loaded with small hotels, terrific dining establishments, and also a series of exterior activities. You can appreciate the sun on among the island's beaches or spend time out on or under the water fishing, kayaking, snorkeling, or scuba diving. If you enjoy jazz, the Catalina Island JazzTrax Celebration occurs each October.
Catalina Island was once possessed by the Wrigley household (Wrigley as in the chewing gum), as well as their mansion is currently a high-end store bed-and-breakfast called Mt Ada. It rests high on a hillside forgeting the harbor.
Mr. Wrigley made certain his home had the very best sights on his island, as well as visitors now benefit with sweeping postcard sights of Avalon (the island's primary town); the Pacific; and also on clear days, the coastline of Southern The golden state, 26 miles away. The Wrigley house is just one of the extra expensive resort options on the island, however this is a really unique place.
Holiday accommodation: Where to Stay on Catalina Island
2. Idyllwild
Idyllwild
This summer-only weekend break destination is high in the San Jacinto mountains of Waterfront Area, yet only a two-hour drive from midtown San Diego. The hill hotel has a couple of streets of eclectic stores and art galleries, in addition to restaurants and also cafés.
You can check out during the wintertime, however there are no ski hotels in the location, and also the mountain roads can be tough to drive on in the snow. Some services closed down too.
Idyllwild is a jumping-off place for hundreds of miles of treking routes, for all levels of walkers. The towering landscape, loaded with significant pine trees, is lovely and also resembles something out of northern Alaska, as opposed to Southern The golden state. To expand your escape, you can drive down Highway 74, called the Palms to Pines Breathtaking Byway, which connects Idyllwild with Palm Desert, near Palm Springs It's less than an hour drive away.
The Quiet Creek Inn is a rustic, pet-friendly bed-and-breakfast in Idyllwild, with a boutique hotel feel. You're snuggled in the forest, with vintage (but perfectly appointed) cabin accommodations. It's relaxed and isolated yet within walking distance of the town's several galleries and shops.
3. Hand Springs
Palm Springs.
Additionally about 3 hrs by automobile from San Diego, this desert resort location boasts more than 100 fairway in the Greater Palm Springs location (composed of the cities of Hand Springs, Hand Desert, Indian Wells, as well as La Quinta). It likewise averages about 350 days of sunlight each year.
The Coachella Valley location has a superb restaurant scene, thousands of deluxe and resort hotels, and also a great deal more to do than just golf. Aviation fans will love the vintage aircrafts of the Hand Springs Air Museum, and the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is an additional must-do. It blends you from the desert floor to a mountain summit practically 9,000 feet high, in just 10 minutes. It's feasible to play in the snow at the top, while it mores than 100 levels Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) down below in Palm Springs.
Surpass vintage and stay at the Ingleside Inn, among the city's earliest (and also coolest) hotels. Integrated in 1925 as an exclusive estate, it was then the city's most exclusive personal club (prominent with celebrities and also motion picture celebrities due to its personal privacy) up until becoming a hotel in the late 1960s. Make sure to have supper at Mervyn's, their vintage dining establishment and also dinner club.
Accommodation: Top-Rated Resorts in the Hand Springs Location
4. Sequoia National Park
Sequoia National Park
The magnificent, gigantic redwood trees of Sequoia National forest are about a six-hour drive from San Diego. Sequoia National Park remains in Central California, in the southerly component of the Sierra Nevada hills. Site visitors get 2 national forests best alongside each various other, as Kings Canyon National forest adjoins Sequoia.
The large redwood trees are spectacular, and at around 3,500 years of ages, some are the earliest creature on Earth. These redwoods, some of which have grown to be 300 feet tall, with a trunk almost 30 feet in size, are remarkable to check out and stroll beneath. There are a number of camping sites, in addition to 4 lodges, situated inside Sequoia as well as Kings Canyon National Park.
Wuksachi Lodge is right in the Titan Forest location, inside the park, where a few of the largest trees can be found. The stone and cedar mountain lodge is open year-round, however tire chains might be needed to access it throughout the winter months. The lodge has a ski store and a full-service dining establishment.
5. Riverside
Riverside
Riverside might feel like an unusual weekend escape location as it does not have a track record for hotels, but a stay at the Objective Inn Resort & Health Spa is worth the trip alone.
The architecturally fascinating residential or commercial property has actually been welcoming guests for greater than 100 years and also is best in the heart of the city. After you've explored the home (get a totally free excursion from among the hotel's ambassadors), there are a couple of museums to check out: the Waterfront Metropolitan Museum, regarding the city and also region; the Waterfront Art Gallery, with a fantastic option of mainly California as well as American painters; and also the College of The Golden State, Riverside Museum of Photography.
The Mission Inn is also right across the street from the city's historic Fox Executing Arts Facility, a vintage movie theater that hosts online events and also prominent musical entertainers.
Learn more:
Top-Rated Attractions & Things to Do in Waterfront, CA.
6. Joshua Tree.
Joshua Tree.
When you want your weekend vacation to include some outdoor camping as well as noticeably lovely all-natural surroundings, a journey to Joshua Tree National Forest is the ideal destination. It's simply outside Hand Springs as well as concerning a three-hour drive from San Diego.
Below, you'll locate hundreds of thousands of square miles of raw desert landscape, with stunning campgrounds as well as hiking routes. The town of Joshua Tree seems deliberately captured in a 1960s time warp as well as can be nearly as enjoyable to check out as the national forest.
The Joshua Tree Inn is a seriously diverse hacienda-style boutique resort situated right in the heart of the little town outside the park.
You can likewise do Joshua Tree as a day trip from Palm Springs. The park entry is just half an hour from Hand Springs, as well as most of the park's highlights come to visitors that drive. You can drive from the park's primary entryway near the town of Joshua Tree through the park to the other entrance in about two hrs. The park's various other entry is near the Cottonwood Visitor's Facility and also extremely close to the 10 freeway.
7. Rosarito Coastline, Mexico.
Rosarito Beach, Mexico.
Only half an hour from the UNITED STATE - Mexico boundary, Rosarito Coastline delivers an authentic Mexican coastline getaway, complete with tasty freshly-caught seafood, walking Mariachi artists, and also wide sandy beaches.
Park on the U.S. side of the boundary, walk over the bridge, and also take a taxi (or Uber or Lyft) into Rosarito. It's just around thirty minutes away as well as ought to set you back about $30 per taxi (not per person). Once below, you'll discover a vivid seaside holiday city. Why not take a complete- or half-day fishing expedition on one of the many tourist angling boats, or attempt a whale-watching adventure, likewise available.
The Rosarito Coastline Hotel is a big mid-priced mega-resort, exactly on the beach in the facility of community. Apart from its very own stretch of beach, there are multiple pools, a medspa, a number of restaurants, and all examples to do on-property.
8. Solvang.
Solvang.
Although primarily an innovation for tourists, this quaint Danish community is about 30 minutes from Santa Barbara and also a five-hour drive from San Diego. It's everything about Denmark right here - the shops and little enterprise zone is entirely done in Danish/European architecture, as well as it seems like you remain in Copenhagen.
The primary draw right here are the numerous Danish restaurants, shops, galleries, and bakeries - it's enjoyable simply walking and also checking out. A journey to Solvang is likewise a good day trip throughout a weekend vacation to Santa Barbara.
The Royal Copenhagen Inn is an enjoyable and also prominent bed-and-breakfast, right on Mission Drive in the heart of town. Stay here, as well as you can walk to every little thing.
9. Ojai.
Ojai.
This picturesque valley in Ventura County is near Santa Barbara and also a five-hour drive from San Diego. You'll locate a cool, New Age community, filled with distinct shops and also various kinds of therapists.
The surrounding area is mainly agricultural, and the neighborhood fruit and vegetables and foodstuff are particularly fantastic. Attempt to see a local farm mean some fresh fruit or produce.
The Ojai Valley Inn is a true destination resort as well as a fantastic area to remain for a trip. Originally opened up in 1934, the 220-acre hotel is a miniature city, with numerous kinds of lodgings as well as lots of activities and services. The hotel has a prize-winning day spa, an 18-hole golf course, and 8 different dining choices, from formal to informal.
10. Los Angeles.
Los Angeles.
Los Angeles is just 3 hrs north of San Diego, and it makes an excellent weekend escape destination. It's most likely best to concentrate on a solitary location, like a beach trip to Santa Monica or an urban food lover getaway to DTLA (downtown Los Angeles).
The downtown area of LA is growing - it contains street after street of new dining establishments, and also building after constructing converted into luxury loft space houses or upscale shopping. A dish at the Grand Central Market, currently a gastronomic food hall, is a must-do, as is a check out to Disney Hall for a songs concert. DTLA's refurbished Minister Movie theater holds more modern musical entertainers.
If you don't intend to drive, Amtrak trains run from San Diego's Santa Fe Depot right to Union Station in DTLA. It's then simple to take the City system throughout midtown and also all over Los Angeles including visitor destinations like Hollywood, Universal City, as well as the Santa Monica Coastline.
The Ace Hotel Midtown Los Angeles was developed from an early 20th-century office complex and theater, and also the cinema remains a preferred place for concerts as well as performances. The stylish resort is centrally situated right on Broadway in the heart of DTLA making it easy to stroll to all the cool stores as well as dining establishments.
Accommodation: Where to Stay in Los Angeles: Finest Areas & Hotels.
11. Lake Arrowhead.
Lake Arrowhead.
Located high up in the San Bernardino mountains, Lake Arrowhead is only a two-hour drive from San Diego. In the winter, it's a preferred area for winter sports - the Snow Valley ski resort is just thirty minutes away, however in the summer season, it's a beautiful, rustic family-friendly vacation destination.
There's a substantial lake, certainly, together with hundreds of miles of treking as well as mountain biking trails. The small town of Lake Arrowhead has a great selection of resorts, restaurants, shops, as well as art galleries.
The Lake Arrowhead Hotel and also Medical spa is a big, lavish, lakeside hotel. It has its own marina as well as offers all kinds of enjoyable on the water. Throughout the winter, it's an outstanding choice, with very easy accessibility to local ski hotels.
12. Temecula.
Temecula.
This attractive backwoods, only a hr from San Diego, has actually changed itself from a farming area into a popular tourism location. The Temecula Valley is filled with golf links and also currently additionally lots of resort choices. It's additionally a popular spot in Southern California for hot air ballooning.
Temecula's Old Community location pays homage to its farming previous as well as preserves a few of the initial design. The small midtown location has several dining establishments and antique stores, in addition to a few museums, consisting of Pennypickle's Workshop, a hands-on kids's scientific research museum.
The Signature Temecula is an excellent choice for those wanting to invest even more time in the Old Town area. It's beside Lienzo Charro, considered among the most effective Mexican dining establishments around, and a short walk from the Old Community area.
13. Monstrous Lakes.
Mammoth Hill Ski Location.
This mostly winter hotel location is high in the Eastern Sierra hills. It's a day's drive (concerning eight hrs) or a brief trip away. You can fly to Mammoth from San Diego with a linking flight, or in the winter, drive concerning 90 minutes as well as fly straight from John Wayne Airport Terminal (SNA) in Orange County.
In the winter season, it's all about snow, and also Mammoth gets a lot of it. The Mammoth Mountain ski resort flaunts The golden state's highest possible lift-serviced ski hill. There are 28 lifts taking you to 150 runs, the longest of which is 3 miles.
Massive is likewise a wonderful location for a summertime vacation. The mountain resort is filled with treking routes, first-rate mountain cycling, and also some great golf links. Several of the ski raises operate, so you can check out greater altitudes.
Accommodation: Where to Remain In Mammoth Lakes.
14. Santa Barbara.
Sight over Santa Barbara.
Santa Barbara is a breathtaking four-hour drive up the coast from San Diego and is an excellent destination for a weekend vacation. The city's downtown area, focused around State Road, supplies visitors an assortment of locally-owned stores, restaurants, and art galleries.
When you get hungry, head to the city's Funk Area, a former commercial storehouse location currently filled with hip restaurants and also art galleries.
For a cool, high-end store resort experience in the midtown location, the Kimpton Canary Resort is one of the city's latest residential properties. Apart from glamorous, yet comfy spaces, there's a prominent restaurant, Finch & Fork, and also the resort additionally has the city's only roof swimming pool.