Overnight Trip from LAX or LAS?

LA has some great options that are quite close, mostly the San Bernadino National Forest and the Angeles National Forest. This time of year, they will be cold and possibly snowy but beautiful. Definitely check on conditions before you go because if you want to summit some peaks, you may need ice axes or crampons.

There are numerous routes around or up to Mt. San Gorgonio, with some great ones described here.

I’m not as familiar with the Angeles National Forest, but here are some routes I found. Other areas within a 2-3 hours drive from Los Angeles include Joshua Tree and the Mt. San Jacinto area around Idyllwild.

Getting to Yosemite to do Half Dome is going to be quite a drive. Driving to Death Valley will take you 5 hours. From Las Vegas, it will be much faster, around 2 hours.

Adam,
Thank you for responding. I had to make a choice before noon today(yes, I know, not much tme for feedback!) and picked LAS because I have a feeling that Death Valley may be on my list.

Any hikes in particular that would be well suited for an overnighter in Death Valley?

Most of Death Valley is cross country rather than actual trails. You will be somewhat limited by the type of car you have. 4WD and high clearance will open up a lot more territory for you. Do you know what kind of car?

Hi Adam,
Thanks again for taking the time to help. I don't have a car booked yet, but could get a jeep if required. Do you have something specific in mind?

I was hoping for something different than what we have up here, Death Valley looks neat and I figured it is a good time to visit as it is a bit cooler now. I could be wrong though. But also not stuck on Death Valley, but have now commited to Las Vegas departure so i am tied to that airport.

Cottonwood-Marble Canyon loop

Panamint City

You could try calling the Death Valley NP Ranger station and asking about some of the back country high points and how much if any snow has hit DV. A lot of people do Telescope in shoulder season. Given the last series of storms, right now it might be more of a winter mountaineering trek but the road closure only adds 3 or 4 miles to the hike.
http://www.summitpost.org/telescope-peak/150584

There have been reports in the past on this site of folks backpacking in the State Parks north of LV. Just search BPL. The map with the names of the parks is here
http://parks.nv.gov/parks/map/

Zion is already mentioned which is an easy drive once you pick up the rental car and get out of the LV traffic.

Depending on how far you want to drive, there is always Great Basin National Park which is open all winter and is perhaps the least visited NP in the USA.

Cheers

Death Valley is one of my favorite places. You can either go tourist mode and drive around and see the sights for a couple days, or take on a few shorter hikes, or a longer awesome one (like Telescope Peak, weather depending). 4wd drive is required to get into lots of backcountry places, but there's lots of great places accessible by a standard rental.

I've been most places throughout the park, so let me know if you need any advice!

I admittidly have done zero research so forgive the question if it is obvious. Is Telescope done in kahtoolas crampons over runners and overboots or are we talking something more serious? This could be fun.

Steve, the answer is "it depends."

On a normal year, hikers go up Telescope Peak in the summer when the snow and ice is gone, starting from Mahogany Flat (8100'). The trail gets steeper only in the last mile to the top. However, in the off season, it is difficult to predict. Anytime in the winter there will be some snow and ice. If the snow and ice gets thick in that last mile, you may not be able to follow the trail. If there has been normal wind up there, it can get just a bit gnarly.

If I had to go up there now, I would not wear Kahtoolas over runners. I would wear Kahtoolas over mid or tall boots with tall gaiters.

The bigger problem is that you probably can't drive up to Mahogany Flat. For sure not in a 2WD car. However, you can park a couple of miles below Mahogany Flat and walk it from there. The park service does not maintain that road during the winter.

I would not recommend doing Telescope Peak the hard way in this season. That starts below sea level and goes up over 11,000'. It is rough enough without any snow or ice.

–B.G.–

Thanks Bob. I went by MEC this morning to get a Death Valley map but they didn't have it in stock. I'm going to do a bit of research and see if I can put together a cool overnight loop that (weather/condition depending) would include Telescope Peak. So far the place looks very fun. I will keep you posted, and if anyone else has any advice about DV, please feel free to chime in!

If you go to the Death Valley visitor center at Furnace Creek, they might be able to tell you something about the road access. They will try to discourage you from going, so you will need to tell them that you are from Canada. They have a voluntary wilderness permit, but nothing that is required. In the event that the weather is particularly bad, there are some good places to go at lower elevations. However, it is nice to know something about geology or mining history before you go there.

There are lots of places to go, but the vehicle distances are substantial. Couple that with some really bad roads, and it gets problematic. One of my favorite places to go is the Racetrack Valley.

–B.G.–

Thanks for the tips everyone! Plan is to do Wildrose Peak on Friday and Telescope Peak Saturday. I tried calling the park today but couldnt get through to one of the rangers for conditions. If it is too nasty for Telescope I am hoping that at least Wildrose will be doable. Im bringing my full winter kit in hopes of doing both though.