Looking for trips where I don’t need to rent a car

Trail north of Casino Morongo going into whitewater, if you can get across the reservation.

My car-free suggestion is use the PCT path under I-10 via roadwalk or rideshare from the casino (which of course has a shuttle bus from Banning/Beaumont <-> San Bernardino), leading around the cabazon neighborhood, and go in through the PCT access in the middle of the windfarm.  Not the most scenic but it’s only about a half mile or so already in a small valley.  The rest is pretty scenic to very scenic.  Gain the ridge (cell phone signal btw), then descend towards WW, maybe stock up with treated water at the preserve, backtrack a bit, then take the PCT into the creek drainage.  Could either follow the PCT towards Big Bear or do some surrounding trips.

I’ve only hiked the PCT track through there, but prefer the wide open trail having almost stepped on a baby rattler (in the forested upper section of all places .. those suede LP light hikers felt mighty thin at that encounter, though baby snake slithered off-trail when it realized it was spotted).

There’s driving to WW but frankly catering to that crowd that causes the preserve to wuss out (oh there’s a 5 MPH wind .. we need to close the park so someone’s hairdo doesn’t get messed up)

San Berdo would be out of Ontario, I guess. That would work. The wind farm past the quarry used to have a sign up for water. I sort of like that little valley. It was easy to get to and pretty secluded. Easy walk.  Ephedra, Mormon tea grows out there.
It can a warm climbing the hill that drops into mission. I never did it that way. Personally, I’d stay by the river and follow it up to Hell-for-Sure Canyon, Middlefork and north fork. I don’t really filter the river water. There’s nothing upstream to contaminate it. It can be silty. White silt, hence the name whitewater. There is a faint trail up Millard Canyon into WW. They’ve put in a bottling plant and a guard gate.

Actually if you just get to Banning. Follow the water company road up to the plumes. Follow them to east fork.

As far as those running the park. It was a trout farm before they acquired it and they were not known to be friendly.

Thank you so much everyone who responded! So much tribal knowledge shared in this thread. To me this is one of the hardest things in trip planning. Trying to keep the cost down by not renting a car.

This year i am planning to walk from Tahoe to yosemite. I will take Amtrak to Truckee, TART bus to Sugar Pine point, and walk a couple miles of road to reach my trailhead at Meeks bay. At the other end, I catch the Tuolumne hikers bus to the valley, Yarts to Merced, and Amtrak again. To do this trip driving to one end i would have to some kind of shuttle to get back to the car so this works out well.

Try to check out some national parks with shuttle services from nearby airports. Zion National Park in Utah is a great option, there’s a shuttle from Las Vegas airport to Springdale, and then you can use the park’s shuttle system to get around. It’s super convenient and you don’t need a car at all. Another great spot is the Appalachian Trail near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. You can fly into Washington, D.C., and take a train directly to the trailhead.

By the way, if you’re considering a place to stay, the westgate in Branson is a great option. I’ve stayed there before and found it comfortable and well-located. Plus, Branson has some great outdoor activities if you want a mix of hiking and other attractions.

We have taken Amtrak to Williston, then Taxi out to Maah Daah Hey trail, bikepacked it, then ended at Buffalo Gap, where we had arranged a shuttle from the guest ranch there to take us back to Williston.

I have also taken Greyhound to Medora and hiked Theo Roosevelt park.

Also taken busses to Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and Amtrak to Glacier.

Of course, Europe has many, many options.

This is a great thread. Cost is one reason, but also if you are under 25, or don’t have a drivers license, renting a car is not an option.

Under 25 years olds can rent a car, including from major agencies, but with additional fees in the order of $25/day.  Which is really painful if it’s just sitting at the trailhead.  I think all of them allow 21-25 to rent, although it’s tougher for under 21s.

Off-brand rental car companies – one’s you’ve never heard of – sometimes have more lenient policies (and much older cars).