USATourist Community

Hi everyone, 

Was just browsing through the site and I noticed the forums were pretty informative and specific to the needs written down... So here's my own personal plea. 

Me and my family of 5 are planning a trip to the US during the November to January period - most likely going in November, coming back in January - and we don't quite know what to do.

Ideas have included going to Colorado, Montana, San Diego and L.A. We're people very interested in the natural beauty of the USA and thus our choices of Colorado and Montana, for we've heard most about them. However, we've also heard that during that timeframe, it'll be a very, very white Christmas with freezing cold environments - does that kinda' defeat our purpose for going? If not, which state would be better to visit and why? Or if any of you can, are there any suggestions on your part as to what other states and destinations would be good? We're pretty much extremely novice, and any additional information about what exactly to do and where exactly to go within the state of best suit would be really appreciated.

L.A. is a must for us, pretty much, cause' we want to make it to Disneyland, so in which order should it go? One of the cold places then L.A. or vice versa? We're mostly leaning towards either Colorado and Montana, but again, any input regarding other places would be good. We're only hesitant about all that because we're from Australia and this will be the first time we're all journeying to the US together; don't know what to expect of the weather and the places themselves.

Another thing is, our preferred mode of accommodation would not in fact be posh hotels and the like, but rather, maybe houses or cottages or farmhouses or some other place that is owned by actual people? I'm not sure if that makes sense in the American context but here in Australia, quite alot of our accommodation services actually work that way. Someone owns a place, we sort of stay near them or in the house itself if and when it's big enough, we get the keys from them, sometimes eat dinner with them, can ask them about their locality. If that is a possible picture in America at all, we'd love to hear about it.

Thanks so much for your help everyone, we're just needing to book our flights and organise our trip asap and we don't quite know where to go from where we are. 

You must remember that November to January is the middle of winter in the USA.  The climate can vary considerably from location to location depending how far north you travel and at what elevation you travel. 

Here is a brief explanation of the typical winter weather in the west. 

The California Coast has mild winters due to the influence of the Pacific Ocean.  Los Angeles and San Diego are in the southern part of the state and the weather can be anywhere from cool to cold, but you will not get snow or freezing termperatures.  San Francisco is nearly 500 miles further north, so you can get colder temperatures but still no snow or freezing weather.  In the mountains near Yosemite and Kings Canyon you will find both freezing temperatures and snow.  At the higher elevations, you will find lots of snow, enough to close some of the roads and mountain passes from November until May.  East of the Mountains, in the rain shadow desert, you will find termperatures that vary according to altitude but very little snow. Death Valley is actually quite pleasant in the winter when the oppressive heat is gone.

Montana can be bitterly cold in the winter with the possibility of significant snowfall.  Tourist would likely avoid Montana during the winter months unless they ski.  Yellowstone Park is closed to vehicles during the winter but they do allow a limited number of snowmobiles and cross country skiers in, plus they have snow cat busses to take tourists to some of the attractions.

Denver Colorado is situated on the plains in the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountains.  The temperatures can get below freezing and it can snow, but it does not typically receive large amounts of snow.  Unfortunately, the best scenery is located in the Rocky Mountains west of Denver where you typically find significant amounts of snow.  It is great ski country, and they try to keep the main roads open to the ski resorts, but some of the passes and mountain roads are likely to be closed.

As for accommodations, I have traveled in the UK and Europe where B&Bs or farmhouse gites are a great alternative to hotels.  That is not as viable of an option in the USA.  In the USA, B&Bs tend to be quaint, lovely and typically more expensive than hotels.  Vacation cabins are available to rent near some of the national parks and attractions or near the tourist beaches, but not elsewhere.

If you really have your heart set on seeing Montana or Colorado, and you are not a skier, I suggest you consider visiting during the summer months.