USATourist Community

  Normal 0

Hello all

My husband and I are visiting my brother-in-law in his new house in San Francisco in the last days of November.  We will be spending a few days there, then driving on for the remainder of our 3 week holiday.  I’ve always wanted to visit the canyons and deserts of the South West, so I’m really excited and we are definitely going to stop off in Santa Fe and have one crazy night in Las Vegas as a complete contrast.  Then we plan to spend some time in the parks, visit some ghost towns, etc.  We’re planning on tent camping quite a lot, and then staying in hotels in the few cities we visit.  So any hotel recommendations (we don’t have a lot of money to spend) and any lovely campsites?

I’d be really interested in any suggestions anyone has about places to visit, beautiful drives, interesting ghost towns, good places to eat etc. within the South West.  Also – the weather..!  We’re assuming we’ll need warm clothing but are really hoping it’ll be mostly dry.  Can anyone enlighten us on what to expect weather-wise, from San Francisco down to Santa Fe?  And I’m thinking it’ll be quite quiet, tourist-wise, which will be nice. 

We’ll probably buy some camping stuff when we arrive in San Francisco – any suggestions about good stores for camping gear?  If there’s an Outdoor World there that would be perfect.

Oh, and you should probably know that the one thing we’re not interested in is skiing..!

Really looking forward to hearing from anyone with comments, thoughts and suggestions.

Many thanks, J

Hello,

I'm not sure if this is the Outdoor World you were referring to, but they list a retail location in Monterrey, which is south of San Francisco.  http://theoutdoorworld.com  In the U.S., one of the most popular outdoor gear stores is REI.  They have locations nationwide including in San Francisco.  www.rei.com

If you view the Travel & Vacation Planner on The Weather Channel's site, you can view the monthly averages for any location.  http://www.weather.com/activities/travel/vacationplanner/?from=secondarynav

If you want to easily plan your camping stops, you can visit the KOA site.  Kampgrounds of America is a national chain.  www.koa.com   Not all campgrounds are equal, depending upon who maintains them. The good thing about KOA is that you can pretty much know what you will find there.   I found this site which looks quite handy.  http://www.reserveamerica.com  You can search for all campgrounds across the US. 

At the national parks, some campgrounds are closed during the winter.  And some campgrounds are tent-only, which is quite nice, I think.  And a few will take reservations or fill up early.  Though you are traveling in winter, you will be less likely to run into full camgrounds.  But better safe than sorry!  For info, you can visit the National Park Service site www.nps.gov. 

 Sorry I can't recommend any places to eat.  Though for anyone I recommend avoiding the chains and just try to find where the locals go.  I think that works no matter where you go in the world!

This site has a list of Ghost Towns across the US.  http://www.legendsofamerica.com/LA-Ghosttowns.html

Sounds like you have a great trip planned, mixing some outdoor adventure with big city excitement.  Have fun!

*´¨)
¸.·´ ¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨¨)
(¸. Michelle¸.·
(¸.·´ (¸.·* (¸.·*´¨)
                   *

Hi Michelle

Thanks so much for this, it's really helpful.  REI: that's the store I was trying to remember..!  I've been to SF once before and bought some stuff there, and I just couldn't remember the name. And yes we do like a bit of contrast in a holiday and with three weeks, I think we can have plenty of it!

All the best, Justine