Wife and I are planning a trip to LA in Oct. We will be staying at Disneyland Californian Hotel for 2 nights, we then go to San Diego for a trip to the Hotel del Cornando. Then back to DL for 1 night before flying home.
My question is:
We want to go to Palm Springs to visit her uncle. What would be the fastest way there and then from there a scenic route to the del? I am thinking about doing the coast back to LA.
Suggestions, comments and advice would be most appreciated.

I wish I could say we are renting a Mini for the trip but it's too expensive for us so a regular rental is all we can do.
Feel free to PM me if need be.

Thanks,

 

i work like a mile from DLand! We can totaly meet up for lunch one day... there's a nother MINI owner i work with and im sure he'll come too!

 

The fastest route to Palm Springs would be to take Highway 57 North to 91 east to 215 S/60E to 10 east and then onto 111 east. About 80 to 100 miles. The traffic will be bad during commuting hours (6-9am and 3-8pm) as well as on the weekends so plan accordingly.

From Palm Springs to Coronado, most folks would come back the way you came to the 215 and then head South to 15 South to 5 North to 75 South which leads you up to the Hotel. Other options would be to take 10 east to Indio, go around the Salton Sea and catch 8 West back into the San Diego Area. This is a long way around, and, unless you really like the desert, I wouldn't recommend it.

For stops along the way, there is a Railroad Museum in Perris (OERM). And there are a number of wineries in Temecula. The San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park is in Escondido.

Coming back to Anaheim (Orange County or Southern Cal, Not LA if you want to get along with the locals), just take 5 North to Dana Point where you can take Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway - PCH) which follows the coast through Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach. If you have the time, keep going to Long Beach and then double back to Disneyland.

If you want to meet some fellow MINI Enthusiasts, SCMM (Southern California MINI Maniacs) has a regular breakfast meeting on the 4th Saturday of the month in San Diego and on the Second Saturday in Seal Beach (not far from Disney Land). If you think you would like to make either of these, PM me and I,ll get you the details. Or check out www.scmm.org.

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask more questions or PM me.

Phil

 

For the scenic, back road routes from Palm Springs to the Hotel Del, here's a couple of options (get a map before reading farther...):

1. Mountain Route: Drop down CA 111 from Palm Springs to the intersection of CA 74 in Palm Desert. Go west (and up!) on CA 74 to CA 371. Continue west on 371 to CA 79. Now go south (mostly) on CA 79 through Santa Ysabel and the old mining town of Julian in the Cuyamaca mountains. Keep going south through Cuyamaca Park until you hit Interstate 8. Zoom down out of the mountains from there into San Diego.

2. Desert and Mountain Route: Go south from Palm Springs on CA 111 (or I-10) to CA 86. Go south on 86 alongside the west side of the Salton Sea to highway S22 (frankly not all that interesting so far). West on S22 into the desert town of Borrego Springs. Keep going through Borrego on S22, then head up "The Elevator" (about a 3000 foot twisty switchback rise in 5 or 6 miles. You may want to stop at the Anza-Borrego Park visitor's center just west of Borrego - nice desert museum. Continue west on S22/Montezuma Valley Road through the megapolis of Ranchita until you connect to S2. Make a right turn on S2 and go west for a few miles until you hit CA 79 just north of Santa Ysabel. Go south on CA 79 as above (maybe stopping at the Julian Pie Shop in Santa Ysabel or Julian - yum!) until you hit I-8, then west down out of the mountains on I-8 to San Diego.

These are all good MINI roads for the most part. Scenic and/or twisty. Much nicer than I-10 and other various crowded boring freeways. Be sure to wave at all the MINIs and Minis you might come across!

Taking the coast road back to Disneyland is scenic and historic, but not fast. The road (old US 101) is generally known as Pacific Highway in San Diego, and Pacific Coast Highway in Orange County. Instead of two or two and a half hours on I-5, I'd plan on 4 to 6, depending on traffic and stops. You will still have to take I-5 through Camp Pendleton (a Marine Corp fortress that protects San Diego from the ravening hordes of LA and Orange County). And in Orange County around Newport or Costa Mesa, you'll have to head east on CA 55 to get back to the Disneyland area. You can also bail out from the coast road in a number of locations if time runs out and skip over to I-5.

If you do something like this, good maps and/or a nav system are highly recommended. Getting lost is a possibility

Good luck and let us know your schedule. Help is available if needed, and the advice is always free (and probably worth it!)

-Andrew-
Baja La Jolla

 

Phil,
Thanks for the time to do this. I have copied the directions into a Word doc and am collecting tips/hints to use.
I was stationed in Long Beach during the 70's and have come to CA a few times since then, but not since '01. We did San Francisco then. An earlier trip we did DL and Palm Springs so we wanted to see something new.

Thanks again ,

 

Andrew,
Thanks also for your time and help. We are looking forward to coming out. I have a Garmin Streetpilot III and will be bringing that for 'help'. We'll play it by ear and routes but I'd like to show Cheryl areas that she has never seen before (me also) or places that I haven't seen for 30+ years.
I know we fly into LAX on 10/22 rent a car for the drive to DL. On Mon. we are touring Disney Studios, and going to try to hook up with a few friends. My daughters mother-in-law just moved out there and I think is going to try to buy a house in Marina del Ray (?). Not sure where her apartment is now. She just took a new job and that's the area I think. So we are going to try to see her. Of course we are going to do the parks while there. Working for Disney it's a natural. Tuesday we check out for the trip to Palm Springs, for a few hours visit. Then to San Diego. I want to visit the aircraft carrier museum (being Navy it really interest me), or any thing else we can do. Then on Thur. we head back to DL for the night and fly home on Fri. Way too much to do and not enough time to do it.

Thanks again for the help.

 

AuthiMini's way is the most scenic.


I live in Hemet and was going to post the very same info. Have a great time in SoCal!

 

authmini's got the best way nailed. we used to live out in ramona and i've been on the route he describes several times (albiet not in our mini). take water, it is hot this time of year and rather remote in spots....but some of the prettiest parts of california can be seen.

wave when you go through san clemente on your way from hotel del back to d'land.....

 

Will it still be hot the end of Oct.? Can't remember when I was in that area last. Maybe June, 01?

I'll wave but I hope I don't see too many Mini's. It will make me to see them and know mine is home and we are in a rental.

Thanks everyone for the help.

 

Thanks for the advice. Can't wait.
I have a Widget counting down until we go, right now it's at: 98/6/45/35,34,33,32........
days/hours/minutes/sec........

 

It depends if we are experiencing an indian summer. Usually we cool down the first week of Sept and stay cool for a few weeks. Then the heat moves in and gets hot for a week or so. Probably you shouldn't have to worry too much about the heat. Great time of year to be going through Julian. The fall colors can amaze you out there. Good time to stop and get some apple pie too!

Widgets can be fun sometime!

 

"I want to visit the aircraft carrier museum (being Navy it really interest me)..."

An excellent idea (having also done time in Uncle Sam's Canoe Club). I've been through the Midway a couple of times, and they've done an excellent job of the cleanup/restoration/musuem setup.

 

I have to research this to see times, location etc. Am guessing it's in the water somewhere.
What ship were you on? I was on the Hector, AR7, stationed out of Long Beach/Vallejo. Was also on shore duty in Vallejo for about 14 months prior to ship duty. But that was a loooonnnggg time ago.
Loved the Bay area. We try to visit that area, but are doing the S Cal thing this time. Need to get my DL (Disneyland) fix.

 

Wow...look at the SCMM'ers providing good advice, you're definitely in good hands. Kseckel99, just in case you want a more scenic route filled with twisties to get to Palm Springs, I suggest taking Ortega Highway (Highway 74).

Here's my suggestion - from Disneyland head west (take I-5 south to 55 Freeway West towards Newport Beach) take it all the way down to Route 1 Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) South. Take PCH south towards Dana Point - this will take you through Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, and Dana Point along the beach. Once you hit Dana Point, turn left onto Del Obispo and head East until you hit Camino Capistrano. Turn left on Camino Capistrano and head north - the San Juan Capistrano Mission will be on your right. San Juan Capistrano is a good place to eat. From San Juan Capistrano, take Ortega Highway (highway 74) heading east towards Lake Elsinore. This is a nice two lane road with nice twisties - beware of cops though, and you want to be on this road either really early or between 11AM & 2PM to beat traffic. You'll be descending down upon Lake Elsinore (nice view). Stay on 74 until you hit Highway 79 - stay on Highway 79 which will later merged to I-10 you will want to take I-10 towards INDIO.

If you want even more of a scenic route and lots more twisties...instead of taking Highway 79, stay on Highway 74...go through Helmet...stay on 74 until Mountain Center and then turn left onto Highway 243 towards Idyllwild. Stay on 243 through San Bernandino Nation Forest until you hit I-10..and then again head towards Indio.

Not quite the fastest, but definitely the more scenic and more fun.

Best of luck on your trip out here...hope you and your wife have lots of fun!
~Lex~

 

The Midway is tied up at a pier in San Diego Bay just west of downtown. It's just south of the harbor cruise boat landings and the Maritime Musuem boats (Star of India) at the foot of Broadway and Harbor Drive. Easy to find, her bridge towers over most of the nearby buildings.

The Maritime Musem is worth a visit on it's own (the Midway is not part of the Maritime Musuem). The MM has the Star of India (1863 British iron hulled barkentine built as an emmigrant ship), HMS Surprise (used in the movie Master and Commander), a Foxtrot class Soviet sub built in 1972, the Berkley, a ferryboat that was used in 1906 to carry survivors of the San Francisco Earthquake across the bay to safety in Oakland. And some other ships. Pretty interesting to visit.

I had a great naval career as an REMF in Rota, Spain, '71-'75. I was in the Aircraft Maintenance Department, but nearly all my "sea stories" come from my corollary duties with the Shore Patrol! But I did my part and I'm proud to have helped my country a little bit. Spain was a great place to spend a few years, and that's where I bought my first Mini, a Spanish-built 1275GT that I traveled all over Europe in. My screen name comes from that, since AUTHI was the name of the British Leyland subsidiary in Spain that built Minis there.

 

Lex,
Thanks for the driving directions. I'm not sure what direction we will take. Needless to say it looks like it will be a full day of driving. Not sure how long we will be in Palm Springs, but am guessing it will be shorter rather than a longer visit. Maybe lunch/brunch. But we might try to get to PS as fast as possible so we know how long we have. Not that we want to get to the del early but would like to see it in the light .

Any one have a guesstimate on the time frame for these travels? Will help me in planning.

Thanks for everyones help.

 

The I-5, 55, to PCH to the ortega's should take you about two hours in weekend traffic to get to Elsinore. Then about 90 minutes to Palm Springs. From the 79 through the canyon and to PS is about 50 minutes all together. Then once you're in PS it'll take driving time to get to Highway 74 in Palm Desert where you want to begin your scenic drive to San Diego through Julian. PD is quite a drive down highway 111 on any day. Meaning - lots of stop lights along 111. When you get to the 74 (Monterey Ave) there is a great little shopping area too.

If you are pressed for time, you will more than likely want to skip the Palm Springs trip that day. That is unless you're waking up and heading out that morning. If you're doing the Disney thing then moving on, it's just too much for one day. Once you're done in PS the drive through Julian should take about 2 hours depending on how you handle the twisties. And if you stop for pie.
From Julian you're in Escondido, it's another 40 minutes or so to the Del.

We did the opposite route last Saturday from the 74 to Doheny over the Ortegas. Then on to PCH and La Jolla. It was a nice drive, traffic wasn't too bad. Oh and just so you're not confused, it's Hemet, not Helmet.

 

Thanks for the catch!