Itinerary for camping and photography trip in southern california

April 13, 2009 7:49 PM

Help me with an itinerary for a 3-day camping/photo tour of Southern California.

My wife and I are taking a 3-day weekend to drive around Southern California and explore our new state. We're new to San Diego and haven't had a chance to explore SoCal. We're both photographers and are looking for some photogenic sites. We'd like to pack a few coolers full of food and car camp for three nights.

We thought we'd leave it to the hive mind to create an itinerary for us. We're open to anything. We've heard that the Salton Sea is a very photogenic spot, and some photos on Flickr confirm this, so we'd like that to be part of the itinerary.

Otherwise I'd love to hear some suggestions for places to camp/photograph/visit!

posted by mamessner to travel & transportation (4 comments total)

Joshua Tree. Joshua Tree. Joshua Tree.

San Luis el Rey mission.

Anza Borrego park
posted by notsnot at 8:26 PM on April 13

I don't know how far your wanting to go but you may want to visit Big Bear Lake.. it may still be a little cold to car camp there though. The Wild Animal park in Escondido has some beautiful scenery. Lake Dixon in Escondido is a very pretty place to hike and take photos.
In Murrieta were I live, the Santa Rosa Plateau consists of 8000 acres of wilderness trails and you may catch a glimpse of deer or coyotes if you get there early enough.

The Huntington Museum in Pasadena is unlike anything you've ever seen. I don't even like calling it a museum as the grounds are so beautiful.. Look it up on the web.

Have fun on your trip.. you probably will never run out of places to visit!
posted by Chele66 at 8:47 PM on April 13

To get to salton sea you're likely to drive through the anza borrego which has many a cool place to visit. I've camped there half a dozen times or so and each one had it's own beautiful scenery. Like the carrizo badlands and the borrego palm canon trail. Depending on when you plan on going, it can get very very hot in the salton sea/anza borrego so check the weather and be prepared.

You can also see my pics of the salton sea here if you want some inspiration.
posted by escher at 8:49 PM on April 13

Are you planning this far in advance or are you going on the trip soon?

If you're headed to the Salton Sea, this would be on the opposite side of the state, but now is a great time to check out the Flower Fields in Carlsbad. Haven't been there myself, but I've seen photos and it looks like a beautiful place, and has been recommended to me many times. Seems like it would be great for shooting pics. Here's a lovely image on Flickr from a quick search -- probably a lot more if you look for flower fields and Carlsbad.

If it doesn't work out this time, maybe you can save it for a different trip. Chele66 is right -- there is a wealth of places to visit.
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 12:33 AM on April 14