San Gorgonio Wilderness，Palm Springs， Santa Barbara: Resorts around Los Angeles

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) March 19, 2006 -- San Gorgonio Wilderness

High in the San Bernardino National Forest, south of the popular outdoors destination of Big Bear, San Gorgonio is 90 sq mi (150 sq km) of trees, lakes and barren slopes. The area takes in Mt San Bernardino and San Gorgonio Peak, both over 10,000ft (3000m) high, and a multitude of hiking and equestrian trails. At low elevations, the area is especially arid and full of rattlesnakes; at higher elevations, oak and manzanita are joined by cedar, fir and pine trees. Black bears, coyote, deer and squirrel are common, and even bald eagles fly frequently over the area's campgrounds. Jenks Lake, between Mt San Bernardino and San Gorgonio Peak, is a scenic spot for picnicking and easy hiking.
There are several campgrounds in the wilderness, with minimal facilities and sites for tents and RVs. For those not so keen on roughing it, there are also cabins with sports facilities. San Gorgonio is about 90 minutes' drive from LA. If you don't have wheels, buses run as far as nearby Big Bear, but you'll probably need to organize a ride along Hwy 38 to San Gorgonio.

Palm Springs

Once famous as a winter retreat for Hollywood stars and increasingly as a well-scrubbed retirement home for the moderately wealthy, Palm Springs is the original desert resort city in the Coachella Valley east of LA. To put things in perspective, the valley has about 250,000 people, 10,000 swimming pools, 85 golf courses and more plastic surgeons per head than anywhere else in the US. There's a growing gay scene in Palm Springs, and college kids in the thousands flock here for a riotous spring break, but even so, there's not much to do in town except lounge around the pool or play golf.

The real interest is in visiting the nearby canyons, mountains and desert. Highlights include hiking trails in the Andreas, Murray, Palm and Tahquitz canyons, which are shaded by fan palms and surrounded by towering cliffs, and taking the aerial tramway which climbs 6000ft (1800m) from the desert floor up into the San Jacinto mountains. There are a number of museums in town, including the informative Palm Springs Desert Museum, the Living Desert outdoor museum and botanical garden and the Museum of the Heart, which explains heart attacks while giving you the chance to step inside a giant aorta.

Santa Barbara

Sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains, Santa Barbara is often called the California Riviera because of its affluent population, outstanding Mediterranean architecture and gorgeous seaside location. Highlights include the delightful Spanish-Moorish revival style Santa Barbara County Courthouse, the stately Mission Santa Barbara and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. The city boasts half a dozen decent beaches, the oldest continuously operating wharf on the west coast (once owned by James Cagney), botanical gardens, zoological gardens and arguably one of the most pleasant downtown areas in Southern California. Rising abruptly and majestically to the north, the Santa Ynez foothills offer great camping and hiking opportunities.
Santa Barbara is just over an hour's drive along the coast north of Los Angeles and is accessible by Greyhound or train.

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