Best time for tourist travel to LA and Vegas

S

Sbooker

Well-known member
I have a work mate (who also happens to be an old school mate) who is until now a non traveler. But at 51 that's all about to change. He's planning his first overseas trip for next year. He'll be taking his wife and 16 year old daughter.
The plan is to fly into LA. Do the Hollywood thing. Go to Disney and the other theme parks. Maybe drive up to Mammoth to check out some proper mountains. Drive through Death Valley to Vegas. Check that out and drive back to LA for a flight home.
He can go in early July (out school holidays) or late September (also our school holidays). Trip duration will be about 18/19 days.
I suggested September due to cooler weather and less crowds??? Which time frame would you suggest?
 
I've made the drive almost annually from Salt Lake City thru Las Vegas to San Diego and back in recent years. Late Sep would be my recommendation. Not much variation in weather for southern CA, but late Sep is significantly more tolerable than July for Las Vegas. And yes, less crowds in Sep than July.
Also, rather than or in addition to Mammoth, I'd recommend a couple days in the Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP area as part of the road trip loop. The giant Sequoia trees are absolutely astounding if you've never encountered something like that before and nearby Kings Canyon has some pretty mountain scenery. Hoover Dam near Vegas is also worth checking out. The return drive from Vegas to LA via Interstate 15 is pretty boring and desert-like much of the way, but would be direct. Las Vegas itself is pretty spectacular for all the flashiness plopped in the middle of a god-forsaken desert, but I'm not a gambler and it is not so enthralling upon each subsequent visit. The city attracts a lot of low-lifes. Also, from Vegas to the Grand Canyon, AZ (south rim) is only about 4.5 hours drive time. It would be hard to pass up that opportunity if the travelers are somewhat ambitious. From Grand Canyon to LAX is an 8.5 hour drive, easy to do in one day, also pretty boring and dry on Interstate 40.

This photo of Hoover Dam was taken on an easily accessible bridge/path built high above the dam in recent years.
hoover dam feb 2022.jpg


Grand Canyon, south rim in May:
grand canyon snowman.png


Average monthly hi and low temps in F for relevant time frame:

Las Vegas
July107° / 67°
August104° / 66°
September96° / 57°
October83° / 46°

Los Angeles
July83° / 65°
August85° / 66°
September83° / 65°
October79° / 60°
 
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Additionally, I have never been to Death Valley NP, but would like to get there preferably some winter when taking a break from skiing Utah. The temps there are legendary and it would obviously be far better to visit in late Sep than July.

Avg monthly hi/lo temps for Death Valley, CA

July116° / 88°
August114° / 86°
September107° / 76°
October93° / 62°
 
In May 2019 the highlight of a cross country drive for me was when we scored a last minute cabin reservation over Memorial Day Weekend at the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Some of the most famous US National Parks have highly sought accommodations inside the park. Many of these accommodations are booked a year in advance, but surprisingly most don't charge a penalty if you cancel 48 hours or more before your visit. Hence, there is a great deal of last minute churn and availability if you have the flexibility to do that. We reserved a cabin the day before we arrived. This cabin was very nicely appointed inside. My wife and I actually hugged each other with glee when we opened the cabin door! And amazingly it was only about 50' from the rim of the canyon. The absolute closest accoms you could get to the Grand Canyon. Whoever cancelled this ultra primo cabin must have made their reservation a year in advance. It didn't come cheap, something like $250 for just one night, but boy was it an amazing spot! The view from our cabin's breakfast table was outstanding. We had no clue how good the location of this cabin was going to be or we would have gladly stayed for another night or two when we booked it.
Moral of the story is consider looking into last minute stays at iconic lodges at US National Parks. In this case: Sequoia, Death Valley, Grand Canyon. If you make the call for a last minute reservation and it doesn't pan out you can always look for alternate normal motels outside the parks where there should be vacancies in Sep.
 
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I would also strongly recommend late Sept vs July for that proposed itinerary. Mid-late Oct might be even better temperature wise. US schools are all in session in late Sept but off for summer break during all of July meaning a huge difference in the volume of vacationers in the US.

While I agree on the sequoia trees, not sure why Kings NP recommendation vs Yosemite if they are already in/near Mammoth? Even if a day trip event for them starting/ending in Mammoth area; that NP is in my top 2 favorites that I have ever visited (I don't list them 1,2, but put into groups/tiers where Yosemite and Zion are my top two grouping followed by a larger 3-8 grouping, etc...).

Also recommend Hoover Dam as worth a look if you are already in Vegas. And that can be achieved in just a little over half a day total including internal tours, etc... it's only 45min drive from Vegas. Interestingly the grill there has surprisingly good food for lunch to boot. Nothing fancy, but very tasty burgers, chicken sandwiches, etc... above average and much better than fast food joints or many restaurants (I was at Hoover/Vegas less than a month ago. I'll be back in Vegas in less than a month again and no I'm not a gambler. Work stuff).
 
Thanks. All good tips. If I were going back to that part of the world I wouldn’t go to Vegas. But it’s iconic so you can’t blame them for wanting to check it out. They don’t mind a punt either.
So I’ll tell him it’s a resounding vote for September.

This reminds me I’ve really got to get to the US outside of winter and early spring. The National Parks are perfect for us as we’re keen adventure type hikers.
 
EMSC said:
US schools are all in session in late Sept but off for summer break during all of July meaning a huge difference in the volume of vacationers in the US.
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+1 This affects Disney, National Parks and especially our beaches. Note from those LA temperatures that in SoCal July and September have the same average temperatures, though July is more consistent and September more prone to the heat extremes. I would guess however that SoCal beaches would be a low priority for Aussies with their abundance at home.

Depending upon the amount of time, logistics of Sequoia/Kings Canyon are more difficult than Yosemite, assuming your work mate will drive Vegas/Death Valley/Mammoth/Tioga Pass. There are also two sequoia groves within Yosemite NP at the north and south ends. Yosemite Valley is more comfortable in September though the waterfalls will be better in July.

Once you are west of the Sierra there's a good case for returning to L.A. via Monterey/Big Sur/Hearst Castle. September tends to be the nicest weather month there; April-July is the most intense fog season.

As for the Grand Canyon, the standard tourist experience of gawking over the South Rim is worth a 1-2 hour drive-by. IMHO you need to spend most of a full day to hike halfway down to get a full sense of scale, preferably on the more dramatic Kaibab Trail.

Obviously travel options will depend on how much time; I'm guessing it's two weeks.
 
Tony Crocker said:
Once you are west of the Sierra there's a good case for returning to L.A. via Monterey/Big Sur/Hearst Castle. September tends to be the nicest weather month there; April-July is the most intense fog season.
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He’s a golf nut and although he would be unlikely to play with his wife and daughter in tow I’m sure he’s get a kick out of checking out one of the big name courses. Pebble Beach is just there I believe. Or Palm Springs further south.
Tony Crocker said:
Obviously travel options will depend on how much time; I'm guessing it's two weeks.
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A little longer. Probably 18 days or thereabouts. They’ll keep Holly out of school for a few days.
 
Good input from others. So much to see, so little time. I didn't consider a reverse loop, that is, LA to Vegas and/or Grand Canyon, then Death Valley, Mammoth, Yosemite, Big Sur, and back to LA. That could be really good.
 
Sbooker said:
Thanks. All good tips. If I were going back to that part of the world I wouldn’t go to Vegas. But it’s iconic so you can’t blame them for wanting to check it out.
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The word "Iconic" seems to get more and more over-used these days. It's like America upped its vocabulary game and incorporated that word - and now every star, actor, building, etc. - is now Iconic. (I guess anyone who is an OG is also an icon.) Every silly IG influencer uses it for their travel logs.

I would say Las Vegas is more 'infamous' than 'iconic'. It's less a place to be admired, and a bit more notorious. (After all, it's home to America's #1 mass shooting - that's infamous, not iconic).

Every tech conference wants to go to Las Vegas. It's a relatively expensive place - cheap rooms and buffets are getting harder to find. But over-the-top hotels and celebrity chef restaurants proliferate. Fine for a work expense account - not out of my own wallet. Concerts/shows might be the best values: the new Sphere looks amazing. Some artists in residence are OK. And the Cirque du Soliel shows are generally interesting. Gambling: I set aside $100 - if I go up to $150-200, I walk away even if it's been 15 minutes. I am zero fun, and a 50%+ return is great.


It's great in winter - can stop off somewhere skiing (Lee Canyon, BrianHead, Utah, Sunrise, AZ Snowbowl, etc). Or spring/fall - NPs of Utah, Arizona and CA.
 
ChrisC said:
The word "Iconic" seems to get more and more over-used these days. It's like America upped its vocabulary game and incorporated that word - and now every star, actor, building, etc. - is now Iconic. (I guess anyone who is an OG is also an icon.) Every silly IG influencer uses it for their travel logs.

I would say Las Vegas is more 'infamous' than 'iconic'. It's less a place to be admired, and a bit more notorious. (After all, it's home to America's #1 mass shooting - that's infamous, not iconic).

Every tech conference wants to go to Las Vegas. It's a relatively expensive place - cheap rooms and buffets are getting harder to find. But over-the-top hotels and celebrity chef restaurants proliferate. Fine for a work expense account - not out of my own wallet. Concerts/shows might be the best values: the new Sphere looks amazing. Some artists in residence are OK. And the Cirque du Soliel shows are generally interesting. Gambling: I set aside $100 - if I go up to $150-200, I walk away even if it's been 15 minutes. I am zero fun, and a 50%+ return is great.


It's great in winter - can stop off somewhere skiing (Lee Canyon, BrianHead, Utah, Sunrise, AZ Snowbowl, etc). Or spring/fall - NPs of Utah, Arizona and CA.
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I get it. I’m no gambler either. Next Tuesday we have “the race that stops the nation”. The Melbourne Cup horse race. It’s not a public holiday - but it may as well be.
I don’t have a bet or even go on a sweep. I keep on working while the rest of the office is having beers and bubbles. I’ve got zero interest.
 
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