Los Angeles sits in the middle of an incredible outdoor region.
Within a few hours you can reach desert wilderness, coastal cliffs, mountain forests, and whitewater rivers.
For travelers looking for adventure weekend trips from Los Angeles, the options are diverse.
Joshua Tree and the Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert offers one of the most distinctive landscapes in California. Massive granite boulders, open desert valleys, and dark skies make Joshua Tree National Park a favorite destination for hiking and climbing.
The Pacific Coast
The Santa Barbara coast and Big Sur offer dramatic scenery and excellent hiking. Coastal fog, redwood forests, and ocean cliffs create a completely different atmosphere from the desert.
The Kern River (A Luxury Weekend Adventure Just Three Hours from Los Angeles)
About three hours north of Los Angeles, the Kern River flows through a striking granite canyon in the southern Sierra foothills.
The river is known for warm-water whitewater rafting and beautiful canyon scenery.
One of the most unique ways to experience the area is our Kern River Rafting Safari, a two-day rafting trip with a comfortable safari-style riverside camp that was recently featured in Travel+ Leisure.
Instead of arriving at a tent and settling in for the weekend, guests spend two days rafting through granite canyon walls, swimming in warm river water, and stopping at sandy beaches along the way. And nights are spent beside the river in a thoughtfully designed camp with three course meals and private tent cabins.
It is one of the closest places to Los Angeles where a weekend trip can still feel like a true wilderness adventure.
Read more about the Kern River Safari here >>
Read more about glamping near Los Angeles here >>
