Outdoor parks or places to see in southern Cal??

[djyamyam Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close djyamyam]

We're heading to the Capistrano area next week (Riviera Beach & Spa) for 1 week. We've never been there in Oct but hear lots of good things.

Here's my question: What outdoor parks or places should we visit?

We're both younger and quite active. We do lots of hiking and outdoor stuff. We're not really interested in theme park, art galleries or shopping stuff. We've gone to see Joshua Tree National park and done some exploring there. We're not opposed to driving to get some place good. Some people suggest some local haunts or places to check out for this time of the year?

[shopgirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shopgirl]

We were in Southern California a few years ago and really enjoyed the San Diego Harbor tour. We took the long version and found coupons online for two-for-one admissions.

Maybe that is not very exciting for most people, but we got to see lots of navy vessels and an aircraft carrier was in harbor that particular day. There were lots of seals on buoys and the docks, something we never see in Colorado, that's for sure.

We also drove up to Burbank and saw Jay Leno record his show for that night. It was interesting to be in a studio audience, then we went to see Dr. Phil a few days later. Those trips were planned months in advance. I recommend doing both. I liked that they were free, which made for a cheap vacation for us. We stayed at Peacock Suites in Anaheim, pretty close to L.A. and did visit Disney and Universal that trip.

[Debbyd57 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Debbyd57]

I like the San Juan Capistrano mission, Old Town in San Diego and just walking up and down the Carlsbad beach and downtown area. Debby

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

You might want to include a visit to Santa Catalina Island.