<p>I am driving down to Southern California at the end of August to drop my son off at college. I thought it would be fun to stop somewhere for 3 or 4 days beforehand. I have 3 ideas, and all would be fine except I am very worried about all of his belongings in the car. I have a Toyota Rav4, and I am sure the car will be packed. I am afraid it will look like a walking advertisement that says 'break in and steal me". </p>
<p>Here are the 3 places:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Yosemite, staying at Curry Village - We have to park in a lot fairly far from the tent cabins, making sure to take out all food due to the bears. I’m wondering if other things might attract them, like cologne, strong bath products, etc. Plus I don’t know how secure this lot will be, plus we may have to park other places all day depending on what hikes we do. </p></li>
<li><p>Seqouia/Kings Canyon, staying at Buckeye Tree Lodge. This is right next to the entrance. Right now this seems like the best bet, as we can have a room to unload some of the electronics, etc. </p></li>
<li><p>Catalina Island, staying at Catalina Lodge, leaving car at the Long Beach Port. How secure is this parking lot? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>My lodging budget is around $150 or less per night, which makes Yosemite problematic. I would love any specifics on Curry Village or if you know any reasonable lodging outside the park but not really far away. Also, any information on the parking situation for Long Beach to Catalina. </p>
Yosemite … yes you would have to take out EVERYTHING that has a scent from the car. Last year we’d left a container of handywipes in ours and the ranger got us up at 12 to go remove it. I’d wonder about availability of lodging in the park, too. But it IS the most beautiful place to go. There are periodic theft rings in and out of Yosemite, you might or might not get caught in one. Theft isn’t an everyday thing, but the bears are.</p>
<ul>
<li>Sequoia / Kings Canyon , I haven’t stayed at Buckeye lodge, but that area is beautiful, too. If you can get the lodging.</li>
</ul>
<p>Catalina Island , we thought it was beautiful in a different way. I didn’t feel that any near ocean parking lot was terribly safe from night time issues. But that is my bias thinking that camping in mountains is safer than camping near the beach, I don’t know why.</p>
<p>But all the choices sound good to me. Wish I knew of cheaper places to stay near Yosemite, but we always just sleep on the ground near there if not in Curry Village. The tent cabins <em>might</em> be available and really they are OK. They are cheap anyway.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info so far. Just to clarify, we do have reservations at all places listed above, I just have to decide soon which one would be safest and worryfree with all of my son’s worldly belongings in the car.</p>
<p>I’ve been camping at Yosemite and Sequoia multiple times and when doing so generally have the car packed with stuff and of course leave it when hiking all day. I’ve never had a theft problem. I doubt there are a lot of thieves targeting vehicles in places like those because they’d firstly have to go way out of their way to get there (Yosemite/Sequoia aren’t near any city), and most/all are there to do the same kinds of things you’re there for and aren’t interested in breaking into cars and stealing. There’s no guarantee of course, but I wouldn’t worry about it. Still, don’t leave something like a laptop, GPS, etc. sitting in the car in plain sight - at least hide it under something. That shouldn’t be hard if the car’s full of stuff. Most of that ‘stuff’ wouldn’t be high theft type items anyway.</p>
<p>Don’t leave any food or scented products in the car in those areas. Just plan to make a trip to Target, a grocery store, or similar store once you actually move him in. That way you can pick up these products after you get there, have less to carry along in the first place, and can buy anything else you forgot.</p>
<p>If you state your destination posters might have some other ideas of fun things to do.</p>
<p>I can’t speak to your destinations but I won’t leave a packed car in a parking lot overnight, even at a hotel. On a driving vacation I made my kids take nearly everything out of the car every night and schlep it to the room. A huge hassle but I can’t stand worrying about a car break in which is so common, the cops sometimes won’t even make a report.</p>
<p>If you do it, sign up for one of the student insurance plans first (it will cover your son’s belongings before he arrives on campus if you set the day of your trip as a start date). That way if you do have a break in, his belongings will be covered as long as you can get a police report.</p>
<p>^^ There’s a big difference between parking in a motel lot in an urban/suburban area and parking in a remote area like Yosemite/Sequoia. There simply aren’t a lot of the typical car break-in thieves located in these remote areas since there aren’t a lot of people living there to begin with. </p>
<p>However, even at that, I don’t empty out the car. I’ll bring in expensive things like a laptop, or at least hide them from view, but I leave everything else in the car. The ‘everything else’ for a college student doesn’t usually amount to anything that coveted - used clothing, blankets, cheap plastic drawers, garbage bags of stuff, etc. I’ve done this through countless moves and trips including cross-country ones staying in random locations, and have never had an issue but even if someone broke in and stole it all, it wouldn’t be a great loss.</p>
<p>The other consideration - where is the expensive stuff safer - in the car or in the motel room? A motel room isn’t necessarily a safe keeping location.</p>
<p>The other way to look at it - the car itself is probably worth far more than the stuff in it and the car’s left sitting outside.</p>
<p>GladGradDad- Our final destination is Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, about 35 miles east of LA. I’m thinking its going to be really hot then, so that is the reason for looking at the Sierras and the coast. I will save Joshua Tree and Death Valley for winter/spring visits. I am up for any other suggestions, mountains, lakes, etc. I absolutely love to hike, my son will hike with me, but likes to do other things, also. We are coming from Oregon, so north of LA is better. We would like to stay until Aug. 24, when he has to report for orientation between 12 and 5, so would like to be within 5 hours drive of Claremont. Thanks!</p>
<p>Campsites in Yosemite do have bear boxes to stash your food, and yes, bears are attracted to other scented things. Have son forget the cologne and bath products, and buy them at school. I can’t think of anything a student would need to bring to college that would be attractive to bears, as all can be purchased later.
I agree with GradDad that theft isn’t really a big problem at Yosemite and remote areas in National Parks. Just don’t leave electronics or obviously valuable things in the car, and you’ll most likely be fine. The same goes for trail heads. </p>
<p>I’d vote for Yosemite. Once you’ve been, you’ll want to go back again and again. Sequoia is nice, too. Catalina wouldn’t be a spot I’d choose. Maybe Laguna Beach would be a possibility, if a beach spot is preferred. Or Santa Barbara, for a spot north of Claremont.</p>
<p>Death Valley/Joshua Tree are well worth visiting but you’re right - save it for sometime other than summer!</p>
<p>Some other coastal possibilities (although somewhat out of the way if you’re coming down 5 most of the way) -
Monterey/Carmel can be kind of fun to wander around including visiting the aquarium and renting some kayaks and possibly seeing some sea otters.
Morro Bay is scenic.
Hearst castle can be interesting to visit.
Ano Nuevo state reserve, near the bay area between San Francisco and Santa Cruz, often has elephant seals that can be interesting to see.
Right near Ano Nuevo is Big Basin Redwoods state park that you might want to see.</p>
<p>If you find yourself on the east side of the Sierra range -
Visit the ghost town of Bodie sometime. It’s a state park and is in a state of ‘arrested decay’ - i.e. they prevent the buildings from falling down but otherwise leave them alone. It’s interesting.
Mono lake is interesting to see with it’s weird tufa formations.</p>
<p>When you get there -
Save some time to go visit the beaches - Santa Monica, Venice, etc. The beaches in Southern California are generally quite different from the beaches further north - whiter sand, warmer water, warmer air, less overcast/gray.</p>
<ul>
<li>Universal Studios and Disneyland are always fun if you’re interested in that.</li>
</ul>
<p>There are multitudes of other things to do and see of course. If you go visit him a few times you can take different routes and see different things - it’s a good excuse.</p>
<p>If you’re driving from the north, I’m not sure the Buckeye Tree Lodge is “near the entrance”. If you’re entering from the 180, it’s much closer to stay in King’s Canyon - possibly the John Muir Lodge which is very nice (though $172/night in the summer). If you’re thinking of entering in King’s Canyon and driving through the parks to Buckeye Tree Lodge, be aware that the road actually takes much longer to travel than it looks, because it is so very windy. Your alternative would be to go further south on the 99 and take the 198 up to Sequoia. </p>
<p>Personally, King’s Canyon/Sequoia would be my vote, especially if you’ve not seen the giant sequoias. Many gorgeous hiking trails and not as crowded as Yosemite.</p>
<p>I agree with Gladgraddad that if you go to the eastern side of the Sierras, Bodie is a wonderful day trip. But it’s much hotter on the east side so this is a good fall/spring excursion. Mono Lake is very close to there. Mono Lake is very worth seeing but you can see it fairly quickly.</p>
<p>I’ve been to both Yosemite and Sequoia national park and from a crowd perspective, I would think Sequoia would be less crowded. I have also been to Catalina and it is a pretty fun place to go for 2-3 days. Don’t know about leaving your car parked there though. You might want to look into more secure parking, maybe something connected to the Queen Mary since the boats leave close to that part of Long Beach.</p>
<p>Bears are indeed a real issue at Yosemite. A car parked next to us had been emptied but the couple accidentally left a travel size tube of toothpaste inside. Bears broke into their vehicle and smashed all the backseat windows!</p>
<p>The list of what NOT to have in your car is so much more than you’d think beyond food. Even insect repellant, old candy wrappers hidden in a door pocket, toothpaste…the list is really a long one. When we drove our kids to college with all their stuff, without a doubt, we would have had one of the offending items in the mix somewhere.</p>
<p>I highly suggest you do some research on what the boy scouts called "smellables"when they prepared for a camping trip. If you were just going on a regular vacation, it’s pretty easy to prepare for bears. However, taking a car full of stuff would worry me!</p>
<p>I’d also concur with several others in that we’ve always made sure to take valuables with us, but our SUV was packed to the gills and left in various parking lots, some in not-so-great areas. I’d be less worried about that then the bears, for sure.</p>
<p>Thanks for the great info on bears. I had no idea to the extent at which they will get into your car, and what will attract them. I will definitely look that up. It looks like I have solved our problem, though, and still will be able to go to Yosemite Valley with reasonably priced lodging while keeping son’s stuff safe. Yosemite was my first choice since I have never been. Indian Flat Rv and Campground also rents out two cottages and I got lucky and was able to rent one. it is located in El Portal, which is about 10 miles from Yosemite Valley. They rent at $110 per night, which is cheaper than Curry Village, and have 2 beds, and a kitchen. We will be able to unload and not worry about break-ins by bears or people, though bears sound more probable, and save money by cooking our own meals. I wanted to give the information in case anyone else can use it, not sure how esoteric this thread is. </p>
<p>I look forward to many fun trips in California in the next four years at least, and appreciate the suggestions for other places to go, also.</p>
<p>Hi Wrldtravlr-
My .02…Bears and People are real issues that can be eliminated by shipping your son’s items to CMC-forget taking them with you on the trip down, pick up some items by ordering from Bed Bath and Beyond…and really enjoy whatever destination point is your son’s first choice.
Congrats on your son’s matriculation to CMC-great school!!</p>