Is California unbearably hot in August?

[hjfoau]

We are looking to do a road trip with the teens but eldest is coming up to Y10 so it's out of the question to take them out of school for any of it.

This limits us to 2 weeks in May, 2 weeks in October or 4 weeks mid July to mid August due to the way the school holidays work for us.

Initially I was looking at May or October as I know they are more pleasant weather-wise, but really struggling to fit in everything we want to do within 2 weeks, essentially it looks like we'd have to skip San Diego and one of the national parks (admittedly because we are keen to do the theme parks which is taking up a chunk)

If we do August we can go for longer, but is the weather unbearable?

We went in August and I didn't pack enough jumpers and trousers.
LA, Laguna Beach and Yosemite were usually warm (but not like August in Greece hot).
San Fran and the drive down the coast was actually pretty chilly and foggy! (But the sun is still strong)

On the coast there is usually a pleasant breeze, so even on the hottest days in August it's never too hot to be outside, walking around. The sun is strong, of course, so you need to wear a hat and sunscreen.

Inland, even a little way, can be a lot hotter. We went to Disneyland last August and it was absolutely roasting. I wasn't feeling well that day, so that didn't help, but it was so crowded and so hot and the new booking system for the rides was so shit that we ended up bailing out halfway through the afternoon!

As for the national parks, we went to Yosemite a few years ago in August and that was 40 degrees by mid-afternoon. We dragged our DC out of bed really early to go and do the hikes so we were back at the car by 10.30 am and after lunch we went back to our hotel and rested in the aircon. None of us are good with very hot weather, so there was literally no other option for us. Actually while we were in Yosemite a British family that was hiking in, I think, Kings Canyon NP (next door) died of heat exhaustion on an afternoon hike, so it's no joke - you really do have to be strategic and sensible if you go at that time of year.

On our first trip (3 weeks) we managed to do San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Monterey, Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara and LA. We didn't have time to do Orange County, theme parks and San Diego in that trip, so we did them last year separately. I know of families who do one night here and one night there and that must be absolutely exhausting! We like to spend at least 2 nights in each place and have time to relax and explore, so my recommendation (particularly given the distance and the time difference - both of which add to the exhaustion), is to build rest days into your itinerary, go for longer if you can, and just accept that CA is huge and you can't do it all in one trip unless you go for at least 4 weeks!

@cheezncrackers thank you, it's a running joke how much DH and I can pack into an itinerary quite happy to bounce around and sleep when we get home, but that's on our own, I think youngest DS will really struggle with that approach and not get much out of the places we want to see. So going to take a slower approach in SoCal I think!

@hjfoau San Juan Capistrano was nice -done up like an old 'western' town -

@Crikeyalmighty that sounds right up my street! Will take a look.

@hjfoau it's not big but is very sweet - sort of Hacienda Spanish style - we did a day out there when staying in Laguna beach ( which is really lovely) - one thing I would say about southern Cali ( and it may not bother you much but always feels weird to us) is there is next to no nightlife after about 9.15pm - and that includes LAtoo - people seem to go out for a meal and a drink quite early and then leave early unless at a gig or theatre etc. it is also pretty expensive to eat out and drink out if not wanting the 'cheap and cheerful diner' end of the market - however portions were massive and food was great , so we learnt to order a main between us plus an extra side. No one bats an eye.

Yeah, our kids have forced us to travel in a very different way to how we did before. They'll tolerate a few long travel days and some sightseeing, even some museums (if carefully chosen!), but we need to build in downtime every day when they can 'chill' and not be on the go. If we don't, well let's just say it's not fun for anyone. The more laid back pace is actually really nice though, now I've got used to not being able to see absolutely EVERYTHING. We have to cherry-pick the things we really want to see and then be like Elsa and let the rest of it go. We can always return without them at a later date!

@hjfoau Santa Barbara is particularly nice I think - there is an amazing bar restaurant that a music producer we know took us too right on the ocean front - boathouse at Hendrys beach