Unique Spring Break Ideas for Families in California with Photos
California Spring Break is just around the corner (see school dates below). If you live in the Los Angeles area, that means you will have a week, or two, or somewhere in-between, depending on your school district, to vacation with your family.
If you’re planning to vacation in California, getting out of Los Angeles is probably best this year. We’ve put together some great safer socially distanced activities to choose from. Fortunately, our good weather allows us to enjoy the great outdoors.
Spring Break 2023
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No matter how much time your kids have, it’s a good idea to start planning now, especially if you have tweens & teens. Maybe even your older kids are home with you right now too. All the better reason to get out and see something new!
Spring break is a great opportunity to disconnect from technology and your same old patterns – and to reconnect with each other.
The top-rated amusement park for teens, according to family vacation critic is Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, CA. And while it might not be the right time yet for you to go, the best deals for Six Flags usually come around the end of August when their season passes are most steeply discounted during their flash sale.
The good news is that if you want to go NOW, Six Flags is open!
It’s hard to say what discounts will be available this year or when. Regardless, it might be a good idea to mark your calendar for August and be all prepped with the best deal for spring break 2023!
One great way to create memories is to see new sights, try new things, or just relax as a family. Here are some great places you can do outdoors!
5 Family Adventures In California
1. Head to the Snow
If you’ve lived in LA for any period of time, you know that snow is a novelty adventure. It’s something we drive to. But how often do you get to see feet of snow without paying an arm and a leg to go to the ski hills?
If you are in the mood for a snowy adventure, head to the mountains of Sequoia National Park. Wuksachi Lodge is pretty amazing!
Because we can get some big snows- make sure it’s open at Spring Break, by checking the website to be safe. There’s no downhill skiing, but you can rent cross-country skis or snowshoes to get out and away.
You can also see about getting in some snow play at nearby hills: Wolverton Meadow, Grant Grove, and Big Stump.
Make sure to pack for the cold and bring chains for your vehicle, as chains are likely to be required on the way.
In Southern California, also, consider heading towards Wrightwood to find snow in lesser-traveled areas than Big Bear or Mt Baldy.
2. Camp in a Yurt by the Lake
Lake Cachuma is a Santa Barbara County campground where you can camp with tents, find camper hookups, or stay in yurts! You can hang out at the campground, go on a nature cruise or drive out for day trips to Solvang or Santa Barbara. Either is an easy drive from the campground.
Visit the beautiful ocean-side Santa Barbara zoo or walk around Solvang. Cold Spring Tavern is a very cool old stagecoach stop that started operating in 1868. It has a restaurant, bar, and live entertainment. You may have to get your food to-go, but it’s still worth swinging by while you’re in the area.
3. Stay at a Working Farm
Morningsong Farm in Rainbow, CA (near Temecula) is a great escape from LA living. The bed and breakfast working organic farm and orchard has unique activities like jam-making, cheese-making, and playtime with miniature goats.
They also host alpacas & chickens – allowing you to gather your own eggs! They have a variety of accommodations. Near the farm, you can catch a balloon ride, visit a winery, or hike at the Santa Margarita Preserve.
Just a little further North, you can have some outdoor fun at a Mulligan Family Fun Center, with go-karts and mini-golf.
4. Explore a Ghost Town
Calico Ghost Town
Calico Ghost Town in Yermo, CA, originally settled in 1880, is just outside of Barstow and part of the San Bernadino County Regional parks system.
You may not be able to do all the activities, but when not in a pandemic, you can check out the silver mine, historic train ride, try gold panning, go on an off-road adventure tour, take ghost tours, and visit an optical illusion mystery shack.
Accommodations include cabins, tent camping, or a stay in a bunkhouse. Head into nearby Barstow to visit museums or see a movie at the Drive-in!
Bodie Ghost Town
Bodie Ghost Town is really off the beaten path, but it’s impressive and can easily take hours to explore. It’s just North of Mono Lake about a 30-minute drive (including dirt roads) East of the 395. Learn more about Bodie.
Mono Lake is also a great socially distanced place to visit with stunningly reflective water and fascinating natural structures called tufas.
If you’re looking for an itinerary up the Eastern Sierras to the border of Oregon, let me know in the comments below and I’ll be sure to share what we did!
5. Visit Lava Beds
If you don’t mind driving far out from Southern California and really want to get away, check out Lava Beds National Monument in Tulelake, CA. It’s far off the beaten path, and when we went in the summer of 2020, we saw maybe 10 people there total – in the entire park. Very easy to social distance.
You can walk down into these amazing, massive lava tubes underground. Even when it’s hot outside the temperatures drop quickly as you walk in. Some caves are lighted and others require you to bring your own lights.. like this one in the pic below.
Check For Special Deals Before You Go
While we’ve shared some of our favorites above, I always like to check in with Groupon and see if there’s anything new or interesting I’d like to try.
We’ve got some great deals for whale watching and boat rides there.
Here are some great ideas (with discounts!) from Groupon! —>
Dates for Spring Break 2023
Spring break depends on where you live. There is no Statewide month for spring break. It is up to each district to determine its own school calendar. Most of the schools around Los Angeles typically have spring break in April. This year spring break overlaps into the end of March.
To help you gauge crowds & plan ahead, it’s good to know the elementary to high school Southern California Spring Break Dates for 2023.
There are too many districts to list them all, but here are the Spring Break dates for the 3 biggest school districts in the Los Angeles area and a few others. I used the Saturday before as the “start” date and the Sunday after as the end date.
Biggest Southern California School District Spring Break Dates 2023
In our experience, LAUSD break times matter most for avoiding crowds. LAUSD has over 730,000 students. NSD & Hart districts are here too because they are most local to us at Finally Family Homes here in Santa Clarita.
Here’s 2023 for your reference. I’ve included the weekend days.
LAUSD is out April 9 – April 17
SDUSD is out March 26 – April 3
LBUSD is out April 13 – 24
NSD is out March 31 – April 10
Hart is out April 2 – 10
Some Final Thoughts on Spring Break 2023
Parents, make sure you get in the pictures! I know especially moms can be dodgy about getting the photo (I know I am), but your family will be grateful to have photos of you with them on family vacations. Just strategically pose or hold your beach bag, but get out there!
Also, come up with a specific plan for wherever you choose to go. In order to keep that easy, breezy feeling you might want to just pick one goal per day or you may want to budget your time. Regardless, having any kind of plan will help ease the decision-making when it comes to “what should we do now?”
We hope this guide to California spring break 2023 has been helpful to you. If you have other suggestions on places to visit or favorite off-the-beaten-path things to do, let us know in the comments!
What has been your most memorable spring break?
Finally Family Homes supports connecting youth aging out of foster care to the community. Going on Spring break trips is something they often miss out on. Learn more about our mission to help aging out foster youth transition into adulthood.
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