Southern California Spring Break 2020 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 don’t live in Los Angeles and you’re planning to vacation in California, Los Angeles is the best place to be! You have a great deal of activities to choose from and almost guaranteed good weather.
Spring Break 2020!!
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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.
This can be a tougher crowd to please – harder to keep entertained and off of their devices.
Spring break is a great opportunity to disconnect from technology and reconnect with each other.
One great way to create memories is to see new sights, try new things, or just relax as a family.
If you are looking for unique spring break ideas (and school district dates) near Los Angeles. Check out our list of unique local ideas for you! #springbreak #springbreak2020 Click To Tweet5 great places within driving distance from Los Angeles
While we’ve got some of our favorites below, I always like to check in with Groupon and see if there’s anything new or interesting I’d like to try. Here’s some great ideas (with discounts!) from Groupon!
Here are a few more spring break ideas off the beaten path near Los Angeles.
Ride the Best Roller Coasters
The top-rated amusement park for teens, according to family vacation critic is Six Flags Magic Mountain.
There are plenty of wild rides, including the Tatsu, “tallest, fastest, and longest flying coaster in the world!” There is also a variety, and the park map sorts the rides by how extreme they are, so everyone can find a ride that suits them, even the little ones too.
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, but discounts are offered throughout the year.
Frolic in 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, Waksuchi Lodge is a beautiful, remote getaway in the mountains of Sequoia National Park.
There’s no downhill skiing, but you can rent cross country skis or snowshoes at the lodge and get out in nature.
Cell phone service is spotty at best, so you’ll be sure to get a break from screen time (although there is WiFi at the lodge).
There’s snow play nearby at 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.
Camp in a Yurt by the Lake
Lake Cacuchuma is a Santa Barbara County campground with tents, camper hookups, and 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 the motorcycle museum in Solvang. Whatever you do definitely venture out to the nearby Cold Spring Tavern. This old stage coach stop started operating in 1868. There’s a restaurant, bar, and live entertainment. Spring is a great time to go, as Lake Cachuma can get unbearably hot in the summer.
Spring Break ideas off the beaten path near Los Angeles.#LosAngeles #vacation Click To TweetStay 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 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 is a Mulligan Family Fun Center, if you’re into go-karts and mini-golf.
Explore a 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 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 visits museums or see a movie at the Drive-in!
What Date is Spring Break 2020?
It depends on where you live! It seems like many States outside of California have spring break in March, so this is good news for you. Most of us in Los Angeles have spring break in April this year.
As far as colleges go, Spring break is in fact in March – so it just depends on what ages your vacationing crew is and what activities you like to do.
What Month Is Spring Break in California?
To help you gauge crowds & plan ahead, it’s good to know the elementary to high school Southern California Spring Break Dates for 2020. But there is no Statewide month for spring break. It is up to each district to determine their own school calendar.
Here’s the Spring Break dates for the 3 biggest school districts in the Los Angeles area and a few random others. I used the Saturday before as the “start” date and the Sunday after as the end date.
If you are planning to go to Disneyland or somewhere else in Anaheim, you might think its important to know and navigate their school district calendar.
In my experience, Disney is much more of an issue for LAUSD break times. LAUSD has over 730,000 students. Anaheim has about 33,000. I threw in NSD & Hart because they are most local to Finally Family Homes.
Biggest School District Spring Break Dates 2020
LAUSD is out April 3-12
LBUSD is out April 11-19
Anaheim March 23-27
NSD is out April 2-10
Hart is out April 4-12
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Some Final Thoughts on Spring Break
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 more specifically 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 Southern California spring break 2020 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?
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Being able to go home and be with my family and friends. Just relaxing. That may sound boring to some, but I missed them.
Sometimes that’s what’s needed most!
Such great ideas. Some good plans to think about for Spring time.
Thanks! It always seems to “sneak up” on me.
My most memorable spring break was traveling to the mountains of NC with my parents. I am 58 years old now and still remember the fun we shared and how we enjoyed God’s creations.
Wow- that is a memory that held on! Amazing how something so simple can really tug at the heart – and it was with family. 🙂
Hi Christina. I don’t live in LA but I’ve done a few of these in your great list. I have to say, I don’t remember which of my vacations were during Spring Break, but all of them have been with family, so I liked them all.
That’s awesome! I’ve done the first 3, but the last 2 are on my to do list Hoping to take the foster kids to all of these. 🙂
My most memorable spring break was during my sophomore year of college, when I worked in an antique store and flea market.
Oh wow.. sounds like an interesting experience.
Last spring break (2018) was incredibly memorable. We are a blended family (my husband and I each have two kids), and the six of us typically do everything together as a family, but on this particular week, my husband was working and my stepkids were with their mom. I work full-time, but my (two biological) kids got the week off school, so I decided to take vacation and hang out with them for spring break. We went to the museum, toured a Revolutionary War site in our area, went roller skating, you name it. It was great to hit pause on my responsibilities and focus on reconnecting with my kids. It meant a lot to them and to me! We still talk about it quite a lot.
Thank you for sharing! How cool to have some special time reconnecting with your kids.
I think one my most memorable spring breaks was when we lived in northern Canada, and we just stayed home and enjoyed the outdoors. Our home backed onto the large river that went through the small town and the town was surround by expansive forests. So that spring our three young sons spent time exploring the woods, fishing and playing along the river’s edge, and building impressive forts with fallen trees and branches and any wood or planks they could scrape up from our and their friends’ garages!
That does sound kind of magical! Northern Canada! I bet you were excited for Spring!!
My friend’s sister got married in the Yukon – the pics were stunning.
Even made the news!
https://edmontonjournal.com/life/fashion-beauty/wedding-tale-couple-charters-historic-yukon-train-for-wedding-ceremony-beside-picturesque-northern-lake/
Great tips! We spent last summer in LA for a week..this would have been helpful!
Oh shoot! Maybe next time!
My most memorable Spring back was this past one. My husband and I took a cruise ship to Cuba, where he was born but had to flee as a refugee back in the 1960s. He had not been back to the island since then! So, this was quite a memorable and emotional trip for him.
That sounds incredible!
I’d love to hear more!