Campervan road trip in November/December

Hi all,

I live in Europe and have been climbing for several years. I enjoy all kinds of climbing (alpine, trad, boulder and sport) but regularly mainly boulder and sport climb due to access.

I've been dreaming of doing a campervan trip in the US for a while, and finally have a chance to be absent from work from the start of November until mid-December. My current plan is to fly to SF with my girlfriend (who doesn't climb), do a touristy two-week loop in the general area of California/Nevada/Utah (visiting national parks etc.), then drop off my girlfriend and stay by myself for a month or so. I may have a friend joining me for a couple of weeks, but generally I believe I'd need to find local climbing partners during that time. Also planning on doing other sightseeing other than climbing, hiking etc., as I've never been to the Southwest US.

What worries me a bit is the timing of the trip so late in the year and possible cold-ish conditions. I believe good climbing spots that time of year include Joshua Tree, Bishop, Red Rocks (?), and also planning on heading down to Arizona (maybe Cochise?). Also not really experienced in the campervan lifestyle, but I hope a quality sleeping bag will help with that. Do you believe at this time of year it is easy/possible to find partners in these locations? Any locations to add/erase from the plan? Any other comments or insights would be much appreciated. 

Thanks.

All of those areas are pretty peak season at that time.  You won't have any problems finding partners or good conditions. Expect daily highs averaging 6°C-14°C and nightly lows rarely dropping below 0°C, with plenty of sunshine available. 

I would not call that peak season in any of those areas, except maybe Cochise which is the farthest south.  I believe an El Nino has officially been declared, so Nov /Dec could be colder and wetter than average. But that doesn’t mean lots of climbing can’t be done.  Just follow the weather.
campervan can mean A wide range of things and a wide number of options for power sources. You can be in situations from dry camping to full service hookups. That time of year you wouldn't have any trouble getting a full service campsite, if you decided you needed one. 

Thanks a lot for the comments, my main worry is finding partners but I am slightly encouraged :) in case anyone has any additional comments/locations to visit, please comment here or shoot me a message!

Those areas will be super busy in November and December. Except Cochise because it is just a bit further out from the population centers. 

Where's Walden wrote:

All of those areas are pretty peak season at that time.  You won't have any problems finding partners or good conditions. Expect daily highs averaging 6°C-14°C and nightly lows rarely dropping below 0°C, with plenty of sunshine available. 

Note of correction: the daily highs and plenty of sunshine are correct.  However, it should be noted that nighttime lows often drop below freezing in late  November and December in some of these places. Especially Bishop - nights get cold there!  

This should not discourage you though. The daytime climbing weather is great, the climbing is great, and you'll find lots of people to climb with. It's a great time for a trip to these places. Just make sure you have warm clothes and a warm sleeping bag for the evenings and nights.

So, I'm stuck in town caring for someone, and have some internet time, and thought I'd circle back to this thread.

Two weeks to do touristy from SFO to CA, Nev, UT:  Just my own opinion but not much to see tourist wise or national park wise, as a tourist,  in NV, unless you head down to Red Rocks, which is a hell of a lot of driving in a huge circle SFO-Moab-Vegas-SFO for a 2 week trip.  

yosemite is a wonder - though Nov. would not be my favorite season for the Valley as a tourist. Leaves may be down, falls not at high volume, but the rock formations would still be wonderful. But Going there also provides the option of seeing the giant redwoods, which are glorious. The thing that would be unforgettable from Europe would be the desert National Parks, of which a huge number of the amazing ones are in Utah.  like Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, and Arches. They are stunning. Circling down, if you wanted to head down that far, Zion. Also Visually stunning.  More I haven't mentioned. And those places would still have good hiking that time of year most likely.

But it's a 15 hr drive to Moab from SFO.

Which is why I'm not sure why people would do a campervan for that type of trip.  (I own one - a 21 foot Winnebago).  My impression is that campervan rentals run at a minimum $125 per night. More typical prices I've seen are $175-300. That time of year can be cold, so if you are dry camping you have to be savvy about things like battery life in colder conditions.  If you rent one with lithium batteries you might be OK (those are the more expensive to rent), but with regular coach lead/acid batteries, my guess is you might need something with a generator and inverter, to top up the battery, just to power your 12 volt fridge, and house lights, unless you are driving every day to recharge.  Not enough power dry camping without generator with lead/acid for a blower for a propane heater.  None of those considerationa are an issue if you are camping at a private campground, but If you are planning on that, that will run an extra $35-75 a night for services (electric/water).  So when you add up all the costs, isn't a rental car at $50-60 a day with about double the gas mileage, plus an inexpensive hotel just easier and more comfortable?  Then you have all the heat and hot water for showers that you want, and many US hotels come with kitchenettes, (microwave and fridge at a minimum).  At least for the 2 week road trip with your GF.  Just something for you to think about.

Good advice from Phyl.  She knows what she's doing.

Suggestion.  LAX or Las Vegas might be better for the flight. Maybe lower cost and easier.  Shop and compare.

Start a partners thread here when you arrive.

If you can work it in, hit this event to meet people and have a good time: https://americanalpineclub.org/bishop-cc

Stay away from the cragging classic it’s a fucking zoo. If your in the bishop area on any other weekend you won’t have trouble finding a partner.

Belatedly, huge thanks to everyone for their thoughtful comments (especially phylp) that helped me to plan this trip! In the end I spent 7 weeks in the US and got back home just before Christrmas. We opted for a campervan for the whole trip and had a blast with my gf, and I got to spend 5 weeks climbing i.e. in Bishop, JTree, Red Rock, LA area and the Bay area (Cochise proved to be just a bit too much driving so chose to stay in the Red Rock area for the extra time). 

Pa Jo wrote:

Belatedly, huge thanks to everyone for their thoughtful comments (especially phylp) that helped me to plan this trip! In the end I spent 7 weeks in the US and got back home just before Christrmas. We opted for a campervan for the whole trip and had a blast with my gf, and I got to spend 5 weeks climbing i.e. in Bishop, JTree, Red Rock, LA area and the Bay area (Cochise proved to be just a bit too much driving so chose to stay in the Red Rock area for the extra time). 

Great to hear! Thanks for letting us know. 

Pa Jo….. thanks for letting US know how it went.

Many threads ask advice and it’s freely given.
But most never get back to US to let us know how it went.

Glad you enjoyed your trip!

Ya all come back!