Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
November
Temperatures drop everywhere, with scattered winter rain and snowstorms
just beginning. Coastal areas, cities and even the deserts are less busy for
travelers, except around the Thanksgiving holiday. Ski season just begins.
Día de los Muertos
Mexican communities honor deceased relatives on November 2 with costumed parades,
sugar skulls, graveyard picnics, candlelight processions and fabulous altars, including in
San Francisco, LA and San Diego.
Death Valley '49ers
Take a trip back to California's 19th-century Gold Rush during this annual
encampment
at
Furnace Creek, with campfire singalongs, cowboy poetry readings, horseshoe tournaments
and a Western art show in early November.
December
Winter rains start to drench coastal areas, while travel to the typically sunny,
dry desert regions picks up. Christmas and New Year's Eve are extremely
crowded travel times, with a short dip in tourism between them.
Mavericks Invitational
South of San Francisco, Half Moon Bay's monster big-wave
surfing competition
(
www.maverickssurf.com
)
only takes place when winter swells top 50ft, usually between
December and March. When the surf's up, invited pro surfers have 24 hours to fly in from
around the globe.
