# Camarillo California



## gibbous (Jul 9, 2008)

If you're just looking for a day trip it seems to me your only options are to drive clear across the SF Valley and northern LA to one of the little local mountains like Mt. Baldy, Mt. High, Big Bear, etc. I honestly don't know if it would be worth it, at least to me, as you might be sitting in traffic longer than you'd be riding. And if you're looking for good terrain, anywhere but Baldy would probably be disappointing. The other spots have decent parks, but that's about it. Maybe there's somewhere closer, but I haven't heard of it.

If you can take a couple days to drive to Mammoth or Tahoe and back that would be your best bet to get a taste of what Cali has to offer.


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## Random Hero (Sep 30, 2008)

So I take it Camarillo is out of the way of all the good stuff, kinda disappointing. Is there crazy traffic even in the middle of the week cause that's when I would likely go to avoid the big crowds.


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## gibbous (Jul 9, 2008)

Yeah, all the mountains that are high enough to get and retain a decent amount of snow during the winter are pretty far east toward the San Bernardino area.

If you were to try to drive from Camarillo to any of the local places at any time during the week, you would invariably hit some miserable traffic at some point in the commute. There's just no way around that if you drive any major distances in LA during the day or evening. It wouldn't be quite so bad on the weekend, but then you'd have a more crowded hill to contend with and we're still not talking about a short drive by any stretch. I live by the beach on the West side of LA which is way closer than what you're talking about, and it's still enough of an ordeal for me to get to any of the local spots that I'll pretty much only go on a powder day. Those few days are usually a blast, but most of the time it just isn't worth it unless I'm really hurting to make some turns and am willing to fight the traffic getting there and back, and icy man-made snow in between.

Sorry to not have anything more encouraging to tell you, but such is the life of the Socal snowboarder...


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## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

Yup, just drove from San Diego to Santa Barbara and back yesterday. Camarillo was on the way. It is way out there. Think northwest of LA along the coast, and without traffic about 40 minutes maybe. To get to Bear/Snow Summit you have to drive across LA county then hit the inland empire.

Welcome to my world where I have to drive about 1:15 to get to the bottom of Bear, and another 1:30 to get to the top.

Mammoth is 6 hours away. If you can, i'd try do that. That's a world class mountain.


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## j.gnar (Sep 4, 2009)

gibbous said:


> If you're just looking for a day trip it seems to me your only options are to drive clear across the SF Valley and northern LA to one of the little local mountains like Mt. Baldy, Mt. High, Big Bear, etc. I honestly don't know if it would be worth it, at least to me, as you might be sitting in traffic longer than you'd be riding. And if you're looking for good terrain, anywhere but Baldy would probably be disappointing. The other spots have decent parks, but that's about it. Maybe there's somewhere closer, but I haven't heard of it.
> 
> If you can take a couple days to drive to Mammoth or Tahoe and back that would be your best bet to get a taste of what Cali has to offer.





gibbous said:


> Yeah, all the mountains that are high enough to get and retain a decent amount of snow during the winter are pretty far east toward the San Bernardino area.
> 
> If you were to try to drive from Camarillo to any of the local places at any time during the week, you would invariably hit some miserable traffic at some point in the commute. There's just no way around that if you drive any major distances in LA during the day or evening. It wouldn't be quite so bad on the weekend, but then you'd have a more crowded hill to contend with and we're still not talking about a short drive by any stretch. I live by the beach on the West side of LA which is way closer than what you're talking about, and it's still enough of an ordeal for me to get to any of the local spots that I'll pretty much only go on a powder day. Those few days are usually a blast, but most of the time it just isn't worth it unless I'm really hurting to make some turns and am willing to fight the traffic getting there and back, and icy man-made snow in between.
> 
> Sorry to not have anything more encouraging to tell you, but such is the life of the Socal snowboarder...



this guy is full of shit. i live in oxnard, the next city over from camarillo, and the drive to bear is 2 1/2 hours tops,3 on a really bad day. if you leave around 5am, youll be in the parking lot by 7:45. i make the drive every weekend without fail, even some weekdays, and it is 100% worth it. the people that complain are the ninnys that shouldnt be on the mountain to begin with. the only times the hill gets crowded are during christmas/new year break, and even then the longest youll wait in line is 10ish minutes. bear has one of the top rated parks in the nation, and tons of different terrain to ride. its definitely worth a trip


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## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

Don't forget to tell him Bear is small. Real small. You get summitt as well, so that helps (lift tickets work at both resorts, but some are one park only).

A shuttle transports you between the two. Park at Summit, take shuttle to bear. I believe Summit opens later (up to 6 sometimes or later). But shuttles stop running at 4.

EDIT:I don't think anything you said changes what he said. The drive is 2.5-3 hours like you say. Both ways that's 5-6 hours of driving. It's a lot for a small mountain, but it's all we got, so we do it.


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## j.gnar (Sep 4, 2009)

jdang307 said:


> Don't forget to tell him Bear is small. Real small. You get summitt as well, so that helps (lift tickets work at both resorts, but some are one park only).
> 
> A shuttle transports you between the two. Park at Summit, take shuttle to bear. I believe Summit opens later (up to 6 sometimes or later). But shuttles stop running at 4.
> 
> EDIT:I don't think anything you said changes what he said. The drive is 2.5-3 hours like you say. Both ways that's 5-6 hours of driving. It's a lot for a small mountain, but it's all we got, so we do it.


small compared to tahoe resorts, or colorado resorts, or even mammoth..yeah. but its bigger than mt high and baldy, and its the best hes gonna ride in socal. size aside, its a fucking blast. the vibe, the weather, the set up, the trails, you cant go wrong with bear. a day pass works at both resorts, so if you get tired of one you can ride the other..ive been riding both for 4 years and ive never gotten bored with either


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## Random Hero (Sep 30, 2008)

Ya, two hours doesn't sound to bad at all, even three really. I live near Toronto so I'm used to driving almost 2 hours for 5 minute runs. The size of the hill doesn't matter toooooo much to me, obviously the bigger the better, but I'm going with a newbie anyways so I'll be riding easy most of the time. If any of you guys wanna do a couple of turns I'm down for doing some group riding as well.


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## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

j.gnar said:


> small compared to tahoe resorts, or colorado resorts, or even mammoth..yeah. but its bigger than mt high and baldy, and its the best hes gonna ride in socal. size aside, its a fucking blast. the vibe, the weather, the set up, the trails, you cant go wrong with bear. a day pass works at both resorts, so if you get tired of one you can ride the other..ive been riding both for 4 years and ive never gotten bored with either


Haven't been to baldy yet. I hear it has good terrain when it's powder but then the staff, the location, and lifts, they all suck :laugh: I might brave all of that and hit it up this year.

I actually have a decent time at Mt. high and love the drive (no mountain driving the front side, and not too bad through the backside), but yes it is small as well.

I actually like Summit better than Bear just because so far I've been more of a groomer/free rider. But the very last time I started to hit the features (when I say hit I mean ride over them ...) and it was a blast with a few buddies. We were actually tired of both mountains, just freeriding it, so we did this out of boredom and had a great time fucking around. It does make the mountain feel bigger instead of making a beeline towards the bottom.

Random, with that said, if you are used to 5 minute hills I implore you to try a trip to mammoth. I haven't been, but this time I'm going for sure. I actually had free tickets but couldn't make it this past season (stupid weather). It's a 6 hour drive, so more involved but it should be worth it. With a mountain that size there are tons to do they can progress fast even in just one day. In tahoe I had my friends who were only on their 2nd or 3rd day leafing in the morning and gunning it down Tahoe blues and easy blacks at the end, of just one day. But if not, summit/bear is fun as well.

j.gnar, since you know bear well, how are the canyons after a good dump, dear, goldmine and bow? I went to try them out but it was ice when I got there


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## j.gnar (Sep 4, 2009)

Random Hero said:


> Ya, two hours doesn't sound to bad at all, even three really. I live near Toronto so I'm used to driving almost 2 hours for 5 minute runs. The size of the hill doesn't matter toooooo much to me, obviously the bigger the better, but I'm going with a newbie anyways so I'll be riding easy most of the time. If any of you guys wanna do a couple of turns I'm down for doing some group riding as well.


bear offers a lot of different things. groomers, jumps, jibs, hips, steeps, beginner runs, everything!
once they open i will be there every weekend so if you wanna meet up just throw me a pm and ill give you my info


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## gibbous (Jul 9, 2008)

j.gnar said:


> this guy is full of shit. i live in oxnard, the next city over from camarillo, and the drive to bear is 2 1/2 hours tops,3 on a really bad day. if you leave around 5am, youll be in the parking lot by 7:45. i make the drive every weekend without fail, even some weekdays, and it is 100% worth it. the people that complain are the ninnys that shouldnt be on the mountain to begin with. the only times the hill gets crowded are during christmas/new year break, and even then the longest youll wait in line is 10ish minutes. bear has one of the top rated parks in the nation, and tons of different terrain to ride. its definitely worth a trip


Sorry, but there is no way I would spend 5 or 6 hours in the car during one day to ride on just any old day at any of the local hills. Maybe it's worth it to you or the OP if you like to spend a lot of time in the park and most of the point is to just have some fun with his friends then I'm sure it would be fine. But if I were going to drag my gear down from Canada and do that much driving I'm going to go to a decent mountain with some real snow, real terrain, and where I'm not having to have to hit the same few runs as everybody else all day.

Your perspective versus mine dude, no reason to be a dick.


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## Random Hero (Sep 30, 2008)

gibbous said:


> Sorry, but there is no way I would spend 5 or 6 hours in the car during one day to ride on just any old day at any of the local hills. Maybe it's worth it to you or the OP if you like to spend a lot of time in the park and most of the point is to just have some fun with his friends then I'm sure it would be fine. But if I were going to drag my gear down from Canada and do that much driving I'm going to go to a decent mountain with some real snow, real terrain, and where I'm not having to have to hit the same few runs as everybody else all day.
> 
> Your perspective versus mine dude, no reason to be a dick.


Fair enough, I can certainly understand what you're saying as I've been pretty picky these last couple of seasons as well with the places I go. This trip is more or less to hang out with a friend and snowboarding is kind of a bonus, as well as being a learning lesson for them mostly. Bear sounds like the place I will be hitting up just because even if I do go to a nicer mountain I won't really be able to explore it like I normally do.

J gnar I'll definitely hit you up when it comes time and maybe I'll sneak in a few runs while my friend takes a break.


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## gibbous (Jul 9, 2008)

Random Hero said:


> This trip is more or less to hang out with a friend and snowboarding is kind of a bonus, as well as being a learning lesson for them mostly.


If that's the case and you don't mind the drive then there's no reason you shouldn't have a good day. And if you're riding with people who aren't up to the same skill level as you going to one of the bigger mountains might be a waste for your friends anyway. Hope you enjoy your trip.


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## j.gnar (Sep 4, 2009)

gibbous said:


> Sorry, but there is no way I would spend 5 or 6 hours in the car during one day to ride on just any old day at any of the local hills. Maybe it's worth it to you or the OP if you like to spend a lot of time in the park and most of the point is to just have some fun with his friends then I'm sure it would be fine. But if I were going to drag my gear down from Canada and do that much driving I'm going to go to a decent mountain with some real snow, real terrain, and where I'm not having to have to hit the same few runs as everybody else all day.
> 
> Your perspective versus mine dude, no reason to be a dick.


i didnt mean to be a dick but you were saying a lot of things that just arent true. southern california residents dont have too many options when it comes to snow. sure, mammoth has great snow and amazing terrain, but if youre riding with a beginner, paying 95$ a day just for the ticket and 75$+ in gas to get there just isnt worth it


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## gibbous (Jul 9, 2008)

j.gnar said:


> you were saying a lot of things that just arent true. southern california residents dont have too many options when it comes to snow.


No, I said some things that just show we have a difference of opinion on the entertainment/thrill value of the local mountains and what is worth putting up with to get to them. There are a lot more places to go around here than someone who doesn't know the area might think, but to me every one of them is disappointing in one way or another. If you disagree with me on those things that's fine, but it doesn't make me full of shit or merit the "shouldn't be on the mountain" nonsense.



j.gnar said:


> sure, mammoth has great snow and amazing terrain, but if youre riding with a beginner, paying 95$ a day just for the ticket and 75$+ in gas to get there just isnt worth it


As I said later on I completely agree with that, but he didn't say he was riding with a beginner in the posts I was initially responding to, did he?

I don't mean to get all defensive, but like many here snowboarding is a pretty big deal to me personally even though I'm admittedly picky about where and when I go. I think it's cool that people get enough of a charge out of riding average days at places like Bear that they're willing to go that far out of their way to do it, I'm just not one of them. Either way, it probably isn't worth arguing about so I'll shut up now.

Peace...


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## Random Hero (Sep 30, 2008)

Figured I'd revive this just incase anyone else is interested. Going be getting into Cali on Jan 4th, will probably ride either that Friday or Saturday depending. So is anyone else interested in coming out? I'll be sending you a pm closer to the date j.nar to get all your contact info and shit and I'll give you my friends too so you can get ahold of us.


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