Labor Day getaways: Vegas, Mammoth, Palm Springs?

Where are you going for Labor Day? With airports being jammed up, and roads too, what is a procrastinating traveler to do? Peter Pae predicts that “Air travel will be hard work well past Labor Day,” but that’s not going to stop holiday-makers from taking their fully earned time off. If you absolutely have to get away this coming weekend, here are some close-by options in Las Vegas, Mammoth Lakes and Palm Springs.

Las Vegas
Travelocity has last-minute Labor Day packages: Vegas packages from Thursday to Sunday run $500 /person for flight, hotel and taxes if you’re looking for a decent room. Considering the late booking date, this actually isn’t a bad deal if you can find someone to go with and don’t mind giving up being on the Strip. (Flights found were on Delta; to fly United, there’s an additional charge). Alternatively, I found air hotel packages on Vegas.com at Red Rock available for $398/person (double occupancy). Dates were for Thursday to Sunday and included $50 food credit, but you had to fly from Burbank and go through Phoenix. There were also air hotel packages on the Strip available as well.

Mammoth Lakes: No reservations needed for campsites
Big Bear vs. Mammoth: Friends who enjoy both areas tell me that Big Bear is usually booked solid this late in the game for Labor Day but that Mammoth campgrounds are first-come, first-served. So, if you can get out there early, you stand a pretty good chance. Get Tom Stienstra’s “California Camping” at your local bookstore for trusted recommendations. Here is a list of campgrounds in the Inyo National Forest with contact information including status on whether or not they take reservations.

Do you prefer to stay at home or take a trip over Labor Day?

California Camping
California state parks: I checked with ReserveAmerica.com to find open camping spots. While it’s recommended to book at least 7 months in advance, with luck you could find some cancellations. If you call, have the name of a campground in mind and be willing to give out your personal contact information (phone and address) before they will tell you if anything is available. I was not willing to do that over the phone, but found that Soledad Canyon, Thousand Trails, CA still had space available over Labor Day according to the website.

Palm Springs
Don’t forget, you don’t have to go all the way to Vegas to escape in the desert. Palm Springs is considerably closer. Palm Springs: The Best Places to Stay has an ad-heavy directory of hotels by category. Find out the best Midcentury Modern digs, best gay exclusive resorts, where the L.A. cool kids hang out and where you want to go if what to pack isn’t the most important thing. SmallHotelsofPalmSprings.com is an easy-to-read directory with contact info and hotel descriptions.

Tip: No matter where you’re trying to get away to, don’t forget about the vacation rentals section of Craigslist.org for person-to-person booking options.

Related Los Angeles Times links:

Air travel will be hard work well past Labor Day
Chicago tops Labor Day travel list
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge to close over Labor Day weekend
Reviews of three portable camping grills

Permalink | E-mail | Print | Add to My Trips

This entry was posted on Monday, August 27, 2007 at 5:37 pm by Jen Leo and is filed under California, Family & Kids, Lake Tahoe & Eastern Sierra, Las Vegas, Last Minute, Palm Springs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.