USA West Coast Visit - Summer 2024.

[magpieant]

Good Evening All.

I am seeking some advice please. We are from the UK and are planning to visit the West Coast of USA in August of this year. Whilst the family look at Disneyland and Universal as the star attractions, I am looking for ways to fulfill my love of military aviation!!

Geographically, our route looks like this:-

San Francisco > Yosemite > Bakersfield area > Vegas > Grand Canyon > back through Joshua Tree > L.A. > Highway 1 North back to San Fran.

From looking at these forums and Google Maps, that has led me to list the following bases / attractions where I 'may' get a fix or the odd photo of any military jets ! (photography wise, I'll have a 100-400mm lens with me and a 24-105). I've included any notes / questions I have about the places. Any help or suggestions for further ideas on our route is greatly appreciated!!! I've numbered them to help with any answers.

1. Fresno Yosemite Airport - I've seen several images of the Air National Guard here and some fighters (144th ????). Is this still the case and is there much acitivity? Not sure as yet on what day of the week we'll be nearby.
2. Lemoore Naval Base - is this still active and does it get much traffic? I've read photography can be a bit difficult or not too well received there?
3. Edwards AFB - we'll not have time to visit the nearby Blackbird musuem - just wondered if there's any decent spotting locations on Highway 58 as we pass en route to Vegas ?
4. Nellis AFB - we are going to be here on a weekend and until about lunchtime on a Monday. Worth the trip? Can you still park (as I've read) on the road outside the speedway ?
5. Palm Springs Air Museum - I suspect this will be a 'MUST'. I also note it's proximity to the airport. Does the airport attract many mil visitors?
6. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library - I reckon I could persuade the family to come along .... for the historical benefits !!!!
7. Point Mugu Base and the nearby National Guard base .... again, does this get much traffic ? I spotted a Hawker Hunter flying yesterday on Flight Radar!! How well are photographers received from the nearby Missile Park Musuem? Worth a visit ??
8. Camarillo aiport ? Again, just wondering if this pulls in any military aviation?

Thank you all so much in advance for any help or ideas you can offer! As a final touch, if anyone know of any ways I can convince my wife and 16 year old that they 'really DO' love fast jets ..... it'd be much appreciated!!!

Cheers

Anth.

[iainpeden]

If you plan to go into Yosemite (beautiful place and I caught Marine one there!) check the National Park Service website because there are restrictions in place meaning you need to book . Sounds the same if you intend to go over the Tioga pass to death valley and onto LV .
There is an excellent museum at the former Castle Air Force base at Merced. Some rare stuff including a Tornado ( B-45 not Panavia).
In Death Valley you hear loads but can’t always see it
If you want more details I’m happy to pm you details what we did.

Oh - over my last couple of trips I have found it cheaper to organise car hire through the airline than independently.

[Precinct7]

1. Fresno Yosemite Airport - 144th F-15 active here but don't know how much flying they do
there about 6 aircraft on gate easy to see, but to see the F-15 ramps you haver to go to the east side of airfield, further around on the east side is a Army UH-60 unit.

2. Lemoore Naval Base - very busy , there is a viewing area going towards to main airfield gate, you will almost certainly get checked by security if your here for very long

3. Edwards AFB - basically you cannot see anything from outside, but on the North gate is B-52 NASA008/52-0009 & on the West/Rosamond Gate there are about 8 aircraft outside, wont take to long so you should have time to visit Blackbird museum on the way to LA area

4. Nellis AFB - they do fly weekends and Monday AM should be OK
Can you still park on road outside the speedway ? yes you can , a lot of fast traffic & trucks on the road so take care

5. Palm Springs Air Museum -great museum
Does the airport attract many mil visitors? a few but they will be on opposite to museum so you would have to drive around
to photograph & read them

7. Point Mugu Base and the nearby National Guard base , a few aircraft preserved in the Missile Park were you can park ,the ANG
ramps are in this area , the main Navy part of the field cannot be seen from here

good luck

[Thunder]

Fresno indeed still has the 144FW, flying F-15C/D. There are some great spots at the runway ends for take off/landing shots. The main ANG ramp is located along the side E McKinley Ave, but a 15ft concrete wall has been erected along its entirety since I was last there.

Lemoore is the USN’s main fast jet base on the West coast and is extremely busy, unfortunately you can’t get that close to it, about 4km from RW14L.(wasn’t aware of viewing area mentioned above).

Edward’s again will be a distant view about 10km from H58.

Nellis good access at runway ends but not that close, about 1.4 km at raceway end(more a side on view),and 1.2km at E Cheyenne Ave end(more overhead view ).

Point Mugu, can be busy but again fairly distant, best spot here is the public access at the USN missile park just off the approach to Rw12, a bit further North up the CA-1 HW, the CalANG ramp with their C-130’s comes into clear view, but stopping here will more than likely get the attention of CHP and local Sheriff’s Dept.

Most Regional AP’s around that area can and do attract Mil visitors on a frequent basis, so worth checking any that you’re passing. Some that come to mind are Lancaster Fox Field, Palmdale, Mojave. What route from the Grand Canyon are you planning HW10 Phoenix or HW40 Flagstaff.

The biggest problem you’re going to come across is the heat, in August it’s going to be blistering and therefore heat haze is going to be a major PITA.

[iainpeden]

Contrary to Thunder, I suspect your biggest problems will be the potential distances you are looking to travel with a couple of uninterested passengers.

[magpieant]

If you plan to go into Yosemite (beautiful place and I caught Marine one there!) check the National Park Service website because there are restrictions in place meaning you need to book . Sounds the same if you intend to go over the Tioga pass to death valley and onto LV .
There is an excellent museum at the former Castle Air Force base at Merced. Some rare stuff including a Tornado ( B-45 not Panavia).
In Death Valley you hear loads but can’t always see it
If you want more details I’m happy to pm you details what we did.

Oh - over my last couple of trips I have found it cheaper to organise car hire through the airline than independently.

Thanks for the info @iainpeden. We have visited Yosemite on several occasions and fully agree, it's a beautiful place! I'm really glad you told me about the park restrictions for vehicles though - I can't recall that being a thing on our last visit in 2019 !!! Looks like only 2,000 cars allowed per day - so I'll have to make sure we book well in advance! Luckily we're not going over the Tioga - instead dropping down towards Fresno.

The museum in Merced sounds very interesting - especially the Tornado (being an English child of the 70's and 80's - always a favourite!). Last time I was in Merced I got a parking ticket for parking against the traffic!!

Death Valley wise - yes, we too have heard lots then .... but heat and hiking to find any good spots won't be fun in mid-August!!!

Car hire - I've noticed there has been a massive hike price wise over the last 5 years - we continue to explore options. We've booked flights independently and they don't do car hire, but lots of options to explore.

Thanks again for all the info ... lots of food for thought here!!!

[magpieant]

1. Fresno Yosemite Airport - 144th F-15 active here but don't know how much flying they do
there about 6 aircraft on gate easy to see, but to see the F-15 ramps you haver to go to the east side of airfield, further around on the east side is a Army UH-60 unit.

2. Lemoore Naval Base - very busy , there is a viewing area going towards to main airfield gate, you will almost certainly get checked by security if your here for very long

3. Edwards AFB - basically you cannot see anything from outside, but on the North gate is B-52 NASA008/52-0009 & on the West/Rosamond Gate there are about 8 aircraft outside, wont take to long so you should have time to visit Blackbird museum on the way to LA area

4. Nellis AFB - they do fly weekends and Monday AM should be OK
Can you still park on road outside the speedway ? yes you can , a lot of fast traffic & trucks on the road so take care

5. Palm Springs Air Museum -great museum
Does the airport attract many mil visitors? a few but they will be on opposite to museum so you would have to drive around
to photograph & read them

7. Point Mugu Base and the nearby National Guard base , a few aircraft preserved in the Missile Park were you can park ,the ANG
ramps are in this area , the main Navy part of the field cannot be seen from here

good luck

Some great information here @Precint7 - thank you so much.

Fresno Yosemite definitely sounds like it could be fun on the off chance that we'll see something. What are security like if you're driving around the sites with a camera?

Lemoore Naval Base - is the viewing area you refer to also know as the memorial area ? I've been reading a few things that say it's okay here, but security are not too pleased with people photographing from here .... is this still the case? I have also read that tours may be available here, so I'm going to contact the base and see what happens!!

Edwards - I'll definitely look into the North Gate B-52 ..... not sure we'll divert as far as the Blackbird Museum, but you never know!

Nellis - thank you for this info. I'm definitely hoping to have a few hours away from The Strip and visit both Nellis and Las Vegas Airport .... seen some good guides on spotting locations for both, so will deffo give these a go.

Palm Springs - thank you .... I think we'll definitely do the museum at the very least here.

Point Mugu - still very much interested in this - so will research more.

Many thanks again!

[magpieant]

Fresno indeed still has the 144FW, flying F-15C/D. There are some great spots at the runway ends for take off/landing shots. The main ANG ramp is located along the side E McKinley Ave, but a 15ft concrete wall has been erected along its entirety since I was last there.

Lemoore is the USN’s main fast jet base on the West coast and is extremely busy, unfortunately you can’t get that close to it, about 4km from RW14L.(wasn’t aware of viewing area mentioned above).

Edward’s again will be a distant view about 10km from H58.

Nellis good access at runway ends but not that close, about 1.4 km at raceway end(more a side on view),and 1.2km at E Cheyenne Ave end(more overhead view ).

Point Mugu, can be busy but again fairly distant, best spot here is the public access at the USN missile park just off the approach to Rw12, a bit further North up the CA-1 HW, the CalANG ramp with their C-130’s comes into clear view, but stopping here will more than likely get the attention of CHP and local Sheriff’s Dept.

Most Regional AP’s around that area can and do attract Mil visitors on a frequent basis, so worth checking any that you’re passing. Some that come to mind are Lancaster Fox Field, Palmdale, Mojave. What route from the Grand Canyon are you planning HW10 Phoenix or HW40 Flagstaff.

The biggest problem you’re going to come across is the heat, in August it’s going to be blistering and therefore heat haze is going to be a major PITA.

Thanks @Thunder.

So for Fresno .... your recommendation would be one end of the runway ? Anywhere particular? Could always get a few hours in there and see what turns up alongside the commercial stuff!

Nellis - as above ... I'll definitely give the speedway end a go .... seen some lovely videos on Youtube which have whet the appetite !!!

Point Mugu - someone has also suggested Wood Lane ??? nearby as a decent spot to try and catch some stuff - I'll give that a go!

Grand Canyon Route will almost certainly be HW40 - 95 .... unless the sat nav tells us differently !!!

Yes - I imagine heat haze is gonna be an absolute killer ... will have to see and deal with it ... it's the only chance I'll get!!!

Thanks for all your info!

[magpieant]

Contrary to Thunder, I suspect your biggest problems will be the potential distances you are looking to travel with a couple of uninterested passengers.

I fully agree with this!!!

I'm hoping I can bribe them with a bit of outlet shopping and some Mickey Mouse ears!!!!!!

[Rob68]

Palm springs, keep an eye out for pleasure flights from museum, last year the gate to runway was open (could be a coincidence) which allowed great view of Goshawks taking off

Someone else mentioned it, car hire, its gone through roof. Shop around. Check what's included with breakdown cover, id booked it but was told at desk (in March) that it didn't include recovery. I could either pay an additional $160 or if I didn't but then required recovery it would be $800.

[Rob68]

When at Palm Springs take a look at the blue spitfire, terrible scheme , then look closer and you can see red showing through. The red is from when it was UK based as G-FIRE.

Don't miss the F117, it's in a new building/tent and easy to miss the door In

[Thunder]

The only time I experienced issues with security was at MCAS El Toro. I was told beforehand to always stand on the opposite side of the road to the perimeter fence(that goes for all bases), the one instance I stood on the fence side Base security were on me in a flash and demanded I destroy the film.

At Fresno both runway ends are very open, which end you decide upon will depend on runway in use, whether you prefer landing or take off shots and the sun. As long as you park safely off the road you’ll be fine. You may get a visit from a passing patrol but after a check and chat they’ll go on their way.

Wood Road at Pt Mugu is the flyover over the CA-1 at the Missile park, it gives you an elevated point to shoot from.

Another base depending on your route back into San Fran is Moffet Field, here you’ll find the 129th RW, flying HH-60/HC-130, good vantage spots along Manila Ave at the Southern end.

[powerslave]

Wood Lane on the centreline at Point Mugu should give you no problem at all.
The road isn’t very busy there as well.Your out of the way there.

Ian