Suggestions for December road trip - southern California

Looking for sport routes and good camping, e.g. not fridgid, camp fire approved. What's best - Red Rocks, Owens Valley, or JTree? Question #2 - anyone have beta on the "Pit" campsite for Owens? Can you leave your tent up during the day or is it advised to break everything down before heading out?

If you’re looking for sport I would go to New Jack City, its BLM land so pretty much anything goes but watch out for four-wheelers and target shooters. As far as fridged, it’s December so it’s a crap shoot, just climb in the sun. I would not go to J-tree looking for sport climbing but if that’s where you end up stop off at Nomad and see if they still have the list of sport climbs.

Either Red Rock or Owens should do you right. Sport climbing in Joshua Tree is excellent (but very dispersed) at the 5.11+ to 5.13 grades, but I think anyone rap bolting stuff easier than old-school 5.11d thin face would have been run out of town.

Red Rocks has all kinds of excellent sport routes, ranging from thin, vertical crimpfests, to super-overhung power routes. There's even some multipitch you could probably hop on. The camping at Red Rocks can be a huge pita however. There's only one campground that fills up often, with nowhere else to go unless you want to car camp somewhere or get a room.

Owens I don't have quite as much experience with, but the climbing in the gorge is quite fun and I think there's some other good sport crags near Bishop, as well as some world-class bouldering. Alabama Hills, down by Lone Pine, is another nice crag that I've been to. Free camping everywhere. I usually stay at Alabama Hills or near the Buttermilks, but there's also free camping right by the gorge.

The camping at the "pit" in Bishop has gotten better over the years. Now they have pit toilets and a have always had a camp host. Because of maintinece they do charge a small fee, only a few dollars a night per vehical last I was there. It is safe to leave stuff up generally speaking.

While there are several other areas to camp around Bishop it is best to stay at a maintained area to minimize our impact on the high desert landscape.

If you actually meant to ask about the "pinions" camping for Owens which is the area that is closer. It is a little ways up the road from where the parking in for the Central gorge approach. It is dispersed camping with no facilities. If you are concerned about being cold it is also a bit higher than the "pit", though really anywhere you mention is going to be pretty cold once the sun goes down.