Scorpion hunting in South West USA in November.

Hello,

I've booked a trip to the US in mid-November. I'll be arriving in L.A., hiring a car and driving a lot of miles. Me and my lady friend are undecided on where we are going yet, but potential places we are visiting include San Francisco, Death Valley, Las Vegas, various places in Arizona, Joshua Tree, San Diego area and obviously the L.A. area.

We are going pretty late in the year, but will it still be worth having a look for scorpions, at least in the Southern, lower and/or coastal areas?

What methods tend to yield the best results? Flipping rocks during the day, going out at night with a UV torch etc.?

We'll be visiting a lot of national parks. Is wandering off the paths to look for scorpions frowned upon, illegal even?

Any advice on whether we'll find any, good areas to go, rules/laws, tips and tricks etc. etc. would be great.

im sure someone will chime in soon about the specifics of locating the scorps in those areas.
if I were you, I would check with a park ranger at each location you visit about the legalities of collecting or "hunting" on federal or state land. im sure there are rules against it. maybe even rules against disturbing the landscape (flipping rocks). id hate to see your visit to the US get screwed up with a hefty fine, if one such fine exist (which I bet it does).
also....you are entering rattlesnake country!! be super careful flipping over anything. lots of super toxic snakes in those areas you mentioned.

Death valley is a national park, and take of any animals there is against the law.

If you want to find good places to look for bugs, look for land owned by the Bureau of Land Management. Dont collect from national parks, find areas just outside the boundary of the park, and you'll be able to collect species found there legally.