Northern California Road Trip

1,788 Views | 18 Replies | Last: 19 days ago by MasonB
aa4136
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Planning on flying in to San Jose and then road tripping north in late August. We have about 1 week. No kids.

Not planning on staying in San Francisco...looking to drive further north towards towns like Mendocino, Fort Bragg, Trinidad. At least that is what we are thinking!

Any tips?
AgRyan04
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My son and I are doing this starting next weekend with the sole purpose of visiting a bunch of national parks, so may not be the couples trip you guys are thinking about.

There are camper cabins that you can book through KOA all over the area....range from $100-150/night

Flying to Sacramento and driving to Lassen Volcanic NP for that afternoon and the following day, then driving up to Crater Lake for a day there, then down to Redwoods NP for two days, then we were going to spend a couple nights in San Francisco but they're on lockdown so we got a KOA down near Monterray so we're going to do a day at Big Sur and then a day at Pinnacles NP. Then we have a couple night in Sequoia NP and we finish with 5 nights in Yosemite and flying back home out of LAX

We're in the KOA cabins all the way up to Sequois nd Yosemite, where we are staying in the parks themselves.
oldarmy76
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We stayed a couple nights at lost whale inn in Trinidad. Very nice. Went to redwood national park from there.
HollywoodBQ
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AG
One of my favorite spots anywhere is Marin Headlands on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge.
As stated in other threads, plan your stops and bathroom breaks in advance. I strongly recommend truck stops where possible.
AggieOO
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Avenue of the Giants
BSD
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AG
We did this a few years ago. It was lots of fun. Be sure to stop in Humboldt State Park and see if you can find the Paradox tree...then go see it again in 20 years (or something like that) when it's the tallest in the world. Kids will like Confusion Hill outside Leggett, as well as the other little kitschy stops (One Log House, drive thru tree, etc). If you go far enough north, Trees of Mystery is a fun stop.
Potcake
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AG
Better do some checking, California is rolling back their re-opening.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/13/us/us-coronavirus-monday/index.html
HollywoodBQ
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AG
Yep, Rona is religion out here.
UglyScientist
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Potcake said:

Better do some checking, California is rolling back their re-opening.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/13/us/us-coronavirus-monday/index.html
Yeah. Husband and I were planning on driving the PCH for our honeymoon in August and a hotel we had booked in Marin County just cancelled on us saying he didn't think they'd be open by then. I was able to find a hotel not far away in Sonoma County to stay that night in instead, but I feel like our chances for this trip to happen are dwindling by the day.
Potcake
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AG
We go to Palm Springs every September but I'm afraid that will probably not happen this year.
mpl35
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AG
Did a trip a few years ago Bay area up the coast through redwoods back down the valley through Lassen NP to Napa.

If you go up near Lassen, hit Burney Falls. They are great.
Bachelor99
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AG
yea i did a similar trip a few years ago from SFO up the coast to Ft Bragg(glass beach), camped at humboldt state park, camped at redwood national park, past klamath and into oregon and camped at crater lake and then back into CA to redding, burney falls, and lassen national park and then back to SFO to complete the big loop....great trip!
SW AG80
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AG
Our favorite place to stay in the continental U.S. is Tu Tu Tun Lodge outside Gold Beach, Or. It is just over the California/Oregon State line. Check the lodge out. GREAT place to go without kids. Great food and wine. Now, with the Rona, things will be different so call and see how they are operating.

First time we went we flew into SF then drove through the Redwoods up to Eureka, CA then on to Tu Tu Tun Lodge the next day. Three night at Tu Tu Tun is just about right. So it would give you a few nights to stay other places.

Just checked the Tu Tu Tun website. The only thing changed is the seating for dinner. Each party is seated separate from the others. Too bad because with family seating, which is usual, we met some very interesting people. It takes an adventersom spirit to travel to a place this secluded and hard to get to, and it is not cheap but is reasonable for the quality of service, food and wine.
aa4136
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Thanks to all for the suggestions. Unfortunately, had to make some last minute travel plan changes. Will be keeping this thread bookmarked for the future.
rockelle
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Bringing this one back. Looking for more recommendations and must sees.

Late April trip to Northern California. Flying in to San Fran. Doing Muir woods day 1 and staying in Sausalito. Then on to Mendocino for 1 night and then Trinidad for 3 nights.

Looking for good stops along the coastal drive, restaurants.
Definitely doing Redwood NP and SP, and Jedediah Smith.
Anyone ever do the river rafting?
slaughtr
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AG
rockelle said:

Bringing this one back. Looking for more recommendations and must sees.

Late April trip to Northern California. Flying in to San Fran. Doing Muir woods day 1 and staying in Sausalito. Then on to Mendocino for 1 night and then Trinidad for 3 nights.

Looking for good stops along the coastal drive, restaurants.
Definitely doing Redwood NP and SP, and Jedediah Smith.
Anyone ever do the river rafting?
The drive on 253 just south of Ukiah to Boonville followed by 128 to Albion is gorgeous. Takes you through redwood forests, past the NorCal sparkling wine region and to the coast just south of Mendocino.
Lt. Joe Bookman
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AG
If you go all the way up to Jedediah Smith SP, make sure you drive on Howland Hill Road. Especially cool if you've got a rental car with a sunroof or a convertible.

Grove of the Titans and Stout Grove are both great trails if you're looking to hike around there.

You'll end up in Hiouchi which has a great little Cafe or you can head into Crescent City and grab some good beers at SeaQuake.

https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/drivehowlandhillrd.htm

MasonB
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AG
If you like oysters, recommend stopping at Hog Island Oyster Co in Marshall for lunch. They farm oysters and have a cafe to eat at.



MasonB
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AG
Trees of Mystery north of Trinidad has some cool catwalks amongst the giant redwoods
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