Highway 1 trip

Old Jun 28th, 2015, 06:30 AM
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Highway 1 trip

My husband and I are planning a trip to SanFrancisco in September and driving up the coast to Seattle. We would like to go back by way of the Columbia River Valley to San Francisco. We will have 8 days to travel this route. I would welcome any input as to what to see and must dos along the way!
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Old Jun 28th, 2015, 06:45 AM
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A bit of terminology. Highway 1 is the California state highway that runs (for the most part) along the California Coast. US 101 is the federal highway that parallels the coast, but doesn't actually touch it except in a few places. So going north from SF you could take Hwy 1 for a couple hundred miles to where it ends by reconnecting to US 101 in the redwoods.

Eight days is barely enough for a round trip from SF to Seattle. The inland route (I-5 through the central valley in California, then through Oregon and to Seattle) requires around 12-14 hours traveling to get to Seattle. Traveling via US 101 for most of the trip adds anywhere from five to eight hours' additional drive time (that's wheels turning) but obviously you want much more time to see the sights.

With that amount of time, I'd travel to Portland via I-5 over two consecutive days, spend a day around Portland visiting the Columbia Gorge, then, unless you have a burning need to visit Seattle, head out to the coast from Portland and take four days to return to SF.

Obviously you'll want to see the coast, starting with Cape Disappointment on the Washington side of the mouth of the Columbia River, then the numerous Oregon state parks along the Pacific beaches, the coastal sand dunes... then spend a couple of days in the redwoods between the CA/OR state line and the Avenue of the Giants south of Eureka.

If time allows an additional night after the redwoods, swing out to the coast on Hwy 1 to visit the little towns of Mendocino and Bodega Bay (and others) before returning to SF.

If Seattle is a must, then you'll have to reduce one night on the way south; this can be done by heading south on I-5 to OR 38, then out to the coast. This will preserve the most scenic part of the southern Oregon coast for your trip, but you'll be missing plenty farther north.
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Old Jun 28th, 2015, 07:47 AM
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Gardyloo's description needs no help, solid information. If you must, for some reason, also see Seattle, if tickets aren't yet bought, you could fly into either Sab Francisco or Seattle and home from the other and make the drive 1-way.
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Old Jun 28th, 2015, 08:13 AM
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Garyloo's post has you covered. His expertise is top notch!

I agree to maximize your time/distance you'll need to use I-5 (freeway) for some portions of the trip somehow.

The route you describe isn't really "Highway 1"
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Old Jun 28th, 2015, 08:43 AM
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ditto re Gardyloo's post. And definitely you do not have enough time to do SF > Seattle RT . . . Now, you could fit in Seattle if you dropped the car there and flew back to SF.
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