makai1

Looking to enjoy our 30th anniversary along the northern coast first week of October.

We are open to any scenic options. Wine country not as important as redwoods... but a stop or two for tasting will be fun. Love beautiful scenery.

Here are our thoughts so far...

Mon, 9/30
Sacramento to Hwy 128 & stop at one or two wineries. Since we are only hitting a couple, what are your favs? We like all cabs & pinot noirs, chards & sparkling.
Continue on 128 into Elk or Mendocino for one night on the coast.
The Little River Inn looks nice. littleriverinn.com/lodging/oceanview-bayside…

Tues, 10/1
1 to 101N to Humbolt State Redwoods - Ave of Giants. Take a hike, do some exploring. Stay one night anywhere b/w Garberville & Trinidad. Considering Shelter Cove, even with the 1 hr drive in.
www.sheltercoveoceanfrontinn.com/rooms.html
http://innofthelostcoast.com/

Wed, 10/2
101N stopping along the way for exploration, Fern Canyon, etc.
Stay 2 nights at Bed and Bread Hiouchi on the Smith river in Klamath. http://bnbhiouchi.com/rooms-and-rates/

Thurs, 10/3
Explore Redwood Nat'l Park

Fri, 10/4
Drive back toward Sacramento (flying back to Chicago on Sat):

101S to 20E & stay 1 night b/w Clearlake area & Sacramento - Any ideas for lodging? I'm reading that Clearlake is stinky... literally. Any ideas for a nice room $150-$200 for one night on a Friday?
This will be a long day of driving, so it will be nice to relax and have a nice dinner. Also thinking about 101S to Hwy 128 and staying somewhere along the way. Again, finding a nice room in our budget for one night is tough.

Would appreciate your input. We're open pretty much to anything at this point.

Thanks!

MichelleY

Fieldstone and Robert Young for wines.

wekewoody

Here's a thread that has some info on Shelter Cove.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...er-cove-ca.cfm

I would stay in Healdsburg on your last night. It is about 4 hour drive from RNP and a two hour drive to Sacramento. There are good restaurants and cute places to stay.

makai1

Thanks MichelleY & wekewoody.

I orginally considered 2 nts in Shelter Cove, but after reading that thread, decided on poss only 1 nt there.

I love the edea of Healdsburg, just can't find decent lodging in our budget for one night. Not even the Best Western! haha

spirobulldog

I really like Patricks Point State Park. Great tidepooling at lowtide at Palmers Point Beach(which is actually in Patricks Point State Park). PP is only 5 miles or so from Trinidad, so your right there. Agate Beach at PP is worth exploring too.

If your up for a longer(but easy) hike consider hiking right from the Visitor Center in Prairie Creek on the James Irvine Trail all the way to the beach via Fern Canyon. This is the best trail in the park for huge trees, no crowds at all(until Fern Canyon). It is about 4 miles one way. You can park a car at each end(or if you could catch a ride with someone). We just hiked it in/out and really enjoyed it.

I also really like The Stout Grove for a nice short walk/hike.
Tall Trees Grove and Lady Bird Johnson are both good too

Below is a link to site I used on both my trips to the Redwoods.
http://www.redwoodhikes.com/

Sounds like a nice trip. Have fun!

spirobulldog

I listed that as easy. Perhaps easy/moderate would have been better. You should probably allow about 2-3 hours for each way of the trip. You can do it as a loop with Miner's Ridge, but that adds another mile or two(of which a mile or so is on the beach, which would be different).

makai1

Thanks spirobulldog!

I have read some of your posts about Patricks Point & James Irvine Trail. They def whet my appetite for spending more time in this area. Fern Canyon sounds amazing!

Thanks for your input!

spirobulldog

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...0IatW7FqybsWkg

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...0IatW7FqybsWkx

Links to photos with my nephew a couple of years ago. This was to Redwoods, Lassen, and Burney Mcarthur Falls. We did all that in 4 days flying in and out of Sacramento.

makai1

Any suggestions of affordable ($150-$200 p/nt) places to stay between Klamath & Sacramento after a long day of driving? And a nice dinner?

"I would stay in Healdsburg on your last night. It is about 4 hour drive from RNP and a two hour drive to Sacramento. There are good restaurants and cute places to stay."

Healdsburg seems to be ideal, however, for one night on a Friday, very expensive. Any other options for nice lodging and good restaurants without going too far out of the way?
Flying out of SMF on Sat.

Thanks!

wekewoody

You could try Windsor, which is south of Healdsburg. Short on charm, but the motels could be cheaper. Santa Rosa might be worth looking into. That is a little further south from Windsor. What time does you flight leave on Saturday? Would you rather be closer to the airport for an early departure? If so, then Santa Rosa or even Petaluma might work better. If not, then Ukiah or Cloverdale would have cheaper places to stay than Healdsburg, but they are further away from Sacratomato.

MichelleY

If you need to stay in Sacto, consider the Delta King on the river.

http://www.deltaking.com/

I have never stayed, but others here have liked it. Or Embassy Suites.

http://embassysuites3.hilton.com/en/...SES/index.html

You could also stay in mid town near some great restaurants. Others here like Residence inn.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...-capitol-park/

MichelleY

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...ke-a-local.cfm

BarbAnn

Nix Ukiah. My parents lived there for over 30 years (I recently moved them to Sacramento area). It is soulless. Not too many decent restaurants.

I recently attended a wedding in Petaluma. The old downtown area was quite pleasant with restaurants, shops and charm. Windsor is OK (my brother has loved there for 30 years), but I like Petaluma better. Easy drive to Sacto airport.

makai1

Thanks everyone!

Have found a few nice options in both Windsor and Petaluma at some nice B&Bs for one night.

I think we'll leave this night open until we get closer to our travel dates, just in case we decide to priceline a room for the last night. Thats always a good option if all else fails.

Again, thanks for all the help!

makai1

ps. great pics spiro!!