mjkre

My family of five ( 2 adults and 6, 8 and 10 year old dds) will be travelling from Portland to San Francisco during the first 2 weeks of July. We will be leaving Portland on 7/6 and heading south. Currently, we are planning on driving to the coast, enjoying the sand dunes and sites for about 3 days and then heading south. My question is, should we return the car and get on Amtrak on 7/12 and take the train to SF or should we skip the train and drive to SF? If so, what route to take?. We would like to arrive in SF no later then 7/13. If we drive, we are interested in any of the following: the Rouge River, Crater Lake, the Redwoods. However, any fantastic hotel for children just to relax at along the way would be great, too.

happytrailstoyou

My choice would be to drive.

After visiting the redwoods, I would make my way over to Highway 1 where attractions include great ocean views, the colorful town of Mendocino, the Mendocino Headlands, Fort Ross State Historic Park Russian Colony, and Point Reyes, National Seashore.

The drive into San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge is also a memorable experience.

HTTY

Bobmrg

I agree with htty. Driving the coast route will be more educational/fun for the kids than the train would be. If there is a question mark anywhere in your plan it is Crater Lake...it is quite a detour from the coast route using highways 101 and 1.

jpie

I agree with Bob. We just went to Crater Lake and it is nearly an hour from I-5 from Medford. We stayed at a Ramada there-not the greatest but it did have an indoor pool which would be nice with kids. But I think it is too far off your route. Also, Crater Lake is beautiful, but for kids, not so great because unless you get out and hike around it is more of just a "look at it from the road" kind of place.
If you wanted you could take I-5 thorough Oregon and visit the Rogue River area and Crater Lake, and then cut over to the coast in California and just continue on down through Marin county into SF itself. Although both the coast drives in OR and CA are really nice.

Fodorite018

I too would drive it.

At Crater Lake, definitely allow time and take the boat ride. It is very good! If it is warm out, the kids can get in the water down at the boat ramp too.

mjkre

I was thinking Crater Lake would be too far east but it does look beautiful. Are there any suggestions for a hotel or town(s)to stop in assuming we start the trip with the following: a three to four night stay in/around Florence. Assuming we would want to leave Florence on 7/9 and arrive in SF by 7/13, can anyone suggest which towns to stop in and/or hotels? We would not want to drive more then 5 hours on any particular day, I think, but at the same time I don't have a real big desire to pack/repack every day. How many driving hours is it between Florence and SF?
Has anyone taken Amtrak on this route? Drop off charges for the car may impact our decision.

mjkre

BTW: Thanks to everyone for sharing your wisdom!

happytrailstoyou

Our favorite places to stay on the Oregon coast are Cannon Beach (Schooner's Cove), Newport (Hallmark Inn w/pool), Yachats (Fireside), Bandon, and Brookings (Best Western Beachfront Inn).

All these hotels are directly on the ocean; Florence has no hotels on the ocean front.

HTTY

sunbum1944

Florence does have one hotel ocean front hotel which you dont hear about often- its the Driftwood Shores - have not stayed there in a long time but it was fine when I did - it has a restaurant with ocean views - expansive beach

I usually stay at the Adobe just outside of Yachats- also has ocean view restaurant. Adobe is adjacent to the Fireside which Happy Trails mentioned

Florence area- take the kids dune buggy riding- they will love it.

krisnmikenkids

I'm not sure if you live in Portland, and therefore are familiar with Oregon coastal summer weather or not, but I want to warn you that it could be cold and foggy! It's also a long, curvy drive with kids. I would definitely plan on visiting Florence and doing the whole sandrailing experience. We went with four kids a few summers ago and they LOVED it.
If you decide to take the train, your last chance is in Eugene before it cuts inland and the next plaace you'd be able to catch it would be Klamath Falls. It will also take you to Oakland, not San Francisco.
Crater Lake is beautiful but it is kind of more interesting for adults than kids, I think. If you decide to go, stop off at The Gorge on the Rogue River. This is amazing! It's a short walk from the parking lot, that is even handicapped accessible. There's a great little cafe near the Gorge, called Beckie's, which is known for their pies.
I-5 is an easy but not very thrilling drive from the Rogue Valley to San Francisco. If you decide to go this route, let me know and I'll give you the directions for the quickest way.
Doing a rafting trip on the Rogue is very fun too. If your kids would find that too scary, Jet Boat rides out of Grants Pass on the Rogue are very fun too.
Jacksonville, 5 miles off I-5, is a really cute Western town. They have a music festival in the summer, which is called Britt Festivals, that is also worth checking out. There is actually The Children's Festival at the Britt Grounds in Jacksonville on July 10, 11, 12 that is really a great event. I can give you more scoop on that, if you think you'll be in the area on that day. Just 30 minutes down the road is Ashland, which is also a cute town. They're known for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which is pretty adult oriented, but it's a great town, with lots of parks and restaurants. The weather in July in the Rogue Valley is sunny and warm, unlike the coast!
If any of this sounds like fun to you, let me know and I'd be happy to give more details.

tomfuller

Renting car at PDX 7/6-1st night Seaside or Cannon Beach.
Second night Florence-ride the dune buggies. Third night Crescent City or Klamath California-see Redwood National Park with huge Coast Redwoods.
Drive over Rt. 199-see Oregon Caves if you have the time. Use Rt. 234 at Gold Hill to avoid Crater Lake Highway out of Medford.
If you can't get a reservation at the Crater Lake Lodge, stay at the historic Prospect Hotel http://www.prospecthotel.com/
Leave Crater Lake by the north entrance, go west on 138 to Roseburg and I-5 return the rental car to PDX by noon on 7/12.
Ride the light rail into the city from the airport. You may have to take a short taxi ride from a light rail stop to get to the Amtrak station. The southbound Coast Starlight leaves sometime after 2 PM. You arrive in SF about 10AM after a short bus trip from Emeryville. The Coast Starlight continues south all the way to Los Angeles.
I have no trouble sleeping in coach from Klamath Falls, Oregon (10PM) to Sacramento, CA (6:15 AM).

spirobulldog

I would definately drive and definately see Crater Lake and The Redwoods.

mjkre

I guess I should have said I am from the East Coast. We have never been to the West Coast. We have relatives in Portland which is why we are starting our trip there.

We have plane tix into Portland on 7/1 and out of SF on 7/15. We had much debate about where to fly in and out of, but rising airfare prices made us decide before we had our exact intinary planned. We live near the ocean so spending time there is not critical but the sand dunes sound like a blast. Jet boating on the rouge river would be the next thing we are interested in, but I have one child who may not be interested in that. We would like to balance the trip with Sites/Educational opportunties/Fun! Pool/swimming time is pretty much a must for my kids on vacation.

If we went to the sand dunes from Portland, and stayed somewhere on the coast for 2-3 days where to go next on the drive to SF? Is the rouge river valley (without going all the way east to Crater Lake) a realistic stop? And then the Redwoods and then San Fran? Where are Jacksonville and Ashland in relation to those? Sorry, everytime I think get my head wrapped around the geography of the region, I just end up more confused.

KrisMikeandKids, any additional info you have re: the shortest/best route and the chidlren's festival would be great.

Thanks again.

bbqboy

The best beach for kids is Neskowin.
Treehouses in Takilma are like nothing you've seen.
Oregon Caves in Cave Junction.
Ashland is the most kid friendly town in Oregon. Plenty to do. Lithia Park is a kid's delight. Jacksonville is boring unless you're an old fart.

krisnmikenkids

Hello! Well, the East Coast and West Coast can be really different in the summer. You've maybe heard of Mark Twain's quote, "The coldest winter I ever spent was the summer I spent in San Francisco." It can be foggy, windy and chilly in San Francisco and all along the Oregon and northern California coast. So, bring your sweatshirts! Once you head inland about 15 miles it heats up.
Okay, first off - Florence. We've only been there once and we stayed at the Driftwood Shores on the beach. We stayed in a large suite (it had something like 3 bedrooms, a kitchen and a livingroom) with our friends from Boston. It was very cold and foggy and since we didn't have our parkas, we skipped even going out on the beach. I think I would rather stay off the beach a bit. But you never know when the fog is going to go out to sea and you could get a beautiful day. The hotel itself was a little worn (it reminded me of student apartments at college!). We did "sand boarding" (this was pretty tough!) and sand railing (like riding in a dune buggy), which was a blast and a highlight for all four kids. We got a big dune buggy that seated 10 people, or something like that. My daughter (age 10 at that time) was petrified before the ride and couldn't wipe the smile off her face afterwards. I don't remember which company we used unfortunately but there are a number of them. I also can't really recommend a restaurant in Florence (don't eat at the hotel though!).
The next day we drove down the coast to see the Giant Redwoods. These are on the Oregon/California border. They are really amazing and I recommend them. I can't remember exactly but it's probably a 2 hour drive. They're in a state park and if you google search them, you can get directions. After visiting the Redwoods, we drove home to Jacksonville, which is another 2 1/2 hours. After driving down Hwy 1 to the Redwoods, you will take Hwy 199 from the coast to Grants Pass. Don't take any other roads over from the coast (unless you take a main highway from Florence) because they are only logging roads and tourists get lost/stuck on them all of the time. Mainly that's an issue only in the winter (with snow) but I thought I'd highlight it because what may seem like a shortcut could really turn into a very long trip.
We always camp out at the coast by the Redwoods, so I don't have a recommendation for a hotel out there, in case you wanted to break up your trip.
So, you'll take Hwy 199 to Grants Pass and then you can get on I-5 and head south to Medford until you reach the exit for Jacksonville or you can take a nice backroad called Hwy 238. This brings you directly into Jacksonville. You can also reach Jacksonville on Hwy 238 (more like surface streets) from Medford, if you decide to go I-5.
Check out the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce website by google searching Jacksonville, Oregon. There is a link for lodging. The only places that I know of in town with a pool are the Nunan Estate and the Melissa C. Taylor Cottage. The Nunan Estate is a beautiful home that was actually built as a "kit house", everything needed was shipped from the East Coast! It was a family residence for many years and was recently bought by some lottery winners and they've made it a B&B. They have a nice pool. The Melissa C. Taylor Cottage is a sweet (but possibly small!) cottage over the garage. You have access to a nice and private pool. I think this place looks very charming. It backs up to the Woodland Trails.
Go to storytellingguild.org to see details on the Children's Festival. Hopefully the dates will work with your schedule. They are July 10th, 11th, 12th. It's homespun fun with nearly the whole town coming out to volunteer. Admission at just $2/person, it will be your biggest bargain of the vacation!
You'll see that Jacksonville is a very cute Western town. Your kids might really like this. There's a trolly tour and tons of restaurants. This is also wine country and there are lots of wineries to visit. Not exactly kid-friendly but I remember bringing the kids once and they fed apples to a very happy donkey while we tasted wine. We were ready to leave before they were!
Ashland is also a very cute town and has a lot going on. Mainly it's the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (you can google search that) but it's pretty adult oriented. They have a lot more lodging options with pools though. Medford does too but it's not a very interesting town. It's kind of 'strip mall-ish'. If you wanted to do a jetboat tour out of Grants Pass, it's a 30 minute drive back up Hwy 238. You'll pass all sorts of wineries along the way. Check out Hellgate jet boat tours out of Grants Pass. It's pretty fun and not at all scary. The Tap Rock restaurant is a fun place to eat, right on the Rogue River. The Applegate River Inn is also a nice place to eat, right on the Applegate River. You'll pass by this on your way back to Jacksonville. I'm assuming that you could make Jacksonville your base and venture out to Ashland, Grants Pass, etc. from here.
Another great place to visit in the area is Wildlife Images. They have all sorts of wildlife that they have rescued and they give you a nice tour. You'll see grizzlies, wolves, cougars, linx and all sorts of birds of prey. I recommend a morning tour because it can get hot! It's probably a 45 minute drive from Jacksonville.
Okay, so after you see the sights in the Jacksonville area, you can take Hwy 238 to Medford (10 or so minutes) and continue on past I-5 onto Hwy 62 (238 becomes 62), which will take you to Crater Lake. You can stop at Beckies for pies/food, The Natural Bridge and The Gorge (these three are all fairly close). The Natural Bridge and The Gorge were created by lava flow when Mount Mazama exploded and created Crater Lake. You access both by a very easy walk from the car. Then you finish driving to Crater Lake and hopefully stay the night at their beautiful hotel. I'd look into that right away.
After Crater Lake, you can continue on the "Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway", which will put you on a new highway (not 62) but I don't remember what it's called. It follows the Umpqua, which is a spectacularly beautiful river. It's in a deep canyon and there are all sorts of places to pull over and take a very short hike to see a waterfall. This river is "fly fishing only", so you'll see lots of fishermen/women out. There are a few places to stay. We've stayed at Steamboat, which we would certainly recommend. They have cottages, so it would work for your family. You'll follow this highway back to I-5 in Roseburg, where you can head north on I-5 back to Portland. I think it's about a 3 hour drive from Roseburg to Portland. You don't have to stay in Steamboat either, you could probably do the drive from Crater to Portland but it will be a long day.
Then, when you get back to Portland, you can take the train down to San Francisco, as tomfuller suggested.
So, the Redwoods are on the coast, on the border of California and Oregon (on Hwy 1). Ashland/Jacksonville/Rogue Valley are also very close to the border (25 miles north, at the farthest) but inland (on I-5). So, see the Redwoods before coming over to the Rogue Valley. You can also continue driving south from the Rogue Valley to San Francisco. We are 6 hours north of San Francisco.
Hopefully I haven't totally confused you! Please let me know if you have anymore questions.

mjkre

Wow. Thanks for all the great info. It might perhaps be my sense of logic getting in the way, but it doesn't seem to make sense to me to drive to the California Border and then back up to Portland to take the train to SF. The coast weather is certainly making me rethink everything, although I really want to, at least so we can do the sand buggy thing. And the Redwoods are also along the coast, no? From what you are saying, it won't make much sense to head in land EXCEPT that we will get aways from the potentially miserable weather on the coast.

I honestly wish there were somewhere in Southern Or, that is a reasonable drive from the coast, that would be a fun resort to stay at that could act as a base camp for 3 days to explore the sites. We could (I think) hit the Redwoods in California on the way to SF (driving) and either stop on the way or stay over for a night or two.
That way we spend 2-3 days on the coast, 2-3 days at a second stop in Southern Oregon away from the coast, 1-2 days somewhere near the Redwoods and on to SF. Crater Lake Lodge is sold out btw. Has been for weeks, unfortunately. So maybe your town or Ashland or the tree houses (which do look like fun).

Or possibly staying on the coast the whole way down but, again, the weather is not what I was expecting!

Fodorite018

Don't worry about our weather on the coast in the summer. In July, there will be foggy days, but rarely will you need more than a sweatshirt or lightweight jacket to stay warm.

Personally, our fav coastal town with our kids has been Cannon Beach. Great beach, lots of great places to stay, a thriving downtown so places to eat and lots of shops. Nice, not tacky.

The description of Driftwood Shores made me laugh because when we were in college, we went there a few times with large groups and had those 3 bedroom suites. It was always a draw with the college crowd, even years ago.

sunbum1944

MMS- I think Driftwood Shores has changed and now the large groups are Elder Hostel groups - it might be the same college kids though- just older

sunbum1944

interesting place you might be interested in - have not stayed there but sounds like a fun place for kids

http://www.americasbestonline.net/treehouse.htm

Fodorite018

sunbum--LOL!