lisaprimm

My husband and I will leave SF (after having spent four days there) on a Sunday afternoon in July. We will need to return to SF the following Sunday to fly home. I'm thinking Crater Lake would be as far as we would want to go--is that too far? We want to see lots of the coast, the redwoods, and do some hiking and walking near the water. We like hole in the wall restaurants and are looking for help planning our itinerary and choosing where to stay. I've read so many forums that I am overwhelmed. So where would you stay and what would you do in these seven days? Thanks in advance for your help.

5alive

You can definitely do that journey in that amount of time. Take the time to do the boat tour on Crater Lake. It's gorgeous and a totally different perspective than being up on the rim.

happytrailstoyou

Yes. With your time constraints, I would drive the Oregon Coast as far as Bandon and from there drive to Crater Lake. From Crater Lake, SFO is 445 miles via the most direct route.

HTtY

Shanti

Lots of places to possibly stop along the coast - Point Reyes National Seashore, Mendocino, the state and national redwoods parks, Smith River recreation area. Fern Canyon is a nice hike at Prairie Creek State Park. There's also a really nice hike at Jedediah Smith State Park by the Smith River - it's where one of the scenes from Return of the Jedi was filmed.

If you came back via I5 you could take detours to Burney Falls and Lassen Volcanic National Park. But the areas immediately along I5 will be ridiculously hot in July.

If it were me, I'd only go as far as Redwoods National Park as I could happily spend most of seven days there. But you can certainly go up to Crater Lake if you really want to.

I used to live near part of this area and camped when going up to Redwoods National Park so can't help with lodging. The only restaurant I can think of is Howard's Cafe in Occidental. It would be a little bit inland but it's a beautiful area.

Tomsd

Different ways to do it but here is what I would suggest:

Head straight away to Crater Lake from SF (after 4 days in SF you should be fairly rested?) and either stay overnight in the cute little college town of Ashland (just off the freeway/5 - across the Oregon border - 5 hours or so from SF) - or continue on the extra hour+ or so to Crater Lake - or if you can't get accommodations there - nearby Diamond Lake is cute with a classic/old style resort lodging. http://www.diamondlake.net/

From there - would take the beautiful drive along the Umpqua back to I 5 (by Roseburg) - and head up to the Eugene area (bigger University town - U of Oregon) - and head over to the coast - or overnight in Eugene or a little west of there and visit one of the wineries..

From there - on the Oregon Coast - about Florence (an hour from Eugene) - head on south - past the big San Dunes and stop at Bandon for their great Salt Water Taffy - maybe overnighting there. Or you could also continue on to Gold Beach and the next day - take the Jet Boat up the fabled Rogue River. http://www.roguejets.com/trip/rogue-river-map/

From there - cross the border and get to the Northern California Redwords - starting south of Crescent City/Jedidiah Smith - and decide how much more of the Cal Coast you want to see depending on how much time you have left. http://avenueofthegiants.net/

Tomsd

And here is a little more about driving along the Oregon Coast - from Florence to Gold Hill - about 2 hours in a straight shot.

http://blog.adampaul.com/2007/08/17/...gold-beach-or/

From there - an hour? or so to get across the border to Crescent City/CA and a little longer to the Redwoods/Jedidiah park south of there.

FaceInTheCrowd

15 minutes at Crater Lake is enough for a lifetime memory, so you shouldn't pass it up. The drive from there along the Umpqua to Roseburg continues west from I-5 at Sutherlin, so no need to go as far north as Eugene unless you want to fit in a dune buggy ride (and why not?).

If you can't get reservations at Crater Lake, consider the Prospect Hotel. http://www.prospecthotel.com/ It's the kind of hole-in-the-wall place you're looking for.

Bandon would be the best spot on the Oregon coast for an overnight or two. No particularly great lodging choices, but the beaches south of the charming little downtown are jaw-dropping gorgeous. In the hole-in-the-wall category, you'll be amazed by the food at Alloro.

lisaprimm

Thank you so much to each of you for the excellent suggestions! I am so grateful for your time and energy in responding. I will use all of this information in planning our trip.if anyone else had any advice or hidden gems to share I will keep checking back. Thank you!!!

lisaprimm

So, after reviewing all of this, this is my current plan. Please let me know if you think this looks good (or if I am missing anything important).
Sunday, drive from SF to Ashland and spend the night
Monday, drive to Crater Lake and do the hike/boat ride, then drive to Eugene and spend the night
Tuesday, drive to Gold Beach and spend the day and night
Wednesday, drive to Crescent City and spend the day and night
Thursday, drive to Trinidad area and spend the day and night
Friday, drive to Mendocino and spend the day and night
Saturday, drive back to San Fran and spend the night
Sunday, fly out of SF

I could stay an extra night somewhere along the route and then we just drive to the airport on Sunday to fly out. Which place would be best to add that extra night? Thanks!

tomfuller

Rather than rush your Crater Lake experience, I would encourage you to stay at Diamond Lake resort or Prospect rather than driving all the way to Eugene.
Consider taking Rt. 138 west from I-5 to Elkton and then Rt. 38 west to Reedsport. About 5 miles before Reedsport, stop at Dean's Creek elk viewing area to see Roosevelt elk.
Unless there is something you really want to see in Eugene, there is no need to go that far north on I-5.
Take the time to see at least one section of Redwood NP in northern California.

5alive

Agree with Tom Fuller on this one. Unless you have friends there, I wouldn't go clear to Eugene. It's about an extra 4-6 hours of driving with no benefit.

You are not going on the very first boat tour in the morning if you're driving from Ashland. I'd stay and eat dinner at the Lodge then go to one of the two lodgings suggested above.

The route I would choose for you would be 138 to Roseburg, and then 38 over to the coast. Really pretty. I suppose you could stay at Roseburg that night, but if so, try to do 138 before dark as it is rather remote and spotty cell phone coverage.

5alive

Really wish this board had an edit. Roseburg instead of staying at Prospect or Diamond Lake....

A couple of other things:

Ashland is a fun town with an amazing Shakespeare festival. Tickets for the main shows do need purchased ahead, but the modern plays sometimes don't. Depends if your time there falls on a weekend. Cute bookstores and the fun costume museum.

Also consider a jet boat ride at Grants Pass or a white water rafting trip at either Grants Pass or Gold Beach.

FaceInTheCrowd

Yes, the route tomfuller recommends from Crater Lake to the coast is the same I was suggesting (unless you want to do a dune buggy ride). There's no reason to go as far north as Eugene before cutting over to the coast, because the drive south from Florence is almost all inland (no coastal views) until Port Orford.

lisaprimm

So, I have now revised my plans based on your input. This is the new plan:
Sunday, drive from SF to Ashland and spend the night plus most of the day on Monday.
Monday evening, drive to Crater Lake and stay at the Prospect that night, then get up and do the hike/boat ride, have dinner there, and stay a second night (Tuesday) at Prospect.
Wednesday morning, take the recommended route through Reedsport (stopping to see Elk)and drive to Gold Beach and spend the day and night there.
Thursday morning, drive to Crescent City and spend the day and night there.
Friday morning, drive to Trinidad area and spend the day and night there.
Saturday morning, drive to Mendocino and spend the day and night there.
Sunday, drive back to San Fran and fly out.

Last question--which redwood area is best? We would like to hike for an hour or two in the redwoods somewhere en route. Thanks again!

sunbum1944

Suggestions on places to stay

Trinidad Inn in Trinidad of course- nice, clean, motel type accommodations, helpful staff, some rooms have kitchens- we thought it was great!

Crescent City- just south of Crescent City is the historic Requa Inn- on the Requa River- very nice spot. Even if you don't stay there, take a drive up to the top of the hill to Klamath River overlook. There are some nice trails, frequently see whales feeding down below.
We hiked from there to Hidden Beach - beautiful hike- we just did it one way as we had someone to pick us up at the other end.
I love the Prospect- they have great meals- just so you know that the rooms in the inn are nicer, decorated with antiques etc while the motel type rooms behind are pretty basic- but clean

Have stayed there several times on winter snow shoe trips to Crater Lake

tomfuller

I would not go back to the Prospect for the second night. Exit Crater Lake NP by the north entrance and then go to the Diamond Lake resort. I did like the 2 nights I spent in a cabin there when I won the fishing trip. Highway 230 to the west of Crater Lake is sort of boring and will take you back past Diamond Lake to get to the Umpqua River and Roseburg.
As for the Redwood area - try either the Lady Bird Johnson Grove or the Tall Trees Grove south of the town of Klamath, CA.

lisaprimm

Thanks again so much! I will report back in July and let you all know how it went!

FaceInTheCrowd

In case you're still reading, is there a reason you're choosing Gold Beach over Bandon? They're only 55 miles apart, but definitely don't want to short change the section between Port Orford and Gold Beach, as that is arguably the most scenic of the entire Oregon coast. So best to have a fresh start on that drive rather than finish a day with it. And Bandon and its surrounding beaches are waaaayyyyy better than Gold Beach anyway.

lisaprimm

Thanks for the Bandon tip--I am adjusting our itinerary now!

bbqboy

here you go:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/new-sammys-cowboy-bistro-talent