cmlawrence1960

My husband and I are attending a wedding in Seattle on May 13th. We live in Shreveport, Louisiana and want to visit Oregon (redwoods) and California (Yosemite). I'm overwhelmed trying to figure out the best route, what not to miss, etc. We went to Yellowstone last year and loved it. So beautiful! We want to stay in hotels and will be driving a rental car. We'll start the trip on May 14th. We want to fly home the morning of May 24th. We want to see everything we can in those 10 days. I’ve never been to this part of the country! We love nature, good food (I'm Cajun) and want to hike a little (we are OLD 56 and 61), maybe fish, ride a train... Whatever you can come up with. Can you please help me plan our trip?
Catherine

janisj

Just a quick comment -- more when I have time later . . . but while there are some redwoods near Brookings, the VAST majority of redwoods/redwood parks are in California.

Michael

The strange thing is that the redwoods stop at the border; they are a California thing.

I would go down central Oregon and visit Crater Lake NP. Go back down to Grants Pass and take US 199 to the coast. Drive down U.S. 101 to see the redwoods. From there cross over the state (maybe a little farther south) to get on I5 to go down to Yosemite. Take CA 120 or 140 to Yosemite itself.

Figure on a stiff fee for dropping the car off in a different state. From Yosemite, Sacramento might be the most convenient airport to go home.

marvelousmouse

I don't think I'd do Crater Lake in May. Weather might not be good.

I'd do at least 3-4 nights in Yosemite Valley, 3-4 nights in the Redwoods. Then as you are foodies, I'd highly recommend a few nights in SF.

You could drive up the Washington coast (or down the California coast) but I wouldn't want to take too much time away from redwoods or Yosemite.

Gardyloo

The rim road around Crater Lake will still be partially closed by snow, and the lake itself can be socked in. May is not a great time in the Cascades, all the way from top to bottom.

By including Yosemite you'll require a (very, very expensive) one-way car rental since you'd need to fly home from Sacramento or San Francisco. You should also be booking space in Yosemite right now as May is a peak season there (waterfalls) and accommodation is limited.

Let me propose two alternatives that might save time and money.

OPTION 1. Fly from Seattle to San Francisco and do an all-California loop like this - https://goo.gl/maps/1cm15DXoxUD2 . You'd visit Yosemite, then follow CA Hwy 49 north through the beautiful gold rush country, with its many picturesque and historic towns. You could include a short side trip to Calaveras Big Trees State Park, where there are accessible groves of giant sequoias, a different species than the (taller, thinner) coast redwoods.

You'd then cut across northern California to the Eureka area, staying either in Trinidad (north of Eureka) or Victorian Ferndale (south) then head south to the Avenue of the Giants, a scenic byway that parallels US 101. You'll see amazing groves of coast redwoods along the Avenue.

Then follow CA Hwy 1 south along the beautiful Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin county coastline, through picturesque Mendocino, before ending back in SF for the flight home.

This will be a full and enjoyable 10 days.

OPTION 2. Stay mainly in Oregon, substitute the Columbia Gorge for Yosemite. Map - https://goo.gl/maps/3JHSL9z6er32 .

Take the (inexpensive, scenic) train from Seattle to Portland, get a car, and visit the Columbia River Gorge. May is an ideal time to see the many waterfalls (IMO as nice as Yosemite's) along with the many vistas available along the Gorge. Visit the beautiful Hood River Valley with its vineyards and orchards in spring bloom, stop at Timberline Lodge on the side of Mount Hood (where they'll still be skiing) then head south through the Willamette Valley.

Cut over to the coast on US 199 from Grants Pass to Crescent City. There are wonderful coast redwood groves along US 199, or you can head south briefly from Crescent City for more redwoods in Del Norte County.

Then turn around and follow the incomparable Oregon coast all the way to the (awesome) mouth of the Columbia River at Astoria. Cross the river and visit Cape Disappointment with its lighthouses and Lewis and Clark interpretive center (also you can visit Waikiki Beach.) Then, if time allows you can take a side trip to the Johnston Ridge observatory overlooking the Mt. St. Helens caldera before returning to Portland to fly home.

This too is a spectacular loop trip that will be full of variety and which will easily fill ten days.

DeniseLMA

Gardyloo mentioned staying a night in Trinidad, CA that I second. This is a beautiful little town.

suze

As clarified already, pretty much the "redwoods" are California not Oregon.

I live in Seattle and am no expert on road trips like some others kindly posting here but will add to the conversation...

I like the Amtrak train Seattle to Portland, then car rental over thru Willamette Valley to the Oregon Coast. It is spectacular and not to be missed, and I think you have plenty of time to include that little detour as you head south.

Depending where you plan to fly home from, I think the California coast between San Francisco and Los Angeles is another stunning drive (sticking to the coast highway).

FaceInTheCrowd

Not to overwhelm you more, but here's another option, similar to Gardyloo's OPTION 2: http://tinyurl.com/hp65tpg. It gives you the option, weather permitting, for a drive-by of Crater Lake (as implied, you'd have to enter and exit from the south), but excludes Mt. St. Helens (which can also be socked in at that time of year). And it includes a ride across the Columbia River on the ferry between Westport, OR and Cathlamet, WA. , however.

I don't know about Gardyloo's OPTION 1, but with either OPTION 2 or the one I've suggested, you should have the luxury of flexibility that you wouldn't have in the summer months. In May, except for weekends on the north Oregon coast, you shouldn't have problems finding accommodations along either route, so you can make decisions on the fly.

FaceInTheCrowd

", however." Please excuse my poor proofreading.