My basic suggestion is to plan an itinerary that requires less driving and that will give you time to enjoy whatever destinations you most want to see.

Some questions that occur to me are: Why are you spending a night in Forks? What route are you taking from Astoria to Bend? Why are you going to Bend instead of driving down the beautiful Oregon coast? Do you know that May is a wet and often cold time of year in the NW? Etc. and etc.

HTTY

May can be beautiful in the NW - and Bend gets plenty of sunshine, righto?

But I believe North Bend is on the Coast, oui? http://www.northbendcity.org/

What does RON mean?

Take your pick of the RON acronyms. http://www.all-acronyms.com/RON
Most likely Remain Over Night.
The city of Bend Oregon is a very long ways from North Bend which is just north of Coos Bay.
The Red Lion of Coos Bay along US 101 would be a good choice to stay overnight.

"Is this reasonable?"

Not IMO. Most days are just loooooong drive w/ no time to see/do anything.

Astoria to Napa is about a 12.5 hour drive. N. Bend to Napa - nearly 10hrs.

Napa to Monetery via the GG bridge and Big Sur is a 5 or 6 hour drive w/o any stops.


"Suggestions." Yes, look at a map and realize how far apart these places are.

The drive down the Oregon Coast is beautiful - and after reaching North Bend - if you still had the energy/wanderlust -you could go a bit further that day and stay overnight at Bandon/Bandon Dunes, where in additon to good saltwater taffy- they also have world class golf courses. http://www.bandondunesgolf.com/

The next day - you could continue on across the Oregon/Cal border - to the Giant Coastal Redwoods by Crescent City http://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/directions.htm - and then on down to Eureka and cross over to/toward Redding and then down I-5 to Napa.

It would be a long - but very beautiful drive.

see: http://www.aaccessmaps.com/show/map/us/ca/californianorth

happy trails... Ferry leaves Victoria BC 4 PM< Forks seems like a good stop over. As for Bend we are planning NORTH Bend which is onthe coast Rt 101. As for wheather that is a concern. We live in Fl and summer in NH. So May is a good time for us. Thanks

Janis... I Mapquest stops which milage appeared okay. But with your advice Perhaps I should save the Northern CA for another week next year. Thanks.

For this trip the farthest south into CA would be the Redwood NP near Crescent City. After seeing the big trees, follow the Redwood Highway (US 199) to Grants Pass and make a visit to Crater Lake before heading back north to turn in your rental car where you rented it (Seattle?)
Forks is among the wettest (rainiest) places in the lower 48.

I see this is your first post on Fodors, wupa. Welcome!

Forks to North Bend to Napa is like two 10-hour driving days back to back (plus time for food, calls of nature, etc.) You're passing through some of the west's most glorious landscapes, but will be in such a hurry that there's hardly much point IMO. And Napa to Monterey via the GG Bridge and Big Sur is almost as unreasonable - traffic in SF, not the fastest routes anyway...

I think my recommendation would be to break the trip up into two loops - one from Seattle covering the Olympic Peninsula, the other from San Francisco covering the Bay Area, Napa Valley and Monterey Bay.

If you want to see spectacular coast, you can hit Ruby Beach on the Pacific side of the Olympic Peninsula or of course Big Sur; if you want Redwoods you can stop at Big Basin State Park partway between San Jose and Santa Cruz (en route to Monterey.) If you're using a rental/hire car, this might even be cheaper too; airfares between Seattle and SF are inexpensive, whereas one-way rental car drop-off charges are astronomical.

Just for your consideration.

Well, as for going from Forks to Napa - I think you would have two of the most visually splendid days one could have. Driving partway down the Oregon Coast - and then the 2nd day continuing on into Cal - stopping at the Giant Redwood forest - and then back in the car to finish the journey.

Yes, two long - but incredibly beautiful driving days.

And if you drive from Napa - after the morning rush hour into SF - across the Golden Gate - out 19th Ave - and then down 280 to San Jose and on to Monterrey/Carmel - you should be fine traffic wise.

Uno Mas - yes, you will be doing some driving - but I for one love seeing the ocean and the landscape passing by.

I always consider this a survey type of trip - and the next time you can decide where to come back and spend more time.

But hey - I am originally from Oregon - and as TomF suggests - you could also head back from Crescent City/wherever you decide to turn around - and go to Crater Lake, http://tinyurl.com/6ua3vug and from there - maybe head up 97 to see some beautiful Cinder Cone volcanic mountains in the Cascade range (The Three Sisters by Bend and Mt. Jefferson - which most people don't know about) - and perhaps stay on the slopes of Mt. Hood - at classic Timberline Lodge. http://www.timberlinelodge.com/

If you do that - you could stop at Ashland on the way to Crater Lake - a very cute little college town with good restaurants and the Summer Shakespeare Festival - although it might not be running when you are there. http://www.ashlandchamber.com/Splash.asp

Thanks to all...some terrific comments and suggestions. Sounds like I should add two days...Any suggestions on how to modify current stops?

Based on all your generous critiques, I believe I would insert Eureka CA RON after N Bend OR and RON in San Rosa RON for Napa valley from there to Los Gatos CA RON. Next morning on to Big Sur and remaining schedule. Comments please.

GL&BV

Santa Rosa is not a good base for Napa and the Napa Valley. It is an hour+ from Napa and about an hour from Yountville. It is closer to Sonoma - maybe 40 mins on a typical day. But certainly if you are wine tasting in either Napa or Sonoma - Santa Rosa would be a terrible base.

And Eureka really isn't a good lay over either. There are nice/interesting places N and S of Eureka - Trinidad, Ferndale, Garberville. But not Eureka.

janisj Thanks.. would Calistoga be ok in lieu of Santa Rosa and replace Eureka with Trinidad?

If you specifically want to see Napa Valley --then Calistoga or St Helena would be good.

Trinidad is a great place to stay.

Trinidad is a great place to stay.

Really? We weren't pleased. Perhaps we stayed in the
wrong hotel. Where is good to stay? We would love to
know where to spend a night near (but not in) Eureka.

HTTT

we stayed at the Trinidad Inn

http://www.trinidadinn.com/

I thought it was very nice- some rooms have kitchens, the employees were very helpful in giving info on what to do, there was a very nice restaurant just up the road from the inn-
There is a BBQ for guests to use-

I thought it was a great place

Gold Beach, Ore is only a couple hours south of North Bend, and you could stop there and take the Jet Boat Ride up the fabled Rogue River http://www.roguejets.com/, spending an "extra" night there and get going early the next morning, or after the Jet Boat ride - drive another hour that afternoon/early evening to Crescent City, CA.

From Gold Beach - you could drive down to the Redwood Forest - ( http://www.nps.gov/redw/index.htm which is 1/2 hour or so south of Crescent City - which is again - an hour down the Coast from Gold Beach) - and after taking a walk/hike there and/or having a picnic/lunch - continue on to Napa in one day if you wanted to.

From the Redwood Forest down to Napa is only about 5 and a half hours - along the fairly scenic 101. see: http://tinyurl.com/7en5427

Hey - you could pull into the northern end of Napa - at Calistoga - and be ready for a mud bath the next day. http://www.goldenhaven.com/

And if you are considering adding another night somewhee - I would spend that in the Carmel/Monterrey/Big Sur area.