For B&Bs, try Ferndale.

In McKinleyville, which is on the north side of Eureka, there is a Holiday Inn Express that we stayed at a few years ago and liked. It is near the small airport, but we didn't have any issues with noise. Our stay was similar in that it was a one night stop on a road trip and the hotel was perfect for that.

Ashland is gorgeous. But you'd have to take the 5 to get there. With the 1 and 101, you can't take it the "entire way" since you'd have to leave the 101 and take the 199 to get to Crater Lake.

So . . . if the latter is what you plan to do, forget Ashland, and maybe find some place in Grants Pass? Nice place for a lay over.

In Crescent City the Hampton Inn is right on the water and they have a few rooms with balconies facing the ocean. This would be a good place to start off fresh into the redwoods.

Some Fodorites like Trinidad and Arcata, but I'm not one of them.

Eureka leaves a lot to be desired, but the historic downtown is interesting and the Best Western Bayshore Inn offers some good rooms in an uninspiring location.

HTTY

We have stayed at the Ravenwood Motel. I prefer it to the places in Eureka. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g32564-d616917-Reviews-Ravenwood_Motel-Klamath_California.html
If the weather is good check out Redwood NP and maybe the "Trees of Mystery.
The Ravenwood is on the frontage road in Klamath which is much quieter than along US 101. Dining in Klamath is limited to the bar across the street from the Ravenwood. Breakfast and free WIFI are available at he Ravenwood.

Chester - A little more information please. What time are you leaving Crater Lake? And, why are you driving 101/1? Two days is not enough time for that trip since you won't have enough time to enjoy what you are driving by. I-5 would be a better choice.

If you are set on 101, I would cut out the Hwy 1 portion and take 101 all the way to SF. If you must also do Hwy 1, then you might consider driving all the way from Crater Lake to Fort Bragg and spending the night there so that you will have most of the next day for driving Hwy 1. It's a long, slow slog but highly scenic so you will want to stop a lot to enjoy the sights.

Otis-I will be leaving Crater Lake (Fort Klamath area) on the morning of May 11th. I planned to take hwy 199 through Jedediah State Park and then 101 down to the Arcata/Ferndale/Eureka area before resting for the night, making the final push to SF on May 12th. If I shoot for Fort Bragg instead it will take about 8hrs according to Google Maps. I am not oppose to this. Also, this will be our first trip out west (aside from San Diego) so I feel if we bypass hwy 1 we will regret it. Thoughts?

Take highway one toward Fort Bragg and leave it to go through the Anderson valley back to 101. Timewise that will be more manageable than taking 1 all the way to San Francisco.

As an alternative, if you stop near Eureka, go through Ferndale and take the Mattole road to Petrolia and Honeydew. From Honeydew go back to 101, going through the Rockefeller Grove which is somewhat wilder than the Avenue of the Giants.

In planning, it may help you to know that the drives on Highway 1 between Leggett and Westport and between Mendocino and Jenner are winding, slow going, and tiring. (This from somebody who plans vacations around driving scenic back roads.)

Thus, if you spend a night north of the redwoods, and then spend the next day not rushing through the redwoods and driving into San Francisco on Highway 1, it will be a long and tiring day.

HTTY

Chester - It would be interesting to know the itinerary of the rest of your trip.

I really think you need to choose between the coast (Hwy 1) and the redwoods. You don't have enough time to do both other than just driving through. It would be best to save this wonderful area for another time if you only have the two days. Take I-5 instead.

This is very helpful information everyone! To give a bit more detail about the first leg of our trip, we are flying into Seattle where we'll stay 2 nights, rent a car, and head towards Olympic National Park. We'll jump on hwy 101 and make our way to Astoria, OR where we'll stop for lunch. From Astoria we'll continue to Cannon beach and then cut back over to Portland where we'll stay for 3 nights. From Portland we'll head towards Crater Lake via Mt. Hood National Forest and hwy 26/97.

We were hoping to stay at Crater Lake Lodge but they will not be open until the week after our trip. I'm thinking that Medford or Grants Pass will give us more options for accommodations and will also help cut down on the drive the following day.

Since we'll have the pleasure to see the much of the Washington and some of the Oregon coast I'm willing to give up most of hwy 1 for the redwoods.

Thanks again!

and head towards Olympic National Park. We'll jump on hwy 101 and make our way to Astoria, OR where we'll stop for lunch.

Have you looked at the mileage from Seattle to Olympic NP to Astoria, or are you doing this in two days?

Thank you for telling us more about your plans. It would help to know exactly when you are traveling how many days and nights you have to travel between Seattle and San Francisco.

If you don't intend to spend a night on the Olympic Peninsula, it would be better not to go there on your way to San Francisco.

The Oregon coast is a beautiful place, whereas Portland is a pleasant enough city. My choice would be to spend three nights on the coast rather than three nights in Portland.

Crater Lake is an interesting place way off the beaten path. If the road isn't open all the way around the lake you will be missing much of the reason for going there.

Oregon's three major attractions are the coast, the Columbia River gorge, and Crater Lake. You are ignoring the easy-to-access gorge and giving short shrift to the coast in order to have time to get to out-of-the-way Crater Lake.

HTTY

PS In the Columbia River Gorge we like to stay at Hood River and on the coast Cannon Beach, Newport, Yachats, Bandon, and Brookings are are favorite towns to book lodging.

You might try the Prospect Hotel off HWY 62 on the way to Grants Pass and/or Medford. They are only 45 minutes from Crater Lake. They have a great dinner house that will be open. It is only an hour or so to Medford 1.25hrs to Grants Pass.

Thanks again everyone. After some consideration and discovering that only part of Crater Lake will be accessible the second week of May I think we'll stick to the Oregon coast and stay a night in either Bandon, Gold Beach, or Brookings (coming from Portland down hwy 101)before making our way to the Fort Bragg area the following day. Any preferences in location or accommodations? We're still planning to drive down hwy 1, but not the entire way.

CC

I thought Bandon had the loveliest vistas on the Oregon coast. Ditto what HTTY said about that stretch from the 101 to the 1 between Leggett and Westport. If you're planning a stop in the Ft. Bragg/Mendocino area, I'd recommend spending the night in Mendocino.

On your way down the coast make a quick stop at the Tillomook Cheese factory. Bandon is often called the "banana belt" of Oregon. It is quite often 10-20 degrees warmer than other parts of Oregon.
Don't expect the north entrance of Crater Lake to be open before July 3. They keep the south entrance open all winter all the way up to the Lodge. Someone last year slipped on a snowbank and spent over a month in the hospital after being rescued by the Rangers.
If you can come back to Oregon in the July/Aug time frame, you will enjoy Crater Lake much more.

I'd agree with spending your time on the Oregon Coast AND the Columbia River Gorge rather than taking in Crater Lake.

If you do the Oregon coast, then you can drive all the way down along the California coast as well to San Francisco.

Much as I love the Olympic Peninsula, if you do the Oregon and California coasts, you can afford to skip the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. You just don't have enough time it looks like to do the coastal route from the Olympic Peninsula all the way down to San Francisco.

If you choose to do the Oregon coast, go from Seattle to Portland and then cut over. The coast from Astoria to Tillamook is the least interesting section.

BREAKING NEWS! As of this morning, 1/26/12 the road from the Crater Lake Park Headquarters to the Lodge is closed because of avalanche danger. They had a lot of snow in December then a warm spell with a little rain. Now it is snowing again. This a a real recipe for an avalanche.

If the timing is right, stop for a meal at the Indian Creek Cafe at the north end of Gold Beach (if northbound, turn right off of 101 just before the bridge; if southbound, turn left leaving the bridge). It's about 1/2 mile in and the food is very good.

You might also consider staying up at classic Timerline Lodge at Mt.Hood - about an hour from Portland (where they have filmed movies - such as The Shining - with Jack Nicholson) - On the way there - or the way back - drive along the mighty Columbia and see the 7 waterfalls - including Multnoma - the highest in Oregon (and also Wash?).

http://www.timberlinelodge.com/