Hello,
We are planning to do a road trip from San Jose to Oregon (not yet sure upto where) around the Memorial Day weekend (24th-27th May). We have 4 days and 3 nights and are open to both the coast and inland.
Here is part of the trip which we want to continue but not sure how:
Day 1 , 24th
San Jose -Mendocino- Ferndale
Start early morning and reach Mendocino by 11am. Explore the town a bit and see the glass beach (worth?)
Leave Mendocino and drive through Avenue of the giants, Humboldt Redwoods State Park etc and reach Ferndale by evening
Spend the night at Ferndale (famous for Victorian architecture)

Day 2, 25th
Ferndale - Brookings - Bandon (drive by the coast)
Is this route interesting? What are the things to do here? We want to pack at least one hike/ activity.
Gold Beach - Rogue River : do the jet boat?

(The next day we wanted to leave for Crater Lake, however looks like this won't be possible as most roads are closed during that time)

Day 3, 26th
Bandon-Reedsport-Wilamvette Valley OR Bandon- Portland?

Day 4, 27th
Spend the day at Portland and fly back to San Jose ? or Drive back from Wilamvette Valley?

Which part of the Oregon coast is better or has more things to do? South-Central or North?
We are open to Flying to Portland and make the trip downwards as well or just do a complete round road trip.

Looking for suggestions to capture some good places in these 4 days and 3 nights. Please let us know!

You'll have to leave pretty early to get to Mendocino by 11AM. Since the 24th is a work day for most - the traffic through the Bay area will be ghastly. So count on at least a 4.5 hour drive. Glass Beach is not in Mendocino - it is in Ft Bragg - to see the best of Mendocino and Ft Bragg (and don't miss the botanic Gardens) you'd want at least 4 hours in the area so with lunch you've already spent more than nine hours. Mendocino and the Avenue of the Giants to Ferndale is another nearly 4 hour drive. This a really REALLY long day.

Ferndale to Bandon is another 5-ish hour drive plus the jet boat/meals/stops.

Day 3 is another 5 hour drive plus stops to Portland -- so ALL day if you explore the Willamette Valley

>>We are open to Flying to Portland and make the trip downwards as well or just do a complete round road trip. <<

You have no time at all for a round trip. You only have three nights and over a holiday weekend many if not most decent places would require a two night minimum stay.

If it was me I'd EITHER, do just Calif. SJ > Mendocino, 2 nights there, then one night in either Ferndale or Trinidad if you can find accommodations there and drive straight back to SJ . . . OR . . . Fly to Portland, do the Willamette Valley and Ore Coast and fly home. In either case, first I'd research where you can book for a one night stay and/or where there is availability.

Thankyou!
Can you suggest us an itinerary?

>>Can you suggest us an itinerary?<<

I just did -- two actually.

The 28th is Memorial Day. Do you really have to be back in California? I like driving the Oregon Coast (US 101) southbound. You don't have enough time to really see Portland. I would go to Crater Lake first.
This is the route I would take: North on I-5 to Medford or the Prospect Hotel (Prospect Oregon). You will have to enter and exit Crater Lake NP by the south entrance off Rt. 62> You will see some snow but it will be worth it to see Oregon's most beautiful lake.
Leaving the park turn off Rt 62 onto Rt. 230 north to Rt. 138 near Diamond Lake. Take Rt. 138 west down the Umpqua River to Roseburg. Take I-5 north to Sutherlin where you get on Rt. 138 west to Elkton. Take Rt. 38 west to Reedsport. About 5 miles before Reedsport stop at Dean's Creek to see some elk.
Spend the night in Reedsport and the next morning spend at the Oregon Dunes.
Get back on US 101 south. Whether you have time for a boat trip up the Rogue from Gold Beach is up to your schedule.
If you are in a rush to see some Coast Redwoods, you can stop at the 'Trees of Mystery" attraction. They do have a nice gondola ride up to the top of the hill.
Where you stop in northern California is up to you.

Sorry but dashing up I-5 to a mostly closed Crater Lake then over to the OR coast, and dashing back down 101 would be torture to me.

Agree with Janis. Do a trip to Portland and northern Oregon that's separate from Northern California or Crater Lake. So much to do, you will definitely fill a long weekend. What are your interests?

You mention the Willamette Valley, but have not given a reason for it. Are you thinking of visiting the wineries? If so, Memorial Day Weekend is one of two during the year that most wineries hold open houses of sorts and it is a lot of fun and very festive. If you want to do this and stay in the area, book NOW as it is very popular!

I agree that you should fly both directions and use your time to see the area.

Because of weather uncertainties the farther north you go, I'd definitely stay in California for this trip. Crater Lake is out due to roads blocked by snow, and the Columbia Gorge and northern Oregon coast are likely to be fully booked as it's a peak period there for Portland-area tourists sick of the rain.

Pick either the redwoods/north coast or the Sierra foothills (gold country, even a day trip into Yosemite Valley and back out.) rather than trying an overland trek to the northwest. Or better, if you haven't already explored the area, just stay "local" and spend the weekend around the Monterey Bay. You can see redwoods at Henry Cowell or Big Basin state parks between San Jose and Santa Cruz, visit the Beach Boardwalk amusement park on the Santa Cruz beach, visit the old Spanish mission in Carmel, go whale watching or eat good seafood at Monterey, experience the glories of Point Lobos - scenery, wildlife - and see the stunning rocky coast at Big Sur...

Finding accommodations in any of these areas will be a major challenge as they're all very close to the Bay Area, but I'd definitely get something lined up ASAP.

Thankyou so much guys for your suggestions!
We ended up deciding that we want a much shorter trip due to time constraints and we would drive back to California on Saturday.

Here's the itinerary:
1. Thursday - Start early. Drive from San Jose to Mendocino. Then drive to Ferndale, going through avenue of giants, founder's grove etc. Stay at Ferndale (booked)
2. Friday - Start from Ferndale to Brookings. Do Lone Ranch beach, house rock, indian sands trail, Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, Myers creek beach etc and catch a couple of short hikes. Drive to gold beach and then to Tu Tu Tun Lodge.(booked). Stay by the river.
3. Saturday : Start from Tu Tu Tun at 11am and plan to reach home San Jose by 11pm.
Looking for suggestions here for stops to make to take breaks?

Does this itinerary look good or is plain bad? Looking forward to suggestions as well!

>>Does this itinerary look good or is plain bad?<<

Plain bad

>>1. Thursday - Start early. Drive from San Jose to Mendocino. Then drive to Ferndale, going through avenue of giants, founder's grove etc. Stay at Ferndale (booked)<<

Sorry but that is a grossly long driving day. -- seven hours butts in seats without a single stop (and not using scenic Hwy 1) So with Mendocino and the Avenue of the giants you will be on the road about 10 or 11 hours

>>3. Saturday : Start from Tu Tu Tun at 11am and plan to reach home San Jose by 11pm. <<

That is another 9-10 hour behind-the-wheel drive plus stops.

These two days sandwich a day where you expect to drive 4+ hours and take several hikes.

•••• AND - those drive times are optimistic since this is over the holiday weekend.

@janisj We will definitely be taking stops in between and are used to 10 hrs of driving on the road, works for us!