Baoqin

I have a 3-day conference in SF end of June so our family plan to go together for a vacation. We have 3 kids (age 10, 7 and 3.5). Our goal is to drive no more than 6 hours a day so we won't be too tired (which would defeat the purpose of vacation!). Here is our tentative plan:

06/21: Leave Portland, OR, drive to Eugene (2 hours), tour and rest at University of Oregon. Continue drive to Ashland (about 3 hours) or Redding (5 hours) and stay for the night.

06/22: Drive to Lake Tahoe (4-6 hours depending on where to stay the night before). Stay for 2 nights.

06/24: Leave Lake Tahoe. Drive to Yosemite (4 hours). Stay for 2 nights.

06/26: Leave Yosemite. Drive to SF (4 hours). Tour SF downtown. Stay for 4 nights. I attend conference. Hubby takes kids tour around (Golden Bridge Park, etc.)

06/30: Leave SF, head to Redwood National Park (5-6 hours). Stay for 1 night.

07/1: Leave Redwoods park, head to Florence, OR (4-5 drive). Stay for 1 night. Two boys would love the sand dunes!

07/02: Leave Florence, head home to Portland (4 hours drive).

I feel the trip back home is a little bit too tight but we must get home by July 2. All the planned destination is new to us except I once worked in SF for a short 2 months period. I appreciate any suggestions and advice re where to stay, where to tour, and eat. Thanks very much.

tomfuller

When you leave Eugene, do not stay in Redding. The choices should be Ashland, Prospect Oregon after a short visit to Crater Lake or the small town of Mt. Shasta California. To get to Lake Tahoe, turn off I-5 at Williams and take Rt. 20 east through Grass Valley to tie into I-80. It is a lot more interesting than driving through Sacramento.
If you could score a reservation at Crater Lake Lodge it would be great. You will probably have to enter Crater Lake by the south entrance off Rt. 62. The north entrance from Rt. 138 usually opens the first week of July.
The rest of your trip seems to be feasable. Spend a little time in Sacramento after you see Yosemite.

easytraveler

Number one thing to do right away is to make sure you can secure lodging inside Yosemite at this late date. You may luck out, there may be some cancellations. However, people tend to make reservations a year ahead of time.

If you can't get reservations inside Yosemite, you'll have to consider staying outside of Yosemite, maybe one night on the east side and one night on the west side.

The pivotal points for your trip are your business trip in SF and ability to get lodging in Yosemite -everything else has to be planned around these two points.

Good luck!

Michael

Things to see on along the way:

Crater Lake

between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite on the eastern side of the Sierra: detour to Bodie State Historic Park

leaving Yosemite: Columbia State Historic park

in Sacramento: Sutter Fort http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=485

Michael

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locke,_California might also be of interest.

happytrailstoyou

Your itinerary is better thought out than most of the itineraries posted here. However, if you drive to Redding on the first day, you will exceed six hours of driving.

In northern California, we like to stay in Yreka. It's a quiet little town and there is a fairly new and well-managed Holiday Inn Express there.

Your family will enjoy Michael's suggestion to check out Bodie State Park on the way to Yosemite--it is one of our best preserved ghost towns.

From Yosemite to San Francisco you could drive through Gold Rush country on Highway 49. It is dotted with interesting little towns and Columbia State Park, which is a well-preserved historic town from the Gold Rush era.

HTtY

Supercilious

From Redding, a more scenic route than I-5 is to go through Lassen Volcanic NP and take CA 89 to Tahoe City. The Lassen Road should open early this year and this more scenic route will add less than an hour to your trip (except for stops).

If you do stick to I-5, take 99 from Red Bluff to Yuba City instead of going to Williams. Hwy 20 is nicer than I-80 and quicker too if coming from the north.

Baoqin

Thanks for everyone's input. I booked 2-night stay at Curry Village in Yosemite. This is big relief.

We are not going to Crater Lake this time (been there before). Appreciate any advice re where to stay in Lake Tahoe, Redwood and Florence. Any good restaraunt in SF?

It's a good feeling that there are a team of expert doing the planning for us.

sunbum1944

In Florence there are no ocean front places to stay. I usually go up the road a bit to Yachats and stay at the Adobe or Fireside Motels which are both on the ocean. The Adobe has a restaurant and some of the rooms are suites with kitchens which might be handy with kids.

If you really want to stay in Florence, there is the Pier Point inn which is on the river- have not stayed there.

sunbum1944

Link to the dune buggy rides- they don't show the smaller buggy's being offered so not sure if they were discontinued but I would ask

http://www.sandland.com

The kids will also love Honeyman State Park for playing on the dunes

happytrailstoyou

In Florence we like to stay at Best Western Pier Point Inn, which is a very well-managed property. The room have views of water and Old Town, and breakfast is above average.

In Old Town we like to eat at Restobar, which has a cozy atmosphere and does a great job with oysters.

HTtY

easytraveler

Any good restaraunt in SF?

There are plenty of good restaurants in SF. You'll have to give us a few parameters to work with: what is your budget? what kind of food are you looking for - American, French, Italian? Is this more for your hubby and children when he's taking them around while you're at the conference or is it for dinner with the family?

You mentioned Golden Gate Park, I would highly recommended the Academy of Sciences

http://www.calacademy.org/

It was rebuilt after the earthquake and is a wonderful place for children (and adults!). Their cafe offers great food - sometimes I wish there was a food court near us that offered such good food! Your kids could easily spend an entire day there.

Another place for children is the Exploratorium

http://www.exploratorium.edu/

I haven't visited it since it reopened at its new location at Pier 15, so can't tell you much about it, but the old Exploratorium was geared to teaching science to older children - although your 10-year old might fit that category.

There's also a restaurant and a cafe in the Exploratorium.

Probably another more fun thing (than the Exploratorium) for younger children to do would be the San Francisco Maritime Museum Park. You could spend another entire day there with the kids.

http://www.nps.gov/safr/index.htm

There are several parts to this museum. Find the Hyde Street Pier which is the entrance to several different ships and boats docked at the Pier. Kids love to wander through this historic ships.

http://www.nps.gov/safr/historycultu...ic-vessels.htm

There is a small fee for entry to the Hyde Street Pier - $5 for anyone over 16, those under 16 enter free. The rest of the Maritime Museum is pretty much free. After your children have visited the Pier, they could walk along the beach and cove area and enjoy the warm waters or just build rock castles. Further west is the white Maritime Museum building, renovated and again I have not been inside since the renovation but it's a museum with a wealth of maritime information (after all, SF is a maritime city - some tend to forget that!).

Since the Maritime Museum Park is at the western end of Fisherman's Wharf, there's plenty of restaurants to choose from.

I can recommend you try the In-n-Out Burger place. Please don't expect some out of this world kind of taste; it's just that the food is healthy and fresh. There's a secret menu besides the very basic one that is on display

http://www.yelp.com/biz/in-n-out-burger-san-francisco

A couple of blocks down (closer to the Maritime Museum is Lori's Diner in Ghirardelli Square:

http://lorisdiner.com/

Tomsd

If you want a real thrill - drive down to Gold Beach on the Southern Oregon coast - and take a jet boat ride up the fabled Rogue River.

And tons of good places to dine in
SF. Pick the type of food and budget that suits you.

In and Out burger is ok - a big to do by some folks - but I would rather go to something like Tommy's Joint on Van Ness for old style SF.

For fun and and a view - try breakfast/lunch at the Cliff House.

Tomsd

And while in SF - take a ferry ride over to Sausalito or around the Bay. And while it's more touristy than it used to be - the kids might also like having a hot fudge sundae at Ghiradilli on the Wharf.

Tomsd

And my bad: It's Tommy's Joynt.

The young ones might also like the SF Zoo.

easytraveler

tom: I'm recommending that it would be fun for the kids to be at the Maritime Museum and therefore recommended In-n-Out Burger there.

Do you have good places to eat for children while they are visiting the Maritime Museum?

IMHO, Tommy Joynt and the Cliff House are really too far for one parent with three children to go just for lunch in-between visits at the Maritime Museum.

Baoqin

Thanks for everyone's recommendation. I will stay in Hilton San Francisco Union Square. I am wondering if there is a restaurant in that area for our whole family to go out for dinner. As to budget, what can I say? Not necessarily the cheapest but not too expensive. We like asian food. Also with three kids, we need a restaurant that is not too crowded (thus no waiting in line) and serves fast!

1paranoidandroid

Your trip sounds great. My family and I made just about the exact trip last summer. After staying in Redding (they have an In-n-Out!), I agree with others about driving through Lassen National Park and taking 89. Lassen provides a good opportunity for everyone to stretch their legs and the park is designed to be driven through. My kids (7 and 4 at the time) liked the mud pits. Also, although touristy, we all really liked Truckee. We stayed on the north side of Tahoe, Kings Beach/Crystal Bay and liked it a lot. South Tahoe is very crowded and has a very touristy and hectic vibe. It does have a lot of eateries and more lodging options though.

In San Francisco I have a recommendation on the trolleys. The California line runs east-west and is a solid choice. The ride goes up some steep hills and provides great views of the Bay Bridge. You can find parking easily where it begins at Van Ness and that way you can get good spots on the trolley and hang on the outside if desired (kind of a Bucket List thing). It's much less crowded than the other lines and just as good. It'll leave you at the Ferry Terminal Building which is a great place for lunch (hit up Cowgirl Creamery for some fantastic cheese).There is a bus that runs just north of Van Ness to take you back to your car when you're done.

Also in SF be sure to visit Delores Park! The play structure is amazing and the views can't be beat. My kids loved it! Stop on over at Tartine Bakery just around the corner and pick up a loaf of the best bread in the city. The playground at Golden Gate Park is great too and they have a carousel and good snack stand. Both playgrounds were high points for the kids as was the trolley ride. Also, a visit to a more residential neighborhood is always fun. We stayed in Noe Valley and it was very kid friendly. Strolling down 24th provides a glimpse of why my wife and I plan to retire to SF from Portland someday.

The drive from SF to the Redwoods will be long, it pushed my kids to the limit. We stayed at these great cabins in Trinindad called the "Cabins in the Redwoods". They're not luxurious, but the location is stunning as Trinidad is a gorgeous beach. The town is very small but has a few eateries. We liked Arcata too.

As you know a lot of traveling with kids is making sure they have a good time, because if they're not than no one is

Best of luck to you on your forthcoming adventure.

easytraveler

If you're at the Hilton Union Square, the best place to get good food fast is the Westfield Centre which is just a couple of blocks from your hotel on Market Street.

Go down to the Concourse level and you will find the Food Court, but it's not your average food court. It's more like a gourmet food court. My favorite Asian food there is the Sorabol for Korean, but you'll find the other Asian foods well represented there as well as European and American food. The food is fresh and the service is fast.

Westfield Center also has more upscale restaurants if you want to try those.

http://www.bigmallrat.com/san-franci...co-centre.html

http://www.westfield.com/sanfrancisco/

There are, of course, a lot of Asian restaurants in Chinatown, Japantown and in other areas of SF.

Hope this helps a bit. If you have other questions please just ask.

Baoqin

We recently got this travel passport which seems to be a great deal. It has a lot of free admissions to museums. There is a long list of available free museums in SF area. Such as Bay Model Visitor Center (Sausalito), Chabot Space & Science Center (Oakland), Children's Creativity Musem (SF), CuriOdyssey (San Mateo), The Lawrence Hall of Sceince (Berkeley), Lindsay Wildlife Museum (Walnut Creek), Randall Musem (SF), The Tech Museum of Innovation (San Jose).

Our plan is for me to stay in SF for 4 nights, hubby and kids will stay with friend in San Ramon for 3 nights and then SF for 1 night. I'd like recommendation re which museum is worth the visit. I think we propably should visit only 1 place a day (or two if they are within close proximity).

I also appreciate any recommendation of "must visit" not on the above free list.

Since the drvie from SF to Redwood is very long, any recommendations re where to take a stop (for tour or viewing)?

Thanks very much.