3 weeks No Cal and OR coast trip advise
 

Hello, my husband and I are looking to do a road trip starting next week for 3 weeks along the West Coast. We live in So Cal and want to spend the majority of time exploring Northern CA and OR. I've heard great things about OR coast. Any recommendations on itinerary given a 3 week travel period? We are completely open as to the route, just want to make the best out if the time we have. Thanks in advance for any advise!

Sorry to say you are a little late on your planning. It would be wise to book rooms on the Oregon Coast immediately. Yachts, Newport, and Cannon Beach are favorite places to stay, and we recently added Astoria because we liked our room with balcony and view of the Columbia River at the new Hampton Inn there.

We have stayed in various hotels in the first three towns I named, we have no favorite hotel in Yachts or Cannan Beach, but we do like the "limited edition" rooms at Hallmark in Newport.

In northern California we like the Best Western in Garberville and the Holiday Inn Express in Eureka.

HTtY

Thank you happytrailstoyou for your hotel suggestions. I'll make a note of these places. The tricky part is that we would prefer not to make hotel reservations much in advance as we would like to have somewhat of an open plan where we can decide on the spot and stay longer or shorter in places based on how we feel. We do have a tent and are thinking of doing a combination of hotels, camping, and airbnb. I think we are primarily looking for itinerary/route suggestions and timing - should we take Hwy 1 all the way up? Any recommendations on how to divide the time between various places?

Campgrounds in the redwoods area tend to be full. Reservations are the best from the Anderson valley north, starting with Hendy Woods, although space might be available if arriving before 2 p.m. or so Sunday through Thursday.

This area is quite isolated, especially the south campground, and might be wroth a couple of days stay for experiencing the coastal area:

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=429

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7631954074484/ and subsequent pictures cover the area from the Anderson valley north. It might give you some ideas.

<<Hello, my husband and I are looking to do a road trip starting next week for 3 weeks along the West Coast. >>

<<The tricky part is that we would prefer not to make hotel reservations much in advance as we would like to have somewhat of an open plan where we can decide on the spot and stay longer or shorter in places based on how we feel. >>

You are doing this at the busiest time of year in the height of tourist season when it's the most crowded.

I would try right now just for knowledge and go online and see what is available in the places you want to go. It will give you an idea of how realistic it is.

I would at least 'try' to get reservations in some of the most popular places. And then play it by ear in between. Just remember that when you are already on the Hwy 1 in Northern Calif and you can't find a place to stay, it's not like you can just say 'well, we'll turn right at the next light and get off of Hwy 1 and find something.' You can't. You just have to keep driving. It's not until you get past Big Sur that you will have more hotel stock and might get lucky on a last minute reservation that will likely be more $$$ than a prebooked reservation.

You might think about making reservations that can be cancelled a day or two before w/o a fee. Then when you're on the road you can adjust and if you find something else to do / stay cancel the res that you've pre booked.

<i> It's not until you get past Big Sur that you will have more hotel stock and might get lucky on a last minute reservation that will likely be more $$$ than a prebooked reservation.
</i>

In 1996 we drove up the coast from LA to SF in September after Labor Day weekend. We thought of getting a room in the Monterey area. We did not find one until we reached Santa Cruz.

We once left on a camping trip on a Saturday in July. We were going up the coast, thinking of getting a campsite above Eureka. We ended up in a motel in Crescent City as all campgrounds along 101 and along US 199 were full.

Thanks everyone! We are now looking into a possibility of getting an RV so that we do not have to worry about finding accommodations.

I'm not sure that RV or tent camping sites are any easier to find than hotels/motels right now. I live on the central CA coast and am seeing tons of RVs on the road. And definitely try to avoid the second week of August (particularly toward the latter part of the week) anywhere on the Monterey Peninsula as that's car week which is our biggest annual event.

Thanks Patty! I should've clarified that we would like to focus on the area north of the Bay area, so most likely we'll drive up pretty quickly from So Cal up to San Francisco and will start the 'slow' journey from there. Good to know about the car event on the Monterey Peninsula in any case.

isn't it a drag to not be able to do to spur of the moment, non-planned trip!!! i don't think an rv is a solution. you have a better chance of getting a tent camping site then a rv site. along the coast there are some "walk in" tent camping sites which sometimes have space. i would try to book accommodations in the monterey area for the first two nights, highly recommend taking hwy 1 all the way up through oregon and then you could take the interior freeways home if you are short on time. i would go with a lot of research on various hotels / motels / campgrounds in all the possible stops along the way and call one day in advance to see if there is any availability. it's risky doing it this way but, hopefully it works out for you. the one section along the #1 that i found much slower then i anticipated was just north of san fransisco - just very slow due to all the twists in the road but very beautiful.

Thanks ltt. Some people recommend doing the coast drive drive north to south instead of south to north as it is easier to pull out to the right to stop at various places along the coast...Does it really make a difference which direction you travel?

>>Thanks everyone! We are now looking into a possibility of getting an RV so that we do not have to worry about finding accommodations.<<

Nope -- spaces for RVs are often harder to get than motel rooms.

>> so most likely we'll drive up pretty quickly from So Cal up to San Francisco and will start the 'slow' journey from there.<<

LA to SF is not a 'quick' drive . . . And especially not if you do decide on an RV.

>>Thanks ltt. Some people recommend doing the coast drive drive north to south instead of south to north as it is easier to pull out to the right to stop at various places along the coast…<<

I read this ALL the time - it is a two lane road -- not hard to cross over.

>>Does it really make a difference which direction you travel?<<

Not really -- pros and cons to both.

Which direction is purely personal preference, I prefer south to north so I am not so close to the cliff edge.
The time of year you are traveling is not a time to "wing it" either via car and motels or with an RV, either way you need reservations.