I am working on plans for a trip up the Pacific coast highway from northern California to Astoria Oregon. Not interested in staying in chain hotels. Would like to find nice, clean, inexpensive mom and pop motels in towns along the coast.

I've been searching tonight and have found lists of mom and pop motels, but no reviews. I've checked Trip Advisor, but only a few small motels are listed. I know there are lots of small motels all along the coast, but would like to find out something about them before making reservations.

Few Mom and Pop motels have web sites. The facilities that do have web sites pay for them.

I think you would be better off finding guidebooks....to the best of my knowledge, getting mentioned/recommended in a guidebook doesn't cost anything.

Thanks Bobmrg for your advice.

I will look for books at our local library.

I am looking for motels in Brookings, Newport and Seaside. Hopefully I can find books with information on motels in these towns.

Thanks again.

Are you a member of AAA? Their guidebooks might help. I have the Northern California book - what towns are you looking at in California?

I am a AAA member and have ordered their guidebooks for northern CA & OR. Their books only show motels that are AAA members, but there are no reviews.

We are thinking of flying into Sacramento, driving north to Redding and then over to the coast. It appears that Eureka or Crescent City are the best choices for the area around Redwood NP. We will then travel up the Oregon coast to Astoria and fly home from Portland.

I picked the towns from a map then searched the web for the town's Chamber of Commerce to find the NON chain hotels. Then I checked Fodors & Trip Advisor for any additional info. I also check the web for local newspapers, sometimes able to find a coupon or local special.

When I did the drive RT from Seattle to SF and back last year, I preferred Trinidad to Eureka (stayed in Trinidad on the way down and Eureka on the way home). I stayed in a B&B (the Lost Whale) which I really liked but there were some cute looking mom & pop type places there as well. A friend stayed at View Crest Lodge last summer and liked it.

Perhaps once you identify some possibilities in each place, you could post asking about them here and on TA.

I personally would choose a town other than Seaside for the northern OR coast--Gearhart would be a nice alternative and there are a couple small independent places there such as the Gearhart Ocean Inn.

I agree with NWWanderer. I have not stayed in Trinidad, but we have taken the coastal route and Trinidad is more scenic than Eureka. Also, Seaside would not be my choice for a stay. Gearhart is adjacent, but feels completely different...very serene vs the carnival atmosphere that Seaside is known for. Another option would be just south of Cannon Beach around Manzanita/Arch Cape.

If you're an AAA member you can view the tourguide motel offerings on line.

I also second NWWanderer's advice, particularly Gearhart Ocean Inn. We've stayed there several times; great little place. And it received a nice write-up in the Travel section of Sunday's Oregonian. If you end up there, have a meal at the Pacific Way Cafe, which shares the intersection. If you're into mom & pop family kinds of places, this is another good one.

The AAA motels are "reviewed" in the sense that they are given star ratings (which I understand has as much or more to do with the amenities offered than the actual hotel quality, but it's certainly better than nothing. I personally choose to avoid AAA 1-star and 2-star motels. I will stay in a 2-star if nothing else is available. If only a 1-star is available, generally, I'd rather sleep in my car).

Thanks again for all of the suggestions.

I had originally planned to stay in Astoria, but thought Seaside might be a better option. Will now look into Gearhart. Same with Trinidad -I was looking at Eureka.

I will go into each city's website/newspaper listings and see what I can find there. Sometimes I have picked up good information from simply entering the city name in Google. We have travelled in the west several times and I've been very lucky in finding mom & pop motels in most places where we have stayed. Hope to do the same on this trip.