Hello all,

We are planning to take a trip out to San Francisco last week of August with our son's 16 and 23. We will be spending a few days in the city and surrounding area. We've been there a few times and we've also been to Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Carmel, Big Sur, Hearst Castle which we all loved!! We have never been up North with the exception of Mendocino for a day and of course Napa and Sonoma.

Could anyone out there familiar with the area North of Sonoma give us some advice on some great places to explore? We love nature and day hiking and beautiful sights. We would like to take about 4-5 days somewhere and maybe base and then move around a bit for day trips out. Things that look interesting are Lassen Ntl Park and Burney Falls. Just wondering what a good route or loop would be and possibly stopping in Healdsburg area either on the way up or back to San Fran. Woudl it be too much to try to go to sections of the North Coast as well? We also don't mind changing areas and splitting the days. Does anyone out there have any suggestions on some great things to see that we shouldn't miss? Thank you for your help!!

Not sure how far North you want to go, but check out Trinidad, CA -- beautiful scenic area with some great hiking. Not crowded at all.

The Redwood Parks, both state and national between Leggett and Crescent City offer a lot of easy walks/hikes, ocean views/access/ You could take Higway 1 along the coast from SF to Leggett northbound and then on the return just stay on 101.
Point Reyes, Bodega Bay, Fort Ross, Mendocino, Fort Bragg, etc all offer interesting opportunities on the coast. You also have the Skunk Railroad that runs excursions out of Fort Bragg. Not as much to see on 101 south of Leggett, but Healdburg, Santa Rosa and Sonoma can be of interest. Sonoma has a lot of early CA history.

Lassen is a great place to visit, Cinder Cone is great if you want to see the whole park. http://blog.roadtrippers.com/lassen-...national-park/ has more about interesting places in Lassen.

Also I suggest crossing the border into Oregon and visit Crater Lake. Lots of great hiking and it's breathtaking to see the lake in person.

Hwy 1 is just amazing, South and North. Tons of little towns, but if anyone gets motion sickness, be warned, it is twisty. Point Reyes, Bodega Bay, Fort Ross, Mendocino, Fort Bragg are all great, but wonderful tiny spots like Sea Ranch, Gualala on the way up to Mendocino. Anchor Bay is a small campground in Gualala; I think they still rent the house on the cliff/hill. There is a cut over from Hwy 1 to I-5 somewhere up there, through wonderful redwoods.
If you go inland, I highly recommend Mt. Shasta City, McCloud, Burney Falls, and Dunsmuir all about 1.5 hours from each other. Beautiful country! You can drive up to about 7,000 feet on Shasta and then hike up to some snow. If you go to McCloud, there is the wine, dinner train. Go out to the lake, drive all the way to the dam, wonderful, easy hike down the river, but be aware that the drive from town to the dam is about 30-40 mins. Burney Falls is a must see, but skip Mosquito Lake. Castle Crags, south of Dunsmuir is beautiful, have never hiked it, but very popular. Lake Shasta is south too and nice to visit, it will be very low at this year and that time of the year. From Lake Shasta south on Interstate 5 (I-5) you get into the Valley and it will be 110 degrees and flatland, recommend you stay north. Unless you go to Lassen, then also go to Lake Almanor. You can take the back road from McCloud to Burney to Lassen and Almanor. Hwy 36 will take you down to Chico, nice small college town. All of these areas are off of I-5. Or you can continue going North up to Oregon, about 1.25 hours from Mt. Shasta City.
You could go to the Wine Country, head up Hwy 1, then cut over to 1-5 and the Shasta area. Very doable in 4-5 days.

My bad Hwy 32 not 36 Lake Almanor to Chico. And this earthquake is crazy rare. Have family there for over 25 years and never had one this big.

I second the Redwood parks and all along the coast from SF upwards. Definitely stop at Fort Ross. It's the only place where there is any kind of feel for Russians in California history.

If you find yourself in Chico, try the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. Fun place, beer samplers, great steaks or salmon.

Lots of great beer on the North Coast too. Can find good salmon too.