We will be flying into SFO and driving up the coast with many stops in Healdsburg, Anderson Valley, Mendocino and driving to Oregon border but instead of driving all the way back to SFO could we take a flight from Crescent City back to East coast?

Crescent City has an airport?

I just checked on Orbitz. You can fly from Crescent City on a turboprop to San Francisco, then switch to a United Flight (that assumes you're flying to NY, which is what I checked). There would be a hefty dropoff fee to drop off a rental car in Crescent City.

The drop off fee was going to be my next question. Guess we will scratch that idea. will have to come up with another solution to avoid the long drive back down to SF

Well, you should check on the dropoff fee before you make your decision. It will probably be fairly high but who knows?

It's not that long a drive - 5 hrs from Eureka will handle it.

I'd price both Eureka and Medford (a couple of hours or so from Crescent City via US 199) for drop-off options. When is this?

Medford has airline service.

Thanks all for the info. this trip is planned for May 2011 and we do have the time to stop for a nite or 2 on our way down to SF if we decide.

sf7307, there are about 16,000 airports in the US; about 600 of them have airline service.

We live 2 hours north of the CA/OR border and have driven that straight through to the San Francisco Bay area for over 30 years. Once you have seen what you want to see on the way north, get a good night's sleep and just drive highway 101 back south. The only bad traffic spot will be Santa Rosa, until you get to the Greater Bay Area. Compared to East Coast traffic, you should be fine. Or for a different view, head over to I-5 and take the freeway back to SF. It is a beautiful drive also, though a bit farther with the drive from 101 to I-5. I-5 would take you through the mountains, past Mt. Shasta, at 65 to 70 mph. Just plan to stay one night near SFO and you're set.

I have recently had good luck avoiding drop-off fees renting from National.